Effects of ultrasonic treatment on zeolite synthesized from coal fly ash

The synthesis of zeolites from three samples of fly ash was carried out through a low-temperature (25–60 °C) hydrothermal process with a NaOH pre-fusion treatment preceded by sonication. The results were compared with those of conventional hydrothermal syntheses. XRD and SEM investigations demonstrate that the application of ultrasonic treatment facilitates the formation of zeolites at a lower-temperature (25 °C) than syntheses not preceded by sonication. No significant difference in type, temperature of crystallization, or amount of zeolites synthesized was noted between the three different samples of fly ash, implying that the chemical composition of fly ash had little influence on the zeolite product within the compositional range of these fly ash precursors. Although there appears to be a correlation between the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of the fly ash and the temperature of zeolite formation by conventional synthesis, no correlation was apparent when ultrasonic pre-treatment was used at low-temperatures.