Innovative Adsorbent Materials for Efficient Silicon Extraction from Industrial Waters: A review

Authors

  • M. Kylyshkanov Kazakh British Technical University
  • N. Gerassyova LLC Deep Core Analytics
  • R. Sharipov Kazakh British Technical University
  • A. Kuanysh Kazakh British Technical University
  • G. Maldybayev Kazakh British Technical University
  • El-Sayed Negim Kazakh British Technical University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4370-8995
  • O. Baigenzhenov Mining and Metallurgical Institute named after O.A. Baikonurov, Satbayev Unversity
  • L. Bekbayeva Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
  • Khaldun Al Azzam The University of Jordan
  • U. Balgimbayeva Kazakh British Technical University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31643/2027/6445.22

Keywords:

silica, industrial, wastewater, treatment, adsorption.

Abstract

Silica fouling reduces the effectiveness and durability of membrane-based treatment systems, and silicon contamination in industrial water streams poses ongoing operational issues. With an emphasis on their processes, drawbacks, and applicability for various silica species, this article provides a comparative examination of the main silica removal technologies: ion exchange, reverse osmosis (RO), ultrafiltration (UF), electrocoagulation (EC), adsorption, and lime softening. Although they need a significant amount of chemical input and pH control, lime softening and ion exchange are efficient for dissolved silica. RO requires thorough preparation and offers broad-spectrum separation, although it is susceptible to silica scaling. While UF works well with colloidal and particulate silica, it is unsuccessful with monomeric forms. EC achieves excellent removal rates with less sludge by combining electrochemical destabilisation and crystallisation. Adsorption provides variable selectivity, low energy consumption, and compatibility with membrane systems, especially when employing tailored materials like activated alumina, iron oxide-coated media, and functionalised hybrids. In addition to outlining important techno-economic considerations for scaling up silica extraction methods in intricate industrial water matrices, the paper highlights new developments in adsorbent design, such as surface modification, hierarchical porosity, and regeneration techniques.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

M. Kylyshkanov, Kazakh British Technical University

Doctor of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technologies, Kazakh British Technical University, St. Tole bi, 59, 050000, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan. 

N. Gerassyova, LLC Deep Core Analytics

Doctoral student, LLC Deep Core Analytics, al-Farabi av., 17/1 b5B, 050059, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

R. Sharipov, Kazakh British Technical University

PhD, Assistant Professor, Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technologies, Kazakh British Technical University, St. Tole bi, 59, 050000, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

A. Kuanysh, Kazakh British Technical University

Master student, Department of science and innovation, Kazakh British Technical University, St. Tole bi, 59, 050000, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

G. Maldybayev, Kazakh British Technical University

PhD, Associate Professor, Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technologies, Kazakh British Technical University, St. Tole bi, 59, 050000, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

El-Sayed Negim, Kazakh British Technical University

PhD, Professor, School of Materials Science and Green Technologies, Kazakh British Technical University, St. Tole bi, 59, 050000, Almaty, Kazakhstan. 

O. Baigenzhenov, Mining and Metallurgical Institute named after O.A. Baikonurov, Satbayev Unversity

PhD, Professor, Mining and Metallurgical Institute named after O.A. Baikonurov, Satbayev Unversity 22 Satbaev str.,050013, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

L. Bekbayeva, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

PhD, Associate Professor, National Nanotechnology Open Laboratory, Al-Faraby Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi av., 050040, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Khaldun Al Azzam, The University of Jordan

PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Jordan, 11942, Amman, Jordan.

U. Balgimbayeva, Kazakh British Technical University

Doctoral student, School of Applied of Mathematics, Kazakh British Technical University, St. Tole bi, 59, 050000, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

References

Teng W, Liu S, Zhang X, Zhang F, Yang X, Xu M, Hou J. Reliability Treatment of Silicon in Oilfield Wastewater by Electrocoagulation. Water. 2023; 15:206. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15010206

Wang XJ, Goual L, Colberg PJS. Characterization and treatment of dissolved organic matter from oilfield produced waters. J. Hazard. Mater. 2012; 217:164–170.

