Nanoflakes of chloride zinc-iron-aluminum-based layered double hydroxides obtained from industrial waste: a green approach to mass-scale production.

A greener technology aiming at a smarter industrial waste treatment is proposed to produce chloride iron-zinc-aluminum layered double hydroxides (LDHs). Waste Pickling Acid (WPA) and sodium aluminate (NaAlO) from secondary sources were meticulously mixed under mild experimental conditions using a sodium hydroxide solution as a pH-regulator. A set of characterization techniques (XRD, SEM, TGA, FTIR, AAS and adsorption-desorption of N) indicated the formation of highly-dispersed nanoflake crystallites with textural characteristics and thermal stability similar to syntheses with high-quality chemicals.