| Peer-Reviewed

Extraction and Characterization of Biosilica from Raphia Africana Fruit Shells and Borassus aethiopum Leaves

Received: 15 August 2021     Accepted: 1 September 2021     Published: 23 September 2021
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Agricultural wastes which include leaves, shells, husk, stalks, bagasse and ash of plants are often residues of processing or growing of raw agricultural products [1]. These wastes may contain materials that are beneficial to man despite their contribution to environmental pollution. Increase in human population has led to increase in agricultural expansion with exponential increase in waste generation [2]. Converting these wastes to useful forms is of great significance. In this study, biosilica was extracted from the ash of Borassus aethiopum leaves (BALA) and Raphia africana fruit shells (RASA) using precipitation method. The ashes obtained were characterized using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) were used to characterize the extracted silica. Morphology of the extracted biosilica using SEM revealed fine globules of various sizes formed from aggregates of biosilica at different magnifications: 150x, 500x and 1000x. FTIR spectra of the extracted biosilica revealed the presence of hydroxyl (OH), silanol (Si-O-H) and siloxane (Si-O-Si) functional groups recorded at absorption bands: 3395.6, 1636.3 and 1062.3 cm-1 respectively for BALA and 3388.2, 1640.0 and 1058.6 cm-1 respectively for RASA. XRF of the extracted biosilica showed two major peaks which correspond to the presence of silicon and oxygen atoms respectively. Percentage extraction of biosilica from the two precursors was between 70-90%. AAS result revealed that BALA had biosilica 67% while RASA showed 82% biosilica content. This study revealed that the leaves of BALA and fruit shells of RASA are good sources of silica and as such, converting waste to wealth thereby reducing green-house gases like CO2 released into the atmosphere when left to decompose naturally.

Published in American Journal of Applied Chemistry (Volume 9, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13
Page(s) 138-144
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Biosilica, Borassus aethiopum, Leaves, Raphia Africana, Fruit Shells, Ash, Extraction, Characterization

