Preparation of diatomite-based porous ceramics and adsorption and degradation on malachite green

Taking diatomite as the main material, adjoining ultra-fine tourmaline and sintering additive (the mass ratio is 81:12:7), by using wet-superfine milling, half-dry pressing and low-temperature sintering, a new type of environmental material was obtained-diatomite-based porous ceramics. The material was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mercury injection apparatus and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effect of its structure and performance on adsorption and degradation of malachite green aqueous solution was investigated. The results indicate that the narrow pore-size distribution, high specific surface area and porosity of porous ceramics were 200 nm, 16.59 m2/g and 41% respectively. Using the prepared material, the decoloration conversion for malachite green aqueous solution can reach 90.8% in 5 h and be increased by 22.9% compared to diatomite-based porous ceramics of non-tourmaline using the same manufacturing technique.