Characterization of a Treated Palm Oil Fuel Ash

Abstract

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) has been known to possess a pozzolanic property. The abundance of POFA as an agricultural waste makes it a promising candidate to be used as a supplementary cementations material in palm oil producing countries. This paper presents structural analysis and surface morphology of a treated Palm oil fuel ash (POFA). The untreated POFA was grounded for 1.5 hours in a ball mill to reduce the particle size and to improve reactivity. It was then heated at a temperature of 600^οC for 1.5 hours in an electric furnace. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to observe the surface and internal structure of the POFA. The results among other things revealed that the POFA consists mainly of silica (SiO₂) with crystalline structure. Microscopic examination showed that the POFA has a porous cellular structure and consists of irregular-shaped particles. This study implies that POFA is a good candidate for various applications by ceramic industries.

Keywords: POFA, Morphology, SEM, XRD, XRF