References
[1] Agamuthu, P. (2009) Challenges and opportunities in Agro-waste Management: An Asian perspective. Inaugural meeting of First Regional 3R Forum in Asia 11-12 Nov. Tokyo, Japan.
[2] Obi, F. O., Ugwuishiwu, B. O., and Nwakaire, J. N. (2016). Agricultural Waste Concept, Generation, Utilization and Management. Nigerian Journal of Technology (NIJOTECH), 35 (4): 957–964
[3] Kalapathy, U., A. Proctor & J. Shultz, (2000). A Simple Method for Production of Pure Silica from Rice Hull Ash, Bioresource Technology, 73: 257-262.
[4] Permatasari, N., Sucahya, T. N., and Dani Nandiyanto, A. B. (2017) “Review: Agricultural Wastes as a Source of Silica Material,” Indonesian. Journal Science. And Technology., 1 (1).
[5] Faizul C. P, Abdulah C. and Fazhul B. (2013). Extraction of Silica form Palm Ashvia Citric acid Leaching Treatment. AENSI Journals: Advances in Enviromental Biology, 7 (12): 3690-3695.
[6] Tundo, P., Anastas, P., Black, D. S., Breen, J., Collins, T., Memoli, S., Miyamoto, J., Polyakoff, M., and Tumas, W. (2000). Synthetic Pathways and Processes in Green Chemistry. Introductory Overview. Pure Applied Chemistry. 72 (7): 1207–1228.
[7] Shaikh, I. R. and Shaikh A. A. (2013). Utilization of Wheat Husk Ash as Silica source for the Synthesis of MCM-41 type Mesoporous Silicate. A Sustainable Approach towards Valorization of the Agricultural Waste Stream. Research Journal of Chemical Science., 3 (11): 66-72.
[8] Melvyn F. A (2004). An Overview of Biomaterial. Biomass and Agricultural Sustainable Markets and Policies. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 77-78.
[9] Sivasubramanian S and Kurchalapati Sravanthi (2015). Synthesis and Characterization of Silica Nanoparticles from Coconut Shells. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Science, 6 (1): 530–536.
[10] Dayton D. C., Jenkins B. M., Turn S. Q., Bakker R. R., Williams R. B., Belle-Oudry D. and Hill L. M., (1999). Release of Inorganic Constituents from Leached Biomass during Thermal Conversion, Energy Fuels, 13, 860–870.
[11] Sander M. L. and Andren O., (1997). Ash from Cereal and Rape Straw used for Heat Production: Liming Effect and Contents of Plant Nutrients and Heavy Metals, Water Air Soil Pollut., 93: 93–108.
[12] Miles T. R., Baxter L. L., Bryers R. W., Jenkins B. M. and Oden L. L. (1996). Boiler deposits from firing biomass fuels, Biomass and Bioenergy, 10: 125–138.
[13] Shelke V. R., Bhagade S. S. and Mandavgane S. A. (2010), Mesoporous Silica from Rice Husk Ash, Bull. Chem. Reaction. Engg. & Cata., 5 (2): 63–67.
[14] UNEP (2013). International Environmental Technology Centre, Policy brief on waste Agricultural Biomass.
[15] Manjula K. R, Palamsamy P. N and Sivakumar (2014): Synthesis and Characterization of Amorphous Nano Silica from Biomass Ash. International Journal of Advanced Technology in Engineering and Science, 2 (10): 72–75.
[16] Kien-Woh K, Rozita Y, A. R. Abdul Aziz and Abdulallah (2014). Characterisation of biosilicasynthesised from cogon grass. Powder Technology. Journal homepage www.elseveir.com/locate/powtech: 206-207.
[17] Khushboo S, Niherika S, Vijay, D. and Ashu R (2013). Pure Silica Extraction from Perlite. Its Characterization and Affecting Factors. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 2 (7): 2936-2941.
[18] David H. (2000), Modern Analytical Chemistry. 1st Edition. Mcgrew Hill Higher Education, USA: 393-394.
[19] Francis, R. and Annick, R. (2000). Chemical Analysis: Modern Instrumentation Methods and Techniques, 4th Edition, John Willey ans Sons Ltd. Chichester, 170-177.
[20] Omolola, K. M. and Onoja, A. D. (2009). Elemental Analysis of Rice Hursk Ash using X-ray Fluorescence Technique. International Journal of Physical Sciences, 4 (4): 190-191.
[21] Omoniyi, T. E. and Olorunnisola, A. O. (2014), Experimental Characterization of Bagasse Biomass Material for Energy Production. IJET International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 4 (10): 582-589.
[22] Dongmin An, Yupeng Guo, Yanchao Zhu and Zichen Wang, (2010). A Green Route to Preparation of Silica Powders with Rice Husk Ash and Waste Gas, Chemical Engineering Journal, 162: 509-514.
[23] Mahwish S, Masooma R, Hassan J. N, Sidra J and Amma A (2014). Synthesis of Precipitated Silica from Corn Cob using Organic Acid. Science Internationa l (Lahore), 27 (1): 265–267.
[24] Aznizam, A. B., Azman, M., and Mya, F. (2006). The Effect of Oil Extraction of the Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch on the Processability, Impact and Flexural Properties of PVC U-Composite, International Journal of Polymeric Materials 55 (9).
[25] Music S; Filipovic V and L. Sekvanic (2011). Preparation of Amorphous silica particles and their properties, Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 28 (1): 92-93.
[26] Napierska D., Thomassen, L. CJ., Lison, D., Martens, J. A., and Hoet, P. H. (2010). Review: The Nanosilica Hazard: Another Variable Entity. Particle and Fibre Toxicology, 7:39. http://www.particleandfibretoxicology.com/content/7/1/39
[27] Poulomi, Sarkar., SK., Abdul., M., Argha, D., Subhassis, R., and Sudip Kumar, D. (2017) . Experimental Investigation of Photocatalytic and Photovoltaic Activity of Titania/rice Husk Crystalline Nano silica Hybrid Composite. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 172: 93-98.
[28] Patcharin W, Wisaroot P and Akhapon M (2009). Characterization for Post Treatment of Bagasse Ash from Silica Extraction. World Academy of Science Engineering and Technology: International Journal of Chemical and Molecular Engineering, 3 (8): 398–400.
[29] Dominic C. D, Begum P. M S, Joseph R, Joseph D, Kumar P and Ayswarya E. P (2013). Synthesis, Characterization and Appilcation of Rice Husk Nanosilica in Natural Rubber. International Journal of Science, Environment and Technology, 2 (5): 1027-1035.
[30] Mahanraj K, S. Kannan, S. B., and Sivakumar, G. (2012). Preparation and Characterization of NanoSiO2 from Corn Cob Ash by Precipitation Method. Optoelectronic and Advanced Materials-Rapid Communication 6: 394-397.
