A new method to prepare mesoporous silica from coal gasification fine slag and its application in methylene blue adsorption

Mesoporous silica materials are often restricted from large-scale industrial production due to their high preparation costs. This study used the solid waste coal gasification fine slag (FS) as the silica source, utilizing the simple acid leaching technology, successfully produced mesoporous glass microspheres (MGS) with specific surface area of 364 m(2)/g and pore volume of 0.339 cm(3)/g. The porous structure was confirmed by TEM. Moreover, the influences of reaction conditions on the specific surface area and pore structure were thoroughly investigated. The methylene blue adsorption test on the prepared mesoporous microspheres showed a maximum adsorption capacity of 140.57 mg/g. This research provides a new method for the industrial production of mesoporous silica. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.