Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
fe9ba3ee-e831-4158-af1f-0799f50ca43a
Materials
Associated ID
985e9e71-b760-46f0-b82f-a48cf39ef826
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Active silica is widely used in fields such as food anti-caking agents, pharmaceutical carriers, water treatment, rubber and plastics; active silica is modelled as a pure substance; when modelling this substance the user needs to add a solvent of their choice in the model; the dataset contains the main raw and auxiliary materials, energy, waste and atmospheric emissions of the production process, and infrastructure such as the manufacture of production equipment and the construction of plant buildings is not included within the dataset boundary; the data inventory is formed by merging data from multiple sources; the production activities of this product include dissolution, ingredient filtration, reaction, filter-press washing, slurrying, drying and crushing.
Activity Description
The production activities of this product include dissolution, ingredient filtration, reaction, filter press washing, beating, drying, crushing and other processes.
Process Description
Activated silica chemical formula SiO2, CAS number 7631-86-9, is usually white, odorless, tasteless powder or granular form. It is a negatively charged colloidal particle with a rich microporous structure on the surface and a large specific surface area. It is insoluble in water, acid (except hydrofluoric acid) and most organic solvents. It is chemically stable, resistant to high temperatures and aging, and has strong adsorption properties, capable of absorbing moisture, odors and impurity ions. Its "activity" is mainly due to its special porous structure, and its adsorption capacity is much better than ordinary silica. It is widely used in the food industry (as an anti-caking agent to prevent milk powder and condiments from clumping), the pharmaceutical field (as a drug carrier and glidant), and the chemical industry (as a catalyst carrier and adsorbent to remove wastewater impurities). It can also be used to enhance material strength in the production of rubber and plastics, and as a filler in cosmetics to improve skin feel.
Time period
2020
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The acid precipitation method is the mainstream technology for the production of reactive silica, producing high specific surface area products through the precipitation reaction of sodium silicate and acid, and accounting for more than 75% of the domestic reactive silica market. This data set represents this mainstream technology: reactive silica is produced by partially neutralizing sodium silicate solution with sulfuric acid to generate precipitated silica. Specifically, all sodium silicate is dissolved, then raw materials are batched and filtered, after which concentrated sulfuric acid is added to initiate the synthesis reaction. The output is subjected to filter pressing and washing; once the washing requirements are met, the filter cake is slurried, and finally dried and pulverized to obtain the finished reactive silica product. The main chemical reaction equation involved is: Na2SiO3 + H2SO4 → SiO2 + Na2SO4 + H2O.