[31] Vaibhav, V., Vijayalakshmi, U., and Roopan, S. M. (2014) Agricultural waste as a source for the production of silica nanoparticles, Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 139: 515-520.
[32] Khushbu G. Patel, Rakshith R. Shettigar, and Nirendra M. Misra (2017) Recent Advance in Silica Production Technologies from Agricultural Waste Stream– Review. Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies, 4 (3): 274-279.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Esther Nguumbur Iornumbe, Orseer Sarwuan, Raymond Ahulle Wuana. (2021). Extraction and Characterization of Biosilica from Raphia Africana Fruit Shells and Borassus aethiopum Leaves. American Journal of Applied Chemistry, 9(5), 138-144. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Esther Nguumbur Iornumbe; Orseer Sarwuan; Raymond Ahulle Wuana. Extraction and Characterization of Biosilica from Raphia Africana Fruit Shells and Borassus aethiopum Leaves. Am. J. Appl. Chem. 2021, 9(5), 138-144. doi: 10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Esther Nguumbur Iornumbe, Orseer Sarwuan, Raymond Ahulle Wuana. Extraction and Characterization of Biosilica from Raphia Africana Fruit Shells and Borassus aethiopum Leaves. Am J Appl Chem. 2021;9(5):138-144. doi: 10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13,
      author = {Esther Nguumbur Iornumbe and Orseer Sarwuan and Raymond Ahulle Wuana},
      title = {Extraction and Characterization of Biosilica from Raphia Africana Fruit Shells and Borassus aethiopum Leaves},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Chemistry},
      volume = {9},
      number = {5},
      pages = {138-144},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajac.20210905.13},
      abstract = {Agricultural wastes which include leaves, shells, husk, stalks, bagasse and ash of plants are often residues of processing or growing of raw agricultural products [1]. These wastes may contain materials that are beneficial to man despite their contribution to environmental pollution. Increase in human population has led to increase in agricultural expansion with exponential increase in waste generation [2]. Converting these wastes to useful forms is of great significance. In this study, biosilica was extracted from the ash of Borassus aethiopum leaves (BALA) and Raphia africana fruit shells (RASA) using precipitation method. The ashes obtained were characterized using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) were used to characterize the extracted silica. Morphology of the extracted biosilica using SEM revealed fine globules of various sizes formed from aggregates of biosilica at different magnifications: 150x, 500x and 1000x. FTIR spectra of the extracted biosilica revealed the presence of hydroxyl (OH), silanol (Si-O-H) and siloxane (Si-O-Si) functional groups recorded at absorption bands: 3395.6, 1636.3 and 1062.3 cm-1 respectively for BALA and 3388.2, 1640.0 and 1058.6 cm-1 respectively for RASA. XRF of the extracted biosilica showed two major peaks which correspond to the presence of silicon and oxygen atoms respectively. Percentage extraction of biosilica from the two precursors was between 70-90%. AAS result revealed that BALA had biosilica 67% while RASA showed 82% biosilica content. This study revealed that the leaves of BALA and fruit shells of RASA are good sources of silica and as such, converting waste to wealth thereby reducing green-house gases like CO2 released into the atmosphere when left to decompose naturally.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Extraction and Characterization of Biosilica from Raphia Africana Fruit Shells and Borassus aethiopum Leaves
    AU  - Esther Nguumbur Iornumbe
    AU  - Orseer Sarwuan
    AU  - Raymond Ahulle Wuana
    Y1  - 2021/09/23
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Chemistry
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Chemistry
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Chemistry
    SP  - 138
    EP  - 144
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8745
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajac.20210905.13
    AB  - Agricultural wastes which include leaves, shells, husk, stalks, bagasse and ash of plants are often residues of processing or growing of raw agricultural products [1]. These wastes may contain materials that are beneficial to man despite their contribution to environmental pollution. Increase in human population has led to increase in agricultural expansion with exponential increase in waste generation [2]. Converting these wastes to useful forms is of great significance. In this study, biosilica was extracted from the ash of Borassus aethiopum leaves (BALA) and Raphia africana fruit shells (RASA) using precipitation method. The ashes obtained were characterized using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) were used to characterize the extracted silica. Morphology of the extracted biosilica using SEM revealed fine globules of various sizes formed from aggregates of biosilica at different magnifications: 150x, 500x and 1000x. FTIR spectra of the extracted biosilica revealed the presence of hydroxyl (OH), silanol (Si-O-H) and siloxane (Si-O-Si) functional groups recorded at absorption bands: 3395.6, 1636.3 and 1062.3 cm-1 respectively for BALA and 3388.2, 1640.0 and 1058.6 cm-1 respectively for RASA. XRF of the extracted biosilica showed two major peaks which correspond to the presence of silicon and oxygen atoms respectively. Percentage extraction of biosilica from the two precursors was between 70-90%. AAS result revealed that BALA had biosilica 67% while RASA showed 82% biosilica content. This study revealed that the leaves of BALA and fruit shells of RASA are good sources of silica and as such, converting waste to wealth thereby reducing green-house gases like CO2 released into the atmosphere when left to decompose naturally.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Chemistry, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemistry, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemistry, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria

  • Sections