Fu F, Wang Q. Removal of heavy metal ions from wastewaters: A review. J. Environ. Manage. 2011; 92:407-418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.11.011

Hubicki Z, Kolodynska D. Selective Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Waters and Waste Waters Using Ion Exchange Methods. Ion Exch. Technol. 2012, 193-240. https://doi.org/10.5772/51040

Ghosh P, Samanta AN, Ray S. Reduction of COD and removal of Zn2+ from rayon industry wastewater by combined electro-Fenton treatment and chemical precipitation. Desalination. 2011; 2661(3):213-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2010.08.029

Liu Q, Li Y, Chen H, et al. Superior adsorption capacity of functionalised straw adsorbent for dyes and heavy-metal ions. J. Hazard. Mater. 2020, 382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121040

Asere TG, Stevens CV, Du Laing G. Use of (modified) natural adsorbents for arsenic remediation: a review. Sci. Total Environ. 2019; 676:706-720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.237

Xu H, Zhu S, Xia M, et al. Rapid and efficient removal of diclofenac sodium from aqueous solution via ternary core-shell CS@ PANI@ LDH composite: experimental and adsorption mechanism study. J. Hazard. Mater. 2021, 402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123815

Xu H, Zhu S, Xia M, et al. Three-dimension hierarchical composite via in-situ growth of Zn/Al layered double hydroxide plates onto polyaniline-wrapped carbon sphere for efficient naproxen removal. J. Hazard. Mater. 2022, 423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127192

Xu Y, Zhang Q, Jiang G, et al. Activated Carbon Loaded with Ti3+ Self-Doped TiO2 Composite Material Prepared by Microwave Method. J. of Materi Eng and Perform. 2022; 31:2810–2822. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-06421-9

Khan ZH, Gao M, Qiu W, et al. Mechanisms for cadmium adsorption by magnetic biochar composites in an aqueous solution. Chemosphere. 2020; 246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125701

Khan A, Naeem A, Mahmood T, et al. Mechanistic study on methyl orange and congo red adsorption onto polyvinyl pyrrolidone modified magnesium oxide. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2022; 19(4):2515-2528. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03308-z

Barakat M A. New trends in removing heavy metals from industrial wastewater. Arabian Journal of Chemistry. 2011; 4(4):361-377

Guillaume Hopsort, Quentin Cacciuttolo, David Pasquier. Electrodialysis as a key operating unit in chemical processes: From lab to pilot scale of latest breakthroughs. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2024; 494:153111.

Gmar S, Chagnes A, Lutin F, Muhr L. Application of Electrodialysis for the Selective Lithium Extraction Towards Cobalt, Nickel and Manganese from Leach Solutions Containing High Divalent Cations/li Ratio, Recycling. 2022; 7:14. https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling7020014

Zimmermann P, Tekinalp O, Deng L, Wilhelmsen Ø, Burheim OS. Electrodialysis for Removal of Impurities in Silver Electrowinning, Meet. Abstr. MA2023-01. 2023, 1608. https://doi.org/10.1149/ma2023-01241608mtgabs

Kumar Y, Khalangre A, Suhag R, Cassano A. Applications of Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration Membrane Process in Wine and Beer Industry. Membranes. 2025; 15:140. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15050140

Charcosset C. Ultrafiltration, Microfiltration, Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis in Integrated Membrane Processes. In Integrated Membrane Systems and Processes. Basile A, Charcosset C, Eds, Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA. 2016, 1-22. ISBN 978-1-118-73908-2.

Pati S, La Notte D, Clodoveo ML, Cicco G, Esti M. Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration Membranes for the Improvement of Must Quality. Eur. Food Res. Technol. 2014; 239:595–602.

