Formation of porous wollastonite-based ceramics after sintering with yeast as the pore-forming agent

In this paper, synthesis of porous wollastonite-based ceramics was reported. Ceramic precursor, methylhydrocyclosiloxane, together with micro-sized CaCO3, was used as starting material. After 20 min of ultrasound treatment, and calcination at 250 oC for 30 min, yeast as a pore-forming agent was added to the as-obtained powders. Sintering regime was set up based on the results obtained by differential thermal analysis. Prepared mixture was pressed into pallets and sintered at 900 oC for 1 h. After the sintering regime, porous wollastonite-based ceramics was obtained. The phase composition of the sintered samples as well as microstructures was analyzed by X-ray diffraction method and SEM. In a batch test, the influence of pH, contact time and initial ion concentration on adsorption efficiency of As+5, Cr+6, and phosphate ions on synthesized wollastonite-based ceramics were studied. Time-dependent adsorption was best described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Weber-Morris model that predicted intra-particle diffusion as a rate-controlling step of overall process. High adsorption capacities 39.97, 21.87, and 15.29 mgg-1 were obtained for As+5, Cr+6, and phosphate ions, respectively.