Valorization of agro-industrial waste through the extraction of silica for use in catalytic applications involved in CO2 capture
The objective of my recent doctoral research is to develop advanced silica materials from rice husk ash, a renewable and abundant agro-industrial waste. Using alkaline extraction chemical methods followed by sol-gel synthesis, the applied methodology allowed the production of nanometric silica with extraction yields above 90%. This silica was then used as a support material for the development of nickel-based catalysts applied in CO2 hydrogenation reactions.