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My 40 Gr Sample

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This post is to entry #suesas-sciencechallenge

One Day, I return my Lab to finish my Observation, i putted my sample that i have sieved with 80 Mesh under my table. I took a Journal Then i read how to work, for the first run, i take my sample 40 gr of bagasse, I should mix my Sample 1:1:10 (Bagasse : NaOH : H2O) and boil it at 100C with magnet stirrer, after heating 2 hours the solution has not formed as sol, i was confuse, i think i was make a mistake, so, some Initiative come to my head, maybe i should increase temperature, why ? cause temperature could affect reaction speed, then i increase heating temperature till 120C, after 30 minutes, The solution begin to be some sol, i saw the magnet stirrer inside was rotate slowly. The sol-gel was formed. 

Below The Pict Before Heating

White Solution (NaOH)

After Heating and Be as Sol Gel

This is the sol-gel, to get the silica, we must take the liquid from the sol-gel separation result, partly from the preliminary research, they take sol-gel (Black Sol) which then the drying, so they say sol-gel, The Xerogel is not From Drying Sol-gel (Blcak Powder), The Xerogel is Come From Sol Sodium Silicate (the Yellow Liquid).I squeezed the sol-silicate solution without gloves, after 2 minutes all my fingers seemed be bitten by a wasp.

Bellow is some of their reference who have take sol-gel and dry it. they said Xerogell is black powder. i done with this once, for the first run, 40 gr of my sample useless and couldnt find result. (error silica gel)

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/257031499_fig1_Fig-1-Flow-diagram-of-Sol-Gel-method-used-to-synthesize-single-phasic-nanostructured

After i ran second sample, i take a filtrate from sol-gel, it Sol Sodium Silicate, Then i dry in oven to evaporate water with 105C. after 1 hour,  all water evaporated. it look like as a dry Glucose, 

I react dry sodium silicate with a variety of acid, I seem a steam out from a glass. after 15 minutes waiting, i dont see any changes. the day almost dark, then i go home. 

after tow days, i come back to my lab, i saw a Green Gel in The glass. i have been successful on my observation. the Silica Gell was formed in my Glass. 

The silica gel look before i go home , After 2 days i left it, i come back my Labs

Next step is dry it in oven to evaporate liquid compounded by Silica Gell, when was dry it look like Swiftlet nest.

Then we have to react it with 10% HCl and heating at 100C. after view minutes the silica particle appears i the glass. to analyst silica content, we have to use silico molybdate as reagent, but if we dont find it, we can also use ammonium molybdate, 

Silica granules such as sugar

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Conclusion 

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Silica Xerogell we got from drying of silica gel, and Silica gel made from filtrate of Sol-Gel named Sol Sodium Silicate (yellow liquid) , Not from drying of Sol Gel, I read some journal that they made silica gel from dry sol gel (Black Powder) i think this is unsuccessful method.

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