On the Possibility of Using Silicon Dioxide Obtained from Mineral Raw Materials as an Enterosorbent

Samples of amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO₂) are obtained by acidic decomposition of mineral raw materials (nepheline). The physicochemical and structural surface properties of the samples are studied using chemical and granulometric analyses and the BET and BJH methods. It is established that the obtained SiO₂ samples are almost identical to pyrogenic amorphous silicon dioxide obtained from reactive raw materials (pharmaceutical remedy Polysorb MP) in impurity content and have higher specific external surface area (by a factor of 1.1–1.9) and specific pore volume (by factor of about 1.4) compared to Polysorb MP. An economic assessment of their production cost is performed, which shows that the cost of silicon dioxide obtained by the developed technologies is more than two times lower than the cost of commercial pyrogenic silicon dioxide that is present in the market. Based on the obtained results, we discuss the prospects of using silicon dioxide obtained on the basis of acidic treatment of mineral raw materials as an enterosorbent in therapeutic practice.