Zeolite Synthesis Strategies from Coal Fly Ash: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

The ever increasing energy demand in developing world will result in sustainable increase in the fly ash generation, which will remain a cause of concern as far as its management is concerned. However, technological advance may prove to be effective in fly ash management as well as its possible utilization through the zeolites. The zeolites are known to possess many beneficial properties (such as ion-exchange property), however, its cost effective production using fly ash as a raw material has still not been standardized. In view of this, the present study (literature review) was carried out to understand the evolution of zeolite synthesis strategies adopted by different researchers. The literature clearly indicates that zeolite synthesis depends on physico-chemical properties of the raw material as well as reaction mixture. However, it also suggests that the current state of knowledge can be readily used for further advancement of the zeolite synthesis processes on commercial level using fly ash as the primary source of raw material.