Zeolites are microporous crystallines with well defined structures. Zeolites are used in variety of applications because of their properties such as high temperature stability, ion-exchange capacity, adsorption capacity and stability to harsh conditions. Some major applications of zeolites are ion-exchange, catalysis, adsorption and separation. Synthetic zeolites are normally produced as fine crystalline powder. Prior to their use, the powder is usually formed into spheres, tablets and extrudates by addition binder. Since binders present in the zeolite can block the pores and decrase the adsorption properties, preparation binderless zeolite agglomerates with high mechanical stability has great technological importance. Objective of the study is to synthesize binderless zeolite X tubular macrobodies by using the developed methods for the synthesis of zeolite A bars and tubes. Main steps of the study are synthesis of the tubular binderless zeolite X macrobodies, characterization of the macrobodies, determination the effect of hydrogel composition on zeolite phase and analyzing effect of time on the crystallinity of macrobodies. Experimental method for synthesizing the binderless tubular zeolite X macrobodies includes the following steps / preparing hydrogel by mixing sodium aluminate and sodium silicate solutions, filtration of the hydrogel, paste preparation from solid phase of the hydrogel, extrusion of green tubes from paste, calcination of green tubes and crystallization of calcined tubes in filtered liquid of the hydrogel. In this study, synthesis of binderless tubular pure zeolite X macrobodies with high crystallinity was achieved. Micropore volume and BET surface area of the zeolite X tubular macrobody I&Ccedil / S-18, which has 99.9 % crystallinity were determined as 0.178 cm3/g and 631.2 m2/g, respectively. Pure zeolite X, pure zeolite A and zeolite A, X mixtures were obtained after the crystallization of the calcined extrudates which were obtained from different hydrogel compositions. Ternary diagram which was based on the hydrogel compositions and the obtained zeolite phases was plotted.

The efficacy of using zeolitic materials for the removal of nickel (II) and vanadium (IV) ions from solution has been evaluated in order to provide a method for the removal of the metal ions during hydroprocessing of crude oil. Batches of sodium based zeolites with a variety of pore sizes and Si/Al ratios were prepared using standard methods (high causticity solutions and templating agent). Characterisation of the products was carried out using powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis to confirm the presence of single zeolitic phases (zeolite A, zeolite X, zeolite Y, sodalite Na8 [AlSiO4]6Cl2 and hydrosodalite Na6 [AlSiO4]6. 6H2O). In a batch exchange process, divalent nickel and tetravalent vanadium ion solutions of concentration range 0.01M - 0.1M were placed in contact with the zeolite samples at 110°C for a period of 24h. Nickel (II) exchange was found to occur for all the zeolites at concentrations considered. Zeolite X was found to be most efficient at removing nickel from the solutions while zeolite Y was least efficient. Characterisation of zeolite X after ion exchange using powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy showed that the structure of the zeolite had been maintained. Simplistic modelling of powder X-ray diffraction data have shown that the nickel ions are preferentially substituted on one of the four sodium sites. Vanadium (IV) exchange was also found to occur for all the zeolites at the concentrations considered. Zeolite A was found to be most efficient for the vanadium uptake. Characterisation with PXRD, FTIR and SEM-EDS however, shows that in addition to exchange at the zeolite s normal cation exchange sites, a significant amount of framework silicon species were also exchanged by the vanadium ions thus having a destructive effect on the zeolite framework leading to structural collapse. Ion exchange of the sodium-based zeolites with potassium and lithium showed that the uptake of nickel and vanadium of the zeolites significantly increased compared to the as- synthesised zeolites. Zeolite Y was surface-modified with the APTES ligand and showed a similar trend to that observed for alkali metal-zeolites; showing