CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study

Solid wastes could be defined as non-liquid and nongaseous products of human activities,
regarded as being useless. It could take the forms of refuse, garbage and sludge (Leton and
Omotosho, 2004). Cities in Nigeria, being among the fast growing cities in the world
(Onibokun and Kumuyi, 1996) are faced with the problem of solid waste generation. The
implication is serious when a country is growing rapidly and the wastes are not efficiently
managed. Waste generation scenario in Nigeria has been of great concern both globally and
locally. Of the different categories of wastes being generated, solid wastes had posed a hydra-
headed problem beyond the cope of various solid waste management systems in Nigeria
(Geoffrey, 2005)

One of the major contributors to the generatrion of solid waste is the pulp and paper industry,
in which waste known as paper sludge. On the average, 35% of the material entering pulp and
paper mills becomes residue in forms of rejects (Hanley, 1993). This waste includes such
material as wastewater sludge, woodyard waste, causticizing wastes (from Kraft mills), mill
trash, such as shipping materials, demolition debris, and ash from boilers (2). Sludge
composition depends on the characteristics of the raw materials used to generate these wastes
[1]. Generally, they consist of an organic fraction (cellulose fibers) and an inorganic fraction
(minerals, such as kaolin, calcite and titanium oxide).

During the manufacture of paper products, paper sludge is generated as an industrial waste.
Over 8 and 2 million tonnes in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively
(Tebbutt, 1995) (Barton et al., 1991). In the United States, for instance, the total arnount of
sludge produced has been estimated to have doubled over a 20 year period (Amberg 1988), a
global production has been predicted to rise in the future (Mabee and Roy, 2003).

Currently, the residue from pulp and paper mills is handled by the waste handling components
of the mill and is discharged to the air in the form of stack gases, to the water in the form of
treated effluent, and to the land in the form of solid waste and sludge. But Recently, concern
has risen over the amount and quality of future landfill space. Landfills are becoming difficult
to site and costly to construct and operate because of more stringent regulations, diminishing
land availability, and public opposition (Thacker, 1995).
In order to reduce the volume of these wastes and because of their high organic matter content,
they are usually dried, incinerated and used for soil improvement purposes or are disposed of
in landfills [Kikuchi 2001]. However, several valorization options have also been investigated,
such as the use of paper sludge ashes as aggregate in the building industry [Garcia 2010]. Paper
sludge can also be used in manufacturing of adsorbent materials. In this case, organic material
can be transformed to activated carbon through calcination and inorganic matter can be
transformed into gehlenite, anorthite, and zeolites [Wajima,, 2004 Okada 2008].

Paper sludge ash contains amorphous and crystalline phases formed by incineration, and is
comparable to volcanic ash. To taclek pollu Accordingly, the ash can be converted into zeolites
[9,10].

Zeolites are a group of over 40 crystalline, hydrated aluminosilicate minerals with structures
based on a three-dimensional network of (Al, Si)O4 tetrahedra that contain exchangeable alkali
or alkaline earth cations [8]. Zeolites occur in natural deposits, generally associated with the
alteration of glassy volcanic rocks, or are synthesized from a wide variety of high-Si and Al
starting materials.

Environmentally, zeolites are friendly chemicals. Zeolites replace phosphates in detergents,

significantly reducing water pollution globally. Zeolites have acidic properties and can replace
more toxic acids in some commercial applications. They can also absorb harmful atmospheric
gases such as gases from automobile exhaust. In water treatment, zeolites can remove harmful
organics as well as heavy metal ions

The use of zeolites in environmental applications is gaining new research interests because of
their unique properties. Numerous studies have been done on the use of zeolites to remove
heavy metals. Heavy metals in waste water have emerged as the focus of environmental
remedial efforts due to their toxicity and threat to human life (Scott et al 2001).

1.2. Statement of the problem

The generation of papermill sludge poses a global problem that will continue to grow as
industrialization continues. Trends in papemaking, recycling, and consumer demand are
changing the characteristics of sludge, while an increasing awareness of the environment is
making it more difficult to dispose of this material. In order to truly understand the scope of
this problem, it is necessary to consider the world as a whole. Economic costs of disposa1 vary
between countrïes, but it is postulated that the environmental cost remains the same. Thus, the
study will address the issues of papemaking and recycling in ternis of total sludge generation,
the amount of woody organic material generated within the sludge matrix, and the amount of
woody organic carbon contained within the sludge matrix. The overall goal of the research is
to describe the role that sludge plays in the carbon budget of the pulp and paper industry.

1.3. Aim and objectives of the study

1.3.1 Aim

The aim of this project is to synthesize zeolites from paper sludge.

1.3.2 Objectives

1. To Identifiy the crystalline and mineralogical phases of silicon and aluminium in the
zeolite.
2. To compare the zeolite obtained from paper sludge with zeolites obtained using other
raw material.

1.4 Significance of the study

The use of sludge generated from paper industry in the synthesis of zeolite will result in a
reduction of the pollution associated to these residues.

Synthetic zeolites can be used as adsorbents or substitute for sodium tri-polyphosphate, the
traditional water-softening agent in detergents (Rege and Yang, 1997; Eken-Saraçoǧlu and
Çulfaz, 1999).

However, their preparation from chemical sources of silica and alumina is expensive and,
therefore, their use in environmental remediation is restricted due to prohibitive costs, which
can be overcome by seeking cheaper raw materials for zeolite synthesis. Add this too statement

These include clay minerals, natural zeolites, volcanic glasses, diatomite, high silica bauxite
and oil shale. A Low-cost raw material, such as Paper sludge, has been used in this study as
starting materials in zeolite synthesis.
1.5 Scope of the study

R.M. Barrer, Zeolites and Clay Minerals as Sorbents and Molecular Sieves, Academic Press,
London, 1978.
] T. Henmi, A physico-chemical study of industrial solid wastes as renewable resource –
Zeolitization of coal clinker ash and paper sludge incineration ash – Memoir of the faculty of
Agriculture, Ehime University 33(2) (1989) 143-149 (in Japanese with English abstract).
[10] S.P. Mun, B.J. Ahn, Chemical conversion of paper sludge incineration ash into synthetic
zeolite, J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 7 (5) (2001) 292–298.