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Silicon used in construction, microchips and more — green methods could help extract it from sugar cane waste


sugar cane

Credit: Public Domain Pixabay / CC0

In some parts of the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa, sugarcane fields stretch as far as the naked eye can see. The crop is more than just a treat for the sweet tooth: in 2017, the country’s sugar industry an estimated value more than 12 billion rupees; Of these, sugarcane production alone has reached 5.5 billion Rupiah.

But the road industry is shrinking, at least in part because many people are eating less sugar, for health reasons. How, then, is it possible sugarcane production continue to extract value? We believe the answer lies in crop waste.

Bagasse is the fiber left over after the plant has been crushed to obtain its juice for making sugar. About 54 million tons of the sugar cane Bagasse is produced annually around the world. This inadequate treatment of bagasse leads to environmental pollution and attracts many insects when left unattended.

But there are ‘jewels’ among the piles of ashes that remain after the bagasse is burned. With the right chemicals and physical processesvaluable silicon nanoparticles and silica—Substances used in the construction, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and cleaning industries, among others — may be created.

Points of chemical processes are being tested and tweaked to extract silica from bagasse ash, and from there synthesize it into silicon beads. Some of the tests are quite advanced, but no one has yet cracked the code to produce high-grade pure silica at levels high enough to meet industrial needs.

Our recent work took a ‘green’ approach to the extraction process. First, we confirm what a growing research group has shown: bagasse ash is a natural source of silica that should be exploited for industrial purposes. And use Organic Acids and base, we have shown which processes can be used for a more eco-friendly extraction process.

Many forms and uses

Silicon is a chemical element. It is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust after oxygen and is believed to be the element 27% composition of average rock.

Most people have probably seen silicon in the form of silica (also known as ). silicon dioxide), a chemical compound made up of a combination of silicon and oxygen. Silica is found most abundantly in nature in shiny, crystalline mineral quartz. It is also present in plants such as sorghum, wheat, corn, and sunflower.

Silicon comes in many forms and uses. Like silica, it is used in the manufacture of bricks, concrete, and glass. In soluble form, silica is widely used in the glass, ceramics and cement industries, as well as in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and detergent industries as a binder and adhesive.

In elemental form, it is an excellent power semiconductor and is commonly used – in powder form known as nano silicon powder – in the manufacture of microchips and solar cells. Silicon Valley in the US, home to countless electronics and computer companies, is named in honor of the element.

But despite silicon’s abundance, its many applications mean that industry can sometimes lack the metal to produce from it. For example, in 2021, a shortage means that China must cut silicon metal production; this has pushed up global prices about 300%.

That’s where bagasse comes into the picture. Increasingly, research — including our own review—It has been shown that bagasse ash provides one of the cheapest sources of silica production, comparing favorably with, for example, its extraction from sand.

Looking for purer silica

Silica is stored in a lot in the soil and is absorbed in large amounts by plants. This is not harmful and research to show that, may even benefit plants. In sugarcane, silica is stored in the shoots — which will eventually end up in the bagasse. And it’s from this that researchers are working to extract silica to convert it into silicon.

It is not a simple process. The ash generated in these industrial processes often has a high impurity content and is mixed with metals such as iron oxides and aluminum. This hinders the process of obtaining silica that is pure enough for use.

There are also environmental concerns. That’s why we take a ‘green’ approach in most recent research. We used eco-friendly and easy-to-handle organic materials, and found this to be an effective way to extract silica from bagasse. A few more points need to be refined: there are still small impurities that need to be removed if the method is to produce high-quality silica that meets the standards required for industrial applications.

Overall, our approach can further reduce the cost of extracting silica from bagasse and is a good way to manage what may not be more than waste.


Inhaling silica particles can cause kidney disease


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