significantly greater nickel uptake at lower concentrations. Nickel-tetraphenylporphrin was synthesised as a mimic for the nickel-asphaltenes found in crude oil and an α-hydrogen donor solvent used to remove the nickel in the presence of zeolite ion exchangers. A similar trend was observed to that seen in aqueous solution, implying the process would be transferrable to a live medium. Analysis to determine the metal ions present in ashed Nigerian crude samples before and after solvent and/or complexing agent extraction was carried out using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) and energy fluorescence analysis by X-rays (XRF). The process showed varying amounts of nickel was extracted by the different media along with iron. For nickel, the extent of extraction in the order of increasing % extraction is H2O<H3PO4<EDTA<IPA. For iron the order of increasing % extraction was H2O=EDTA<H3PO4<CH3OH while zinc extraction was in the order H2O<H3PO4 <CH3OH=EDTA.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In South Africa, almost 90 % of the country’s electricity is generated from coal combustion. This reliance on coal for energy production is projected to continue in the near and medium term due to the increasing demand for industrial and domestic energy. During coal combustion, a large quantity of fly ash is produced as the main waste product and in South Africa approximately 36 - 37 million tons of fly ash is produced on a yearly basis. The management of huge quantities of fly ash has been and still is a continuing challenge that requires urgent intervention. In this regard, there exists an urgent need to maximize fly ash beneficiation, thus forming the motivation for this research. The overall objectives of this thesis was to synthesize high pure phase zeolites A and X from South African fly ash, study their formation mechanism, and explore the potential of mine waters during the synthesis process as well as developing new and efficient zeolite synthetic protocols by the use of ultrasound. In order to address these objectives, the research was designed in a sequential manner so that the preceding results could act as a platform for the attainment of the next objective. In this case, the identification and optimization of synthesis conditions for producing zeolite A and X acted as a basis for understanding the influence of use of mine waters as a substitute for pure water. This further laid the foundation for the in-situ ultrasonic monitoring of the formation process of zeolite A and X from fly ash. The final stages of the study involved use of ultrasonic energy as an ageing tool to improve the conditions obtained during the hydrothermal synthesis of zeolite A as well as investigate the potential to synthesize zeolites directly by use of ultrasound without the need for the fusion, aging or conventional hydrothermal treatment step. The result of the optimized synthesis conditions for producing zeolite A starting either from clear extract of fused fly ash or unseparated, fused South African class F fly ash slurry were molar regimes of 1 Al2O3 : 30.84 Na2O : 4 SiO2 : 414.42 H2O or 1 Al2O3 : 5.39 Na2O : 2.75 SiO2 : 111.82 H2O respectively and at a hydrothermal synthesis temperature of 100 °C for 2 hours. The optimized procedure was simple, efficient and resulted in a considerable improvement of the quality and phase purity of the zeolite A product when the clear extract of fused fly ash was used instead of starting from unseparated, fused fly ash slurry. On the other hand, the optimized synthesis conditions for preparing the typical octahedral shaped zeolite X from South African fly ash was found to be a molar regime of 1 Al2O3 : 4.90 Na2O : 3.63 SiO2 : 115.92 H2O at a hydrothermal synthesis temperature of 80 ºC for hours.