Recovery of Graphite from Industrial Waste by Sulphuric Leaching Method
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/rj.v23i1.43505Keywords:
Graphite, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, industrial waste, leachingAbstract
Limited availability of graphite and a complex purification process, posing challenges for the large-scale production of graphene. Graphite is one of the components in the resulting waste slag produced during steel-making. The content of graphite in industrial waste was determined, with a view to reuse waste slag as the raw material in the synthesis of graphene and graphene oxide by sulphuric leaching method. The leaching tests have been carried out with 20% of H2SO4 at room temperature and different stirring speed and time. Techniques used were X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopes coupled with Energy Disperse X-ray (SEM-EDX) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The average concentration of graphite in the waste before leaching was around 15%, with the yield of carbon recovered after leaching more than 50%. These results confirmed the ability to recover graphite from industrial waste.
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