STUDY OF TRANSFORMATION OF SODIUM SILICATE FROM AMORPHOUS TO CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE

Gradniki so poleg surfaktantov najpomembnejša sestavina pralnih praškov. Njihova vloga je mehčanje vode z izločanjem kalcijevih in magnezijevih ionov, ki povzročajo trdoto vode. Tako pripravijo okolje, potrebno za učinkovito delovanje surfaktantov, ker le-ti slabo delujejo v trdi vodi. Surfaktanti so ključni pri procesu pranja, saj zmanjšujejo površinsko napetost vode in omogočajo omočitev površine. Dandanes se v industriji pralnih praškov uporabljajo ekološko prijazni zeoliti v kombinaciji z drugimi gradniki. Razvoj pralnih sredstev gre v smeri uporabe vodnih stekel, natančneje natrijevega disilikata, ki se je izkazal kot multifunkcionalni gradnik za proizvodnjo kompaktnejšega detergenta in je poleg tega tudi biorazgradljiv material. V diplomskem delu smo se osredotočili na kapaciteto ionske izmenjave in fazne pretvorbe natrijevega disilikata. S kalciniranjem smo pridobili kristalinični natrijev disilikat, ki smo ga poimenovali plastni silikat Silkem (PSS). Proučili smo vpliv temperature in nasipne teže materiala na Ca- in Mg-kapaciteto. Kapaciteto smo povezali z nastankom posameznih faz, ki so jih pokazale analize rentgenske praškovne difrakcije.In addition to surfactants, builders are the main components of washing powders. Their role is to soften water by eliminating calcium and magnesium ions that cause water hardness. They prepare the environment necessary for the efficient operation of surfactants, which are functioning poorly in hard water. Surfactants have key role in the washing process, reducing the surface tension of water and allowing wetting of the surface. Nowadays, the washing powder formulations use ecologically friendly zeolites in combination with other builders. But the development of detergents leads to water glass, in particular sodium disilicate, which has proved to be a multifunctional builder for the production of compact detergent. Moreover, it is a biodegradable material. In the thesis, we focused on the ion exchange capacity and phase transitions of sodium disilicate. By calcination, we obtained crystalline sodium disilicate, which we called layered silicate Silkem (PSS). We have studied the temperature and bulk weight of the material on Ca- and Mg-capacity. Capacity was associated with the formation of particular phases, which were revealed by X-ray powder diffraction