Silica is one of the significant inorganic compounds that is present in various plants in varying amounts, which makes the plant forage unusable as fodder for animal consumption and causes serious diseases such as silicosis, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Along with this, silica is not biodegradable, which leads to difficulties in degrading plant fodder. We purpose to treat plant waste, Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) in the presence of microwaves (frequency – 2.45GHz), can be used to provide a non-thermal source of energy. The motive behind using microwaves is to catalyse the endothermal reaction. The reaction process can be tweaked by manipulating the electric and magnetic field ratio (E:H). During the experiment, we found out that by decreasing the ratio (increasing the magnetic field strength), the kinetics of the chemical reaction increase, which speeds up the process. Thus, silica can be precipitated out in the form of Sodium Silicate (Na2SiO3).
Bhawana Sharma
Email – bhawna.sharma@chitkara.edu.in
Mobile – 9729503395