Poonguzhali E, Fathima Aadilah Mohamed Ali, Ashish Kapoor, Prabhakar S. Performance of membrane assisted solvent extraction with homologous solvents for the removal and recovery of phenol, Desalination and Water Treatment. 2022; 251:64-78. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2022.28117

Poonguzhali E, Ashish Kapoor, Prabhakar S. Membrane assisted process intensification and optimization for removal and recovery of phenol from industrial effluents,Separation and Purification Technology. 2023; 319:124026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2023.124026

Sanika Bhokarikar, Poojitha P, Vijay Vaishampayan, Adithya Sridhar, Gurumoorthi P, Ashish Kapoor. Chapter Thirteen - Parameters affecting the efficiency of extraction systems in the food industries, Editor(s): Seid Mahdi Jafari, Sahar Akhavan-Mahdavi, In Unit Operation and Processing Equipment in the Food Industry. Extraction Processes in the Food Industry, Woodhead Publishing. 2024, 397-434. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819516-1.00010-7

Ming Li, Chuanying Liu, Anting Ding, Chengliang Xiao. A review on the extraction and recovery of critical metals using molten salt electrolysis. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 2023; 11(3):109746.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.109746

Yin T, Chen L, Xue Y, Zheng Y, Wang X, Yan Y, Zhang M, Wang G, Gao F, Qiu M. Electrochemical behavior and underpotential deposition of Sm on reactive electrodes (Al, Ni, Cu and Zn) in a LiCl-KCl melt. Int J. Min. Met. Mater. 2020; 27(12):1657–1665.

Yin T, Xue Y, Yan Y, Ma Z, Ma F, Zhang M, Wang G, Qiu M. Recovery and separation of rare earth elements by molten salt electrolysis, Int J. Min. Met. Mater. 2021; 28(6):899–914.

Roalson S R, Kweon J, Lawler D F, & Speitel G E, Jr. Enhanced Softening: Effects of Lime Dose and Chemical Additions. Journal AWWA. 2003; 95(11):97-109. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.2003.tb10496.x

Kailun Z, David P, Maryam J, Qingye L. Effect of MgO Slaking on Silica Removal during Warm Lime Softening of SAGD Produced Water. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 2021; 60(4):1839-1849. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.0c05484

Hermosilla D, Ordóñez R, Blanco L, de la Fuente E, and Blanco A. pH and Particle Structure Effects on Silica Removal by Coagulation. Chemical Engineering Tecnology. 2012; 35(9):1632–1640.

Alsayer IA. A Comparative Study of the Effect of Sodium Aluminate, Magnesium Oxide, and Calcium Hydroxide on the Concentration of Silicon Dioxide in RO Water Plants. Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan. 2025; 58(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/00219592.2025.2544885

Lunevich L. Aqueous Silica and Silica Polymerisation. IntechOpen. 2020. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84824

Bifa Shimelis, Abel Saka, Leta Tesfaye Jule, Bulcha Bekele, Mesfin Redi, Nagaprasad N, Esakkiraj ES, Stalin B, Krishnaraj Ramaswamy. Preparation of hydrated lime quality for water treatment: to reduce silica concentration from hydrated lime up to standard specification, Desalination and Water Treatment. 2022; 251:35-42. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2022.28089

Fathi Djouider, Essam Banoqitah, Abdulsalam Alhawsawi, Laboratory study of the silica removal in water by electro-Fenton method: Effect of operational parameters, Desalination and Water Treatment. 2024; 317:100118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dwt.2024.100118

Salvador Cob S, Hofs B, Maffezzoni C, Adamus J, Siegers WG, Cornelissen ER, Genceli Güner FE, Witkamp GJ. Silica removal to prevent silica scaling in reverse osmosis membranes, Desalination. 2014; 344:137-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.03.020

Park Y-M, Yeon K-N, Park C-H. Silica treatment technologies in reverse osmosis for industrial desalination: A review. Environmental Engineering Research. 2020; 25(6):819-829. https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2019.353

Shuqin B, Jue H, Niqi A, Ru Y, Wei D. Scaling and cleaning of silica scales on reverse osmosis membrane: Effective removal and degradation mechanisms utilizing gallic acid, Chemosphere. 2024% 352:141427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141427

Wenbin J, Xuesong X, David J, Lu L, Huiyao W, Pei X. Effectiveness and mechanisms of electromagnetic field on reverse osmosis membrane scaling control during brackish groundwater desalination, Separation and Purification Technology. 2022; 280:119823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2021.119823

Firdaous L, Dhulster P, Amiot J, Doyen A, Lutin F, Ve´zina L-P, Bazinet L. Investigation of the large-scale bioseparation of an antihypertensive peptide rom alfalfa white protein hydrolysate by an electromembrane process, J. Membr. Sci. 2010; 355:175–181.

