Zinc Chloride Recovery for Synthesis of Porous Adsorbent from Lipid Condensate for Dye Removal

Abstract

Zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) is one of the most frequently used chemical activators for the synthesis of porous adsorbent. However, ZnCl₂ activator is constrained by the corrosive nature of zinc cations (Zn2+) and accumulation of chemical waste, posing a significant environmental concern. To address these issues, the potential of recycling the ZnCl₂ recovered from washing filtrate is explored as a resource utilization strategy. Lipid condensate, a by-product from the sterilization process in palm oil mill is proposed as a precursor for activation using the recovered ZnCl₂ washing filtrate. Preliminary insights suggest that the absorption performance of the absorbent produced with recovered ZnCl₂ may exhibit a comparable result to that prepared using fresh ZnCl₂. Nevertheless, further reuse of the activator beyond the first cycle of recovered ZnCl₂ may results in a significant decline of adsorption performance. This commentary highlights a practical approach for ZnCl₂ recovery aimed at reducing environmental burden while maximizing the utilization efficiency of ZnCl₂.