Ethylene Scavenger from Brick Ash: A Sustainable Alternative

Most commercially available ethylene scavengers are based on potassium permanganate (KMnO4) which have limitations due to food safety issues. In the present study, an industrial byproduct brick ash that has a significant capacity to adsorb ethylene at room temperature is reported. The material is subjected to thermal treatment for activation and subsequently characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size and surface analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy studies, and elemental composition analysis. A significant change was observed in the surface morphology of brick ash obtained from SEM and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis wherein the surface of brick ash became highly porous after being activated at 1000 °C. This was accompanied by reduction in the average particle size of brick ash to