Springer F, Laborie S, Guigui C. Removal of SiO2 nanoparticles from industry wastewaters and subsurface waters by ultrafiltration: Investigation of process efficiency, deposit properties and fouling mechanism, Separation and Purification Technology. 2013; 108:6-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2013.01.043

Cyril Roblet, Alain Doyen, Jean Amiot, Laurent Bazinet. Impact of pH on ultrafiltration membrane selectivity during electrodialysis with ultrafiltration membrane (EDUF) purification of soy peptides from a complex matrix. Journal of Membrane Science. 2013; 435:207-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2013.01.045

Sun Y, Zhang R, Sun C, Liu Z, Zhang J, Liang S, Wang X. Quantitative Assessment of Interfacial Interactions Governing Ultrafiltration Membrane Fouling by the Mixture of Silica Nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) and Natural Organic Matter (NOM): Effects of Solution Chemistry. Membranes. 2023; 13:449. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13040449

Yangbo Q, Stef D, Long-Fei R, Changmei Z, Chao W, Jiahui S, Lei X, Yan Z, Bart VdB. Progress of Ultrafiltration-Based Technology in Ion Removal and Recovery: Enhanced Membranes and Integrated Processes. ACS EST Water. 2023; 3(7):1702–1719. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.2c00625

Samin H, Ali N. Enhanced water flux through ultrafiltration polysulfone membrane via addition-removal of silica nano-particles: Synthesis and characterization J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016; 133:43556. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.43556

Shemer H, Melki-Dabush N, & Semiat R. Removal of silica from brackish water by integrated adsorption/ultrafiltration process. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2019; 26:31623–31631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06363-9

Mroczek EK, Graham D, Bacon L. Removal of arsenic and silica from geothermal fluid by electrocoagulation, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 2019; 7(4):103232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2019.103232

Teng W, Liu S, Zhang X, Zhang F, Yang X, Xu M, & Hou J. Reliability Treatment of Silicon in Oilfield Wastewater by Electrocoagulation. Water. 2023; 15(1):206. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15010206

Pranjal P Das, Mukesh Sharma, Mihir K Purkait. Recent progress on electrocoagulation process for wastewater treatment: A review, Separation and Purification Technology. 2022; 292:121058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2022.121058

Héline C, Anh L-TP. Effective removal of silica and sulfide from oil sands thermal in-situ produced water by electrocoagulation. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2019; 380:120880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.120880

Mudasar M, Nael Y, Behzad F-H, Edward PLR. Influence of operating conditions on the removal of silica and hardness by continuous electrocoagulation. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 2022; 10(6):108899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2022.108899

Minghui L, Shuang M, Xi W, Mingmei W, Yutong Z, Zhanpeng Y, Erqiang W, Hui Z Tianyan X. Effective removal of dissolved silica from white carbon black wastewater by iron electrode electrocoagulation: Process optimization and simulation. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 2022; 47:102812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2022.102812

Xin Z, Mengjia L, Mohd AMI, Cameron Crombie, Veeriah Jegatheesan. Performance of precipitation and electrocoagulation as pretreatment of silica removal in brackish water and seawater,Process Safety and Environmental Protection. 2019; 126:18-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2019.03.024

Isabel L, Ruben M, Rosa C, Angeles B. Efficiency of polyaluminum nitrate sulfate–polyamine hybrid coagulants for silica removal. Desalination and Water Treatment. 2016; 57(38):17973-17984. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2015.1091992

Iván EV-M, Alejandra M-D, Sara P-C, Silvia LG-S. Electrocoagulation to Remove Silica from Cooling Towers Water. Tecnologia Y Ciencias Del Agua. 2014; 5(3):41-51.

