Analysis of the Effect of Grain Size on the Characteristics of Zeolite

as Adsorbents

Susilawati

1,2

, M. N. Nasrusddin

, Y. A. Sihombing

1,2

, Bonar Ferdiansyah

and Sri Ningsih Y. Pakpahan

Physics Department, Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Science, UniversitasSumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Pusat Unggulan Inovasi Green Chitosan dan Material Maju Universitas Sumatera Utara

Keywords: Pahae Natural Zeolite, Adsorbents, Grain Size.

Abstract: Zeolite is a material that has been widely used for various applications, and its availability in natureis also

abundant. Applications of zeolite materials are widely studied including adsorbents. The performance of

zeolites as adsorbents is influenced by the particle size. The purpose of this study was to determine the grain

size towards the zeolite characteristics as an adsorbent. Samples were taken from Pahae, North Tapanuli

Regency. Zeolites were sieved with 200 mesh, 325 mesh, and 400 mesh sizes. Then, the physical properties

of samples were characterized such as density, water adsorption, and Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) test. The

test results showed that the finer the grain size274.6 nm, the porosity81.90%, and water adsorption98.29%

increased. However, after the fineness of the grain reached 400 mesh, the porosity and water adsorption

values decreased.

1 INTRODUCTION

Zeolite is a hydrated porous alumina silicate crystal

mineral that has a three-dimensional skeletal

structure formed from tetrahedral [SiO4]4- and

[AlO4]5-. The two tetrahedral are connected by

oxygen atoms producing an open and hollow three-

dimensional structure in which metal atoms are

filled with usually alkali or alkaline earth metals and

freely moving water molecules (Breck, 1974;

Cheetham, 1992; Scott et al., 2003).

Zeolite is a material that has been widely

used in various applications and its availability in

nature is also abundant. Applicationsof zeolite

materials that are widely studied include adsorbents,

ion exchanger, and catalysts. Zeolite is most used as

an adsorbent because it has a three-dimensional

skeletal structure with a cavity in it and a large

surface area.

Wahono et al. (2014), made zeolite-based

adsorbents using natural zeolite in Gunungkidul with

a size of 100 mesh for bioethanol purification

(Wahono et al., 2014). Natural zeolites were

activated by Chemistry (HCl) and Physics

(Calcination 400°C) and compared with non-

activated natural zeolites and synthetic zeolites. The

results showed that natural zeolite activation had the

ability to purify bioethanol the same as synthetic

zeolite, but the results were lower. Mudjijono et al.

(2015), modified the natural zeolite of Gunungkidul

as a bioethanol dehydration agent with a size of 100

mesh. Modifications were conducted with variations,

namely non-activation, chemical activation,

chemical activationand calcination, chemical

activation zeolite and treatment with ammonium

nitrite, chemical activation and treatment with

ammonium nitrite and calcination. The results

showed that the best result of bioethanol dehydration

agent was zeolite with chemical activation

(Mudjijono et al., 2015). Nasution et al. (2015),

made zeolite-based water vapor filters by varying

the size of zeolites (60 mesh and 200 mesh) and the

types of zeolite (natural zeolites of Pahae and natural

zeolites of Cikalong). The results showed that the

natural zeolite filter of Pahae with a size of 200

mesh had optimum water vapor adsorption and was

suitable as an adsorbent (Nasution et al., 2015). In

this study, the size variations of zeolite were made

with 3 variations namely 200 mesh, 325 mesh, and

400 mesh, which aimed to determine the effect of

grain size variations on the characteristics of zeolites

as adsorbents.

308

Susilawati, ., Nasruddin, M., Sihombing, Y., Ferdiansyah, B. and Pakpahan, S.

Analysis of the Effect of Grain Size on the Characteristics of Zeolite as Adsorbents.

DOI: 10.5220/0010163300002775

In Proceedings of the 1st International MIPAnet Conference on Science and Mathematics (IMC-SciMath 2019), pages 308-313

ISBN: 978-989-758-556-2

2 RESEARCH AND METHODS

Zeolite samples were taken from Pahae Julu District,

North Tapanuli. Zeolite in the form of chunks was

crushed and sieved with a size of 200 mesh, 325

mesh, and 400 mesh. Characterization of zeolite

samples includes physical properties (porosity and

water adsorption) and grain size analysis using

Particle Size Analyzer (PSA).

2.1 Porosity

Porosity is defined as the ratio between the amount

of pore volume (volume of empty space) in solids

and the total volume of solids. The porosity was

calculated from the pore volume divided by the total

volume. The equation of porosity is:

%𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 





















 100% (1)

When; m

= wet mass (Kg) and m

= dry mass (Kg).

2.2 Water Adsorption

Water adsorption in each sample can be done by

weighing the dry mass and wet mass of the sample.

Dry mass is the mass when the sample is dry, while

the wet mass is obtained after the sample has been

immersed for 24 hours at room temperature. The

equation of water adsorption is:

%𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑑𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 

















 100% (2)

When m

= wet mass (Kg) and m

= dry mass (Kg).