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Coal is the main source of electricity in South Africa, the combustion of which produces a large amount of waste (coal fly ash) annually. The large-scale generation of coal fly ash places major strain on landfills and the material is toxic in nature. The high silicon and aluminium content in fly ash makes it a suitable starting material for zeolite synthesis. Utilisation of fly ash as a starting material for zeolite synthesis alleviates an environmental burden by converting a waste product to an industrially applicable material. In this study, hierarchical zeolite X was synthesised from coal fly ash via the fusion method. The clear fused fly ash (FFA) extract (with molar composition 0.12 Al·14.6 Na·1.00 Si·163 H₂O) served as the synthesis solution for hydrothermal treatment. The influence of synthesis parameters (such as Si/Al ratio, aluminium source, hydrothermal temperature and stirring) on hierarchical zeolite X formation was studied to determine the cause behind the formation of this material. Synthesised zeolites and starting materials (Arnot coal fly ash and fused fly ash) were characterised by various analytical techniques such as XRD and SEM-EDS to determine the phase purity, morphology and elemental composition (framework Si/Al ratio) of these materials. The synthesis of hierarchical zeolite X under hydrothermal conditions was found to be highly sensitive to the aluminium content of the synthesis solution. The hierarchical morphology of zeolite X was formed preferentially in relatively aluminium-deficient (i.e. high Si/Al ratio) synthesis environments under stirred hydrothermal conditions of 90 °C for 16 hours. In the case of sodium aluminate addition, octahedral shaped zeolite X crystals were formed in relatively low Si/Al ratio synthesis environments, which was attributed to the presence of excess sodium cation content in the synthesis solution. Selected hierarchical zeolites (D2 and E2) were characterised further to gain more insight into the properties of this material. HR-TEM and FTIR revealed that hierarchical zeolite D2 and E2 exhibited the typical structural features of zeolite X. Zeolite D2 and E2 contained both micropores and mesopores and had a high BET surface area of 338-362 m²/g. These zeolites also exhibited appreciable solid acidity (0.81-1.12 mmol H/g zeolite). These properties make hierarchical zeolite X a favourable material for application in catalysis or adsorption. Overall, the formation of zeolite X with hierarchical morphology was proposed to be linked to the presence of zeolite P1 structural units in the framework of the zeolite. / National Research Foundation

La caolinita, constituyente principal del caolín, es una arcilla de fórmula 2SiO(2) Al(2).O(3).2H(2)O que da lugar a un producto de calcinación denominado metacaolinita, muy utilizado como materia prima en la síntesis de zeolitas de bajo contenido en SiO(2), como por ejemplo las zeolitas del grupo de la faujasita NaA, NaX y NaY (Breck, 1974). Aunque la producción de zeolita A para detergencia a partir de la metacaolinita ha sido ampliamente descrita en numerosas patentes y trabajos de investigación, el mecanismo de esta reacción se conoce desde hace muy pocos años. La síntesis de zeolitas del tipo X o Y ha sido también descrita, aunque con menos profusión, y su obtención a partir de la caolinita requiere una técnica más elaborada que ha sido escasamente descrita. La adición de una fuente externa de SiO(2) es la vía mejor conocida (Covián, 1991), aunque el proceso presenta una conversión baja y da lugar a productos de baja calidad con la consiguiente pérdida de valor en el mercado que ello supone. El ajuste de la razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) por extracción de aluminio es un proceso concebible pero poco estudiado hasta la fecha. En otro orden de cosas, se han realizado numerosos esfuerzos por desarrollar procesos de obtención de aluminio a partir de fuentes diferentes de la bauxita como consecuencia de que su distribución en el mundo ha originado situaciones de potencial escasez. El caolín, por el contrario, se halla extensamente distribuido y es un mineral rico en aluminio por lo que se constituye en el sustituto por excelencia de la bauxita. Los procesos de obtención de aluminio a partir de caolín desarrollados han tenido como objetivo, consecuentemente, la maximización del rendimiento de las reacciones químicas implicadas, así como una optimización tecnológica y económica de los procesos que diera lugar a un producto con un coste competitivo. Los procesos de obtención de aluminio a partir de caolín mencionados arriba han sido analizados en el presente trabajo desde una perspectiva diferente: la de acondicionar el caolín a base de ajustar su razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) en vez de agotar el aluminio presente en el mismo. Se han estudiado tres procesos diferentes no tan sólo en cuanto a la naturaleza de los reactivos empleados, sino también en las operaciones unitarias que comportan. Por orden de novedad creciente, se ha estudiado el ajuste empleando ácido clorhídrico en disolución acuosa, hidrógenosulfato de sodio y ácido sulfúrico. