THE EFFECT OF ULTRASONIC AND MICROWAVE-ASSISTED AGING ON THE SYNTHESIS OF ZEOLITE P FROM IRANIAN PERLITE USING BOX-BEHNKEN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

The synthesis of zeolite P under static hydrothermal conditions was performed with the synthesis mixture being treated by ultrasonic and microwave-assisted aging process prior to the onset of crystallization using perlite as silica and alumina sources. A statistical Box-Behnken design of experiments was employed to evaluate the effects of the synthetic process variables. The optimum condition for maximum zeolite crystallinity (97%) was obtained as microwave-assisted aging, 55min aging time, and 4h hydrothermal crystallization time from the statistical analysis of the experimental results. Also, the results showed that the synthesized zeolite formation time was drastically reduced in the case of the synthesis of zeolite P by microwave-assisted aging. The average pore diameter of synthesized zeolite P was increased 3nm using ultrasonic-assisted aging, and the surface area of the product was three and one-half times that obtained using both ultrasonic and microwave-assisted aging.