Preparation of Calcium Oxide/Zeolite Nanocomposite and its Application to Improve the Quality of Patchouli Oil

The synthesis of CaO/zeolite nanocomposite as a highly active and effective adsorbent for patchouli oil purification has been developed. This research aims to improve the quality of patchouli oil by synthesizing CaO/zeolite nanocomposites using a solid-state mixing method. The used mass ratios of zeolite:CaO were 0:100, 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, 80:20 and 100:0 (w/w), then nanocomposites with various zeolite-to-CaO ratios were then calcined at various temperature of 300°C, 400°C and 500°C. The zeolite, CaO and nanocomposites were characterized by using the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and surface area analyzer (SAA). The nanocomposites were then applied to patchouli oil and the assessment results of physical and chemical properties of patchouli oil were determined according to Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 06-2385-2006. After patchouli oil purification using ZECA nanocomposite, the acid number decreased from 5.42 to 0.39 mg KOH/g oil, the patchouli alcohol (PA) content increased from 33.08 to 34.27% and the Fe level decreased from 1.39 to 0.31 ppm.