Precipitated Silica: New Preparing Technology and Application on Camellia Oil Refining

The silica particles were prepared by chemical precipitation method using silicon tetrachloride and sodium silicate as silica precursor. The amino-functionalized silica particles were obtained via surface (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) modification. Samples including silica and amino-functionalized silica were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Amino-modified silica particles were used to extract free fatty acid from camellia oil based on the reaction between amino groups and carboxyl groups. Extraction conditions were studied through the change of acid value of the camellia oil. The results demonstrated that amino-modified silica particles could react with free fatty acid in camellia oil, which can serve the purpose of decreasing acid value and improve the quality of camellia oil.