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que, si bien los tres métodos resultan viables, existen diferencias que es necesario tener en cuenta a la hora de escoger uno de ellos: mientras que la cinética de la reacción con HCl puede explicarse en base al modelo de nucleación de Hulbert y Huff (1970), modelo cinético de orden uno, las cinéticas de las reacciones con NaHSO(4) y H2SO(4) se explican adecuadamente mediante un modelo de núcleo decreciente (MND), un modelo cinético de orden cero. Esto, unido a las bajas energías de activación halladas, redunda en un mejor o peor control del punto final de la reacción: mientras que con el ácido clorhídrico se alcanzan valores elevados de la razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3), el punto final de la reacción es difícil de determinar. El hidrógenosulfato de sodio da lugar a valores inferiores de la razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3), pero muestra un comportamiento más favorable al apreciarse una detención paulatina de la reacción por resistencia a la difusión en la capa de cenizas. Este es también el caso del ácido sulfúrico, aunque en este reactivo juega un papel relevante la posibilidad de forzar su agotamiento corno método de detener la reacción. La calidad de los productos obtenidos mediante los tres reactivos varía sensiblemente obteniéndose productos de diferente composición química y diferentes características texturales dependiendo no sólo del proceso escogido sino también de las condiciones de operación. Es interesante hacer aquí mención a los contenidos en hierro y titanio, que dan coloración al producto final, pues existen diferencias notables en los productos obtenidos mediante un procedimiento u otro. Aunque existen numerosos procesos descritos para la separación de los minerales de hierro y titanio presentes en el caolín, poca cosa se puede hacer cuando hierro y titanio se hallan constituyendo la estructura cristalina de la caolinita misma. El proceso de ajuste de la razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) brinda una oportunidad de rebajar los contenidos en estas especies dando lugar a productos de mayor valor final. Con el fin de comprender mejor las reacciones del caolín con hidrógenosulfato de sodio y con ácido sulfúrico se presenta un estudio acerca del mecanismo de reacción por el cual cursan las reacciones con cada uno de estos reactivos. Los resultados obtenidos se comparan con los hallados para la reacción con ácido clorhídrico. Una vez conseguido el ajuste de la razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) por reacción con los tres agentes mencionados, se muestra que su reacción con hidróxido de sodio manifiesta diferencias importantes que cabrá analizar con el objeto de conocer en profundidad el proceso de obtención de zeolita X a partir de caolines con razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) ajustada. La característica más relevante de estos materiales consiste en que dan lugar a una curva concentración - tiempo para Si y Al que es muy similar a la obtenida para caolines a los que se les ha añadido una fuente de silicio altamente soluble y también a la que presenta el caolín calcinado a temperaturas iguales o superiores a 900ºC. Los análisis por difracción de rayos X muestran, asimismo, que los sólidos en suspensión presentan un aspecto amorfo durante tiempos prolongados sin que se aprecien fases zeolíticas de ninguna clase, hecho que sugiere la viabilidad del empleo de caolines con razón SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) ajustada mediante ácidos o sales inorgánicas en la obtención de zeolita X. Así lo muestran los ensayos realizados en este sentido, en los que se ha obtenido una zeolita X a partir de caolines tratados con ácido clorhídrico. Finalmente se proponen sendos esquemas de proceso para la obtención de zeolita X a partir de caolines tratados con los reactivos estudiados y se efectúan diversas consideraciones acerca de los mismos.