Characterization of grain size analysis used the

Particle Size Analyzer (PSA). PSA measurement is

based on the principle of the dynamic light

scattering (DLC) method which is the best technique

for particle size measurement (Galuh & Rahmi,

2014; Prasmita, 2012). The method of particle

counting contained in the PSA tool consisted of

three methods, namely the pade-laplace method,

statistical method and cumulants method (Muchtar

et al., 2015).

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Porosity

Porosity of zeolite with size variations of 200 mesh,

325 mesh, and 400 mesh is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows that zeolite size variations affect

the porosity value. The minimum porosity was

found at a size of 200 mesh with a porosity value of

49.58%, while the maximum porosity was found at

325 mesh with a porosity value of 81.90%. Zeolite is

a material mostly composed of oxygen, silica,

carbon, and aluminium, where oxygen is the largest

constituent element. Thus, zeolites have cavities or

pores that can adsorb water. In addition, the grain

size also affects the porosity value. The finer

thegrain size of a zeolite, the greater the porosity

value. However, in 400-mesh zeolite, the porosity

value decreased which means that the ability of

zeolite to be used as an adsorbent became lower.

According to SNI 13-7168-2006, the porosity value

will increase if the size of the zeolite becomes

smoother. However, if thegrain size is too, it will

result in a limited cavity structure so that porosity

becomes reduced (SNI 13-7168-2006, 2006).

Therefore, 325-mesh zeolite had a more optimum

porosity value than 400-meshzeolite.

3.2 Water Adsorption

The water adsorption of zeolite with size variations

of 200 mesh, 325 mesh, and 400 mesh is shown in

Figure 2.

Analysis of the Effect of Grain Size on the Characteristics of Zeolite as Adsorbents

309

Figure 1: The relationship between porosity and variations in the grain size of zeolite.

Figure 2: The relationship between water adsorption and variations in the grain size of zeolite.

Figure 2 shows that the size variations of zeolite

affect the water adsorption value. Based on the test

results, the minimum water adsorption was 59.50%

in 200-mesh size, while the maximum water

adsorption was 98.29% in 325-mesh size. The water

adsorption value was directly proportional to the

porosity value, where the greater the pore or cavity

of zeolite, the higher the value of water adsorption.

However, the 400-mesh zeolite had a smaller water

adsorption value compared to the 325-mesh zeolite

because the particle size is one of the factors that can

affect the capacity and rate of water adsorption of

zeolite to certain adsorbates. The particle size of

zeolite will affect the selectivity of zeolites to which

molecules will enter the zeolite cavity and which

will be rejected. The finer the particle size, the more

selective the adsorption process will be.

3.3 Particle Size Analyzer (PSA)

The PSA characterization to determine the grain size

of zeolites with 200 mesh, 325 mesh, and 400 mesh

size variations is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 is the PSA test results showing the

diameter of zeolite. The 200-mesh zeolite had an

average diameter of 569.9 nm, the 325-mesh zeolite

200 325 400

Porosity(%)

GrainSize(mesh)

100

120

200 325 400

WaterAdsorption(%)

GrainSize(mesh)

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310

had an average diameter of 274.6 nm, and the 400-

mesh zeolite had an average diameter of 381.8 nm.

The relationship between diameter and variations in

the grain size of zeolite resulted from the PSA test

can be seen in Figure 4.

Figure 4 shows the finer the size of the zeolite,

the smaller the diameter of zeolite. However, the

400-mesh zeolite had a larger diameter than 325

mesh. The smaller the diameter of the zeolite, the

separation process using the nature of zeolite will be

more selective (Wulandari & Priyono, 2014). This is

in accordance with the optimum porosity and water

adsorption value in the 325-mesh zeolite.

a. 200 mesh.

b.325 mesh.

Analysis of the Effect of Grain Size on the Characteristics of Zeolite as Adsorbents

311

c.400 mesh.

Figure 3: PSA test results for zeolite in a size of(a) 200 mesh (b) 325 mesh, and (c) 400 mesh.

Figure 4: The relationship between diameter of zeolite and variations in the grain size.

100

200

300

400

500

600

200 325 400

AverageDiameter(nm)

GrainSize(mesh)

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312

4 CONCLUSIONS

The study results prove that the grain influences the

characteristics of zeolite as an adsorbent. The 325-

mesh zeolite had optimum porosity and water

adsorption values compared to the 200-mesh zeolite

and 400-mesh zeolite. These results are consistent

with the Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) test results

which showed that the 325-mesh zeolite had the

smallest diameter compared tothe 200-mesh zeolite

and the 400-mesh zeolite.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are very grateful to Universitas

Sumatera Utara for its funding throughout

TALENTA research program 2019 with given

contract numbers 4167/UN5.1.R/PPM/2019 on 01

April 2019.

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