Ruel J. Arila, Jr.

Essay 1

For my undregraduate studies, my colleagues and I have conducted the study entitled
Synthesis of zinc from sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) bagasse ash as a possible
corrosion inhibitor for galvanized iron sheets. This study was conducted with the objective to
produce and characterize zinc silicate extracted from locally available agricultural waste,
which in this study is in the form of sugar cane bagasse. The ability of the synthesized zinc
silicate as a corrosion inhibitor in galvanized iron sheets was tested and analyzed.

Zinc silicate is a compound commonly found in used used in everyday materials, primarily
used in the corrosion of control for steel and iron, especially in marine environments. The
Philippines, however, currently does not have industrial production of zinc silicate primarily
because of three reasons: (1) the equipment needed for the synthesis of zinc silicate is
expensive, (2) current production methods are done require relatively high temperatures
ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 °C, and (3) the raw material zinc silicate used for its production
are not synthesized within the country.

One of the materials where zinc silicate coatings are used are galvanized iron sheets,
which is the primary roofing material in the Philippines. Despite the presence of a passivating
zinc coating, corrosion may still occur in the iron sheet, making an additional layer of
protection necessary. This study was undertaken with this goal in mind: to find a viable
process of zinc silicate production for corrosion inhibition in the country with cheaper raw
materials, cheaper equipment, and lower synthesis temperatures.

Silica, a raw material for the production of zinc silicate, is a compound commonly found in
nature as quartz as well as in siliceous plants such as sugarcane. As an agricultural country,
the Philippines is a major producer of these aforementioned crops as well as their agricultural
waste, which in the case of sugar cane comes in the form of bagasse ash. This study focused
on the possibility of the use of sugar cane bagasse as a raw material for the local production
of zinc silicate.

This study was conducted in the Chemical Engineering Laboratory of Ateneo de Davao
University using locally sourced sugar cane bagasse. The bagasse was washed with water
and ethanol and was treated with hydrochloric acid to remove iron and aluminum impurities.
The pretreated sugar cane bagasse was burnt at 600° C to produce amorphous silicon
dioxide. The silicon dioxide was processed with synthesized zinc hydroxide to produce zinc
silicate, which was afterward annealed at 1,000 °C, which was significantly lower than current
industrial processing temperatures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
characterization of the samples of amorphous silicon dioxide and zinc silicate confirmed that
said compounds were produced during the process.

To determine the corrosion inhibition properties of zinc silicate, 0.5% zinc silicate paint
was made using the produced zinc silicate and latex paint through constant stirring. The zinc
silicate paint was applied to 1” by 2” galvanized iron strips and submerged at sulfuric acid
solution for seven days with pH levels simulating rainwater in Davao City and acid rain. The
solution pH were recorded daily and compared to data collected from uncoated galvanized
iron strips and galvanized iron strips coated with latex paint submerged in similar solutions.

Results have shown that the conversion of dried sugar cane bagasse to ash was 2.53%,
relatively lower to the other major agricultural source of silicon dioxide, rice hull. FTIR results
also showed that the produced silicon dioxide contained impurities due to the natural porosity
of sugar cane bagasse, but the FTIR results of zinc silicate showed that these impurities were
removed during the formation of zinc silicate.

Statistical analysis of data from corrosion testing showed that zinc silicate latex paint
coated galvanized iron sheets resisted corrosion more than both latex paint coated and
uncoated galvanized iron sheets in both the acid rain pH and Davao City average pH
solutions. Significant differences was observed in the final pH of the solutions after 7 days,
when the pH has flattened and stabilized due to the loss of corrosion, showing that the zinc
silicate latex paint coated galvanized iron sheets has the lowest pH and least corrosion. This
was also proven by optical microscopy, which has showed that GI sheets coated with latex
paint had brown discoloration due to rust formation, while zinc silicate latex paint coated GI
sheets did not.

The results have proven that zinc silicate can be synthesized from silicon dioxide derived
from sugar cane bagasse ash at lower temperatures than current industrial practices, which
might mean lower industrial costs in zinc silicate production. The use of other agricultural
silicon dioxide sources is highly recommended due to the low yield of sugar cane bagasse.
Other characterization methods such as energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning
electron microscopy were recommended to determine the purity and amorphousity of the
samples, respectively. Further corrosion testing methods were also suggested in future
studies, specifically the application in marine environments, where zinc silicate is primarily
used, as well as the use of non-pH based corrosion tests, primarily because of the interaction
of basic paint with the acidic solution.