Doctor Educationis / The research focused on the synthesis, characterisation and activity of zeolite supported metal catalysts for the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzene with t-butyl chloride. Alkyl benzenes are traditionally produced via systems that employ the use of Lewis acids or strong mineral acids. There have been widespread concerns over these approaches based on their environmental impacts and separation difficulties. Recent approaches have endeavoured the much to use more environmentally eco-friendly systems and zeolites have proved to be versatile support materials. The use of zeolites has also shown to greatly improve product selectivity as well as easing separation constraints. However the adoption of zeolites on large scale Friedel-Crafts alkylation has been hampered by the high cost of zeolite production from commercial sources. On the other hand fly ash has been found to be a viable starting material for zeolite synthesis. Apart from that South Africa is faced with fly disposal challenges and there is continual accumulation of fly ash at the coal fired power stations, which provide about 77 % of the power produced in the country. In this light the use of fly ash will help to reduce the disposal constraints as well as providing a cheap starting material for zeolite synthesis. In this study the hierarchical Zeolite X has been successfully synthesised from fly ash via a hydrothermal treatment. The zeolite was then loaded with Fe/Mn via two approaches namely liquid phase ion exchange and incipient wetness impregnation. For comparison purposes seasoned commercial support materials namely HBEA and MCM- 41 were also loaded with the same metals and characterised with various techniques namely; HRSEM, EDS, HRTEM, XRD, SAED, ICP-OES and N2 adsorption analysis, It was found from the characterisation undertaken that the integrity of the respective supports was generally retained upon metal loading. Both the ICP-OES and the EDS proved that the desired metals were successfully introduced onto the zeolitic support materials. The calculated percentage metal loading for the catalysts prepared via incipient wetness impregnation was closely related to the actual values obtained from the ICP-OES analysis for both the monometallic and the bimetallic catalysts (Fe/Mn). It was observed that the amount of metal that can be introduced on a zeolite via liquid phase ion exchange is largely dependent on the cation exchange capacity of the zeolite Supported metal catalysts for FC alkylation Page v and of the catalysts prepared using 0.25 M Fe solution it was found that Zeolite X had the highest Fe wt% loading of 11.4 %, with the lowest loading of 2.2 % obtained with the MCM-41 supported catalyst. The XRD patterns for the both HBEA and the MCM-41 supported metal catalysts resembled the patterns of the respective prestine support materials except in the case of catalysts with anFe wt % of more than 10, which exhibited peaks due to the Fe2O3 crystallites. In the case of the hierarchical Zeolite X, the metal loaded support had a significant reduction in the XRD peak intensities. The prepared catalysts were tested for the alkylation of benzene with t-butyl chloride. The benzene was also used as the solvent. The alkylation reaction was carried out in a round bottomed flask under reflux conditions and stirring at a temperature of 45 oC over a period of 5 h. A total of 18 catalysts was tested and the highest percentage conversion of 100 % was obtained with the 10%FeH after a reaction time of 2 h. The general trend obtained with the majority of the catalysts was characterised with a rapid initial increase and then steady state was achieved. Generally after a reaction time of 3 h almost all the catalysts had reached steady state in terms of the percentage conversion obtained. The outcomes reflect that the inclusion of Mn does not enhance the conversion but rather decreases it. It was also found that the Mn was not active in the alkylation of benzene as shown by the inactivity of the 10%MnM, where 10% by weight Mn was loaded on MCM-41. However the other monometallic catalysts containing Mn supported on Zeolite X and HBEA were found to be active. The activity is attributed to the presence of Brønsted acid sites in these zeolites which are not present in MCM-41. The selectivity studies reflect that the inclusion of Mn does slightly improve the selectivity towards the formation of the monoalkylated product (t-butyl benzene). The highest selectivity of 91.1 % was obtained with the 10%FeMnM after a reaction time of 4 h. MCM-41 supported catalysts had a relatively higher selectivity compared to the other supports. Considering the Fe monometallic catalysts tested it generally can be said that the yield were in the order HBEA > MCM-41 > Zeolite X. It however should be noted that the percentage yield is calculated from the conversion and selectivity percentages, this implies that the factors affecting these parameters will consequently affect the percentage yield obtained. Supported metal catalysts for FC alkylation Page vi The alkylation reaction was found to be characterised by the formation of two intermediate products which could not be identified. These products were formed during the transient start up stages of the reaction and would disappear from the reaction mixture with longer reaction times, and after 3 h in almost all the reactions studied the intermediates were not detected in the reaction mixture. The main products found were the monoalkylated product (desired product) and the para isomer (1,4-t-di-butyl benzene). There were no other dialkylated isomers or trialkylated products detected. The formation of the para isomer was usually after a reaction time of 2 h in most reactions. The research managed to show that the hierarchical Zeolites X can be synthesised from fly ash and ion exchange and incipient wetness impregnation are appropriate approaches that can be used to introduce Fe/Mn onto the support materials studied. The catalysts prepared were active to varying degrees in the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzene with t-butylchloride, with the exception of the 10%MnM which was found to be inactive.