Journal of Bioprocessing & Biotechniques

Cecília Volkmer-Ribeiro

Publications

• Research Article
  Extraction of High Purity Silica from Amazonian Sponges
  Author(s): Iuri Bezerra de Barros, Cecília Volkmer-Ribeiro, Valdir Florêncio da Veiga Junior and Cláudia Cândida SilvaIuri Bezerra de Barros, Cecília Volkmer-Ribeiro, Valdir Florêncio da Veiga Junior and Cláudia Cândida Silva
  
  Silica has a variety of uses, including functioning as a catalytic support and utility in drug delivery systems. It is traditionally obtained from mineral sources through costly extraction processes, which has led to a search for alternative sources. One of the main features of freshwater sponges is that they contain spicules composed mainly of amorphous silica. The species Metania reticulata is found in the Negro river (Amazonas, Brazil) in great abundance, reaching volumes above 3 dm3. Different purification processes employing oxidizing solutions and subsequent heat treatment are proposed in order to extract high purity silica from freshwater sponges. With these processes, it was possible to obtain high purity (99.92%) amorphous silicon at a concentration higher than silica commercially used for column chromatography (99.71%) support.. Read More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2155-9821.1000276

  Abstract PDF