Inorganic oxides characteristics synthesized from natural limestone found in Aceh Province.

This study is focused on the utilization of the limestone from Aceh province, Indonesia, as a raw material for preparing inorganic oxide using a high thermal decomposition method. In this preliminary experiment, the limestone material was powdered, then calcined at a temperature of 900 °C for 4 hours under atmospheric pressure and modified with several concentrations of nickel element (1, 3, 5 wt%). The prepared catalyst was characterized using analytical instruments, namely X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Based on the diffractogram of XRD, it can be known that the prepared catalyst was dominated by CaO crystals, in which Al2O3 was a minor compound. Characterization of the prepared catalyst using SEM-EDS demonstrated that the catalyst has a homogeneous morphology and uniform particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]