Kaliophilite from fly ash: synthesis, characterization and stability

Kaliophilite was synthesized by fusion method using fly ash as starting material. In this method, at first, alkaline fusion of fly ash with KOH occurs, followed by hydrothermal treatment in KOH medium. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations revealed that the synthesized kaliophilite (S-KAL) was a plate-like crystal. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed three characteristic diffraction peaks located at 2 ϑ = 19·56°, 20·78° and 28·71°, respectively. The thermal analysis indicated that the S-KAL had remarkable thermal stability when heated to 1000°C. Leaching test confirmed the high retention rate of potassium for S-KAL in boiling water for 10 h.