Miranda R, Latour I, & Blanco A. Silica Removal from a Paper Mill Effluent by Adsorption on Pseudoboehmite and γ-Al2O3. Water. 2021; 13(15):2031. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152031

Salvador Cob S, Yeme C, Hofs B, Cornelissen ER, Vries D, Gencelli Güner FE, Witkamp GJ. Towards zero liquid discharge in the presence of silica: Stable 98% recovery in nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2015; 140:23–31.

Sasan K, Brady PV, Krumhansl JL, Nenoff TM. Exceptional selectivity for dissolved silicas in industrial waters using mixed oxides. J. Water Process. Eng. 2017; 20:187–192.

Minehiko S, Ngan PTT, Takaomi K. Mesoporous γ-AlOOH as an adsorbent for silica removal from aqueous solutions. Desalination and Water Treatment. 2024; 317:100084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dwt.2024.100084

Andrea AA-H, Virginia H-M, Rigoberto T-G, María AP-C, Miguel A M-M, Norma A Rangel-Vázquez, Francisco J. Cervantes, Water reclamation from anodizing wastewaters by removing reactive silica with adsorption and precipitation methods. Journal of Environmental Management. 2023; 326(A):116683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116683

Gulcihan GK, Elena A, Huseyin D, Ramón M-M. Low-cost silica xerogels as potential adsorbents for ciprofloxacin removal. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 2021; 22:100483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2021.100483

Shakeel Z, Nisar A, Zarshad A, Muhammad B, Bushra A, Sajjad H, Saima G, Farman A, Rashid A, Sabir K, Hafiz MNI. Silica-based nanomaterials as designer adsorbents to mitigate emerging organic contaminants from water matrices. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 2020; 38:101675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101675

Ismail A, Ali SA, Saheed G, Nadeem B, Billel S, Sohaib A. Facile engineering of mesoporous silica for the effective removal of anionic dyes from wastewater: Insights from DFT and experimental studies. Heliyon. 2023; 9(11):e21356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21356

Maldybayev G, Shayakhmetova R, Nurzhanova S, Sharipov R, Negim E-S, Alimzhanova A, Osipov P, Mukhametzhanova A, Usman A. Synthesis of Chemical Adsorbents for Purification of Heavy Oil Residues. International Journal of Technology. 2024; 15(3):792-802.

Shuxuan C, Shuqin B, Ru Y, Cong D, Wei D. Continuous silicic acid removal in a fixed-bed column using a modified resin: Experiment investigation and artificial neural network modeling. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 2022; 49:102937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2022.102937

Toni SH, Tonni AK, Mika ETS. Removal of silicon from pulping whitewater using integrated treatment of chemical precipitation and evaporation. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2010; 158(3):584-592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2010.01.058

Betz LD, Noll CA, Maguire JJ. Adsorption Process for Removal of Soluble Silica From Water. Journal of Fluids Engineering. 63(8):713-720. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4019615

Guan YF, Marcos-Hernández M, Lu X, Cheng W, Yu HQ, Elimelech M, Villagrán D. Silica Removal Using Magnetic Iron-Aluminum Hybrid Nanomaterials: Measurements, Adsorption Mechanisms, and Implications for Silica Scaling in Reverse Osmosis. Environ Sci Technol. 2019; 53(22):13302-13311. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b02883

Baca Ehren D. Comprehensive Silica Removal with Ferric Compounds for Industrial Wastewater Reuse. Master thesis. 2017. https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ce_etds/176

Downloads

Published

2025-11-26

How to Cite

Kylyshkanov, M., Gerassyova, N., Sharipov, R., Kuanysh, A., Maldybayev, G., Negim, E.-S., Baigenzhenov, O., Bekbayeva, L., Al Azzam, K., & Balgimbayeva, U. (2025). Innovative Adsorbent Materials for Efficient Silicon Extraction from Industrial Waters: A review. Kompleksnoe Ispolzovanie Mineralnogo Syra = Complex Use of Mineral Resources, 341(2), 105–116. https://doi.org/10.31643/2027/6445.22