Innovation of Natural Silica Gel from Areca Peel Waste
Angeliana Putrianti,1) Lusia Alvid,2) Muhammad Haikal Zikra,1)Riryn Novianty,1,a)

1)Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science , Riau University, Pekanbaru 28293, Indonesia.
2) Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Riau University, Pekanbaru 28293, Indonesia

Abstract

Converting biomass into high-value-added biomaterials has attracted significant attention. Due to its hydrophilic properties, silica gel is known to be a drying agent for separating gasses and liquids. The purpose of this research is to make an innovation of natural silica gel from areca peel waste as a prospective preservative food. Areca peel has a silica content of 47.743% and increased to 89.98% after being leached with 3M hydrochloric acid. Sodium silicate was converted by the fusion method of NaOH and leached areca peel shell ash and dissolved in aquadest. Silica gel was made by sol-gel way in 4 variations of H2SO4 concentration 18M, 3M, 1.5M, and 0.5M, which the most silica is at a concentration of 18M. The silica gel characterization test uses Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The results of the FTIR test showed that the synthesis of silica gel was successful, the XRD test showed that the silica gel was amorphous, and the XRF test showed that the SiO2 content in the silica gel reached 89.98%. No harmful toxic ingredients were contained in the natural silica gel of areca peel. The water vapor test shows that the synthesized silica gel has a higher adsorption capacity than commercial natural silica gel.

Keywords: areca, desiccant, gel, natural, silica

Topic: Materials Sciences: Synthetic and Characterization