Synthesis and Characterization of Silica Nanoparticles Derived from Tea Factory Generated Wood Ash
C. Nivaethaa
Department of Environmental Sciences, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
S. K. Rajkishore *
Centre for Agricultural Nanotechnology, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
M. Maheswari
Department of Environmental Sciences, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
N. Sritharan
Department of Rice, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
Pon. Sathya Moorthy
Agro Climate Research Centre, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
M. Prasanthrajan
Centre for Agricultural Nanotechnology, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
P. Subramanian
Department of Renewable Energy, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
M. Ravendran
Agricultural College and Research Institute, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
Usha Rajamanickam
Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, 641021, India.
Rana Pratap Bhuyan
Department of Tea Husbandry and Technology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, 785013, India.
R. Raveena
Department of Environmental Sciences, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
V. Premalatha
Department of Environmental Sciences, TNAU, Coimbatore, 641003, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
India is the second most prolific tea producing nation in the world, which consumes 82% of its tea production, accounting for 19.5% of global tea consumption. Despite the improvement in technology, employing wood to produce heat has been a vital element of tea processing for generations. Many tea specialists experience that it adds a particular fragrant touch to the finished tea product. However, the management of wood ash generated by tea factories is a significant concern due to the large amount of wood burned during tea processing. Therefore, transportation and effective disposal of these large quantities of wood ash is a great challenge. Hence, this study aimed to effectively transform wood ash into a valuable product, nano silica particles so as to explore the scope for its better utilization in various applications. A series of experiments were carried out to optimize the parameters in the sol-gel technique for synthesizing silica nanoparticles from wood ash. Further, the synthesized nano silica particles were characterized by employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The standard operational protocol developed through this study demonstrated that wood ash can be effectively converted to silica nanoparticles in the size range of 20-50 nm, spherical in form with crystalline properties. Overall, the results of this work highlights the possibility of utilizing tea factory generated wood ash into silica nanoparticles with an immense potential for varied applications without environmental hazards.
Keywords: Wood ash, waste management, silica nanoparticles, sol-gel technique