After biofuel, now use of rice husk as construction material might allow the eco-conservationists to raise brows over the acceptability of this unusual construction practice. Some would relate it to some stranger theories on greenhouse gas emissions and all. Sidelining all such admonitions, researchers at ChK Group, Inc. in Plano, Texas eye extracting SiO2 (Silicon Dioxide) out of rice kernels and utilizing it as building material since it’s one of the key constituents of concrete. The naysayers can put their apprehensions to rest for Rajan Vempati proposes that it’s perfectly possible to make almost carbon-free rice husk ash. The ash, thus produced, contributes to strength and corrosion-resistance of concrete.
A clean process involves lower emissions:
Well, the process includes heating husks to 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s done in an oxygen-free furnace wherein pure silica is left behind and the entire procedure account for lowest CO2 emissions possible. When compared to the custom concrete manufacturing that emits a ton of CO2 for a ton of cement production, the carbon-content of rice husk is relatively lower. This is how Vempati puts it:
The process emits some CO2, but it’s carbon neutral. Any that we emit goes back annually into the rice paddies.
Following testing and refining of the method, researchers hope to produce 15,000 tons of rice husk ash annually.
Via: Discovery