Author(s)

G. Berkin

Abstract

Rice growing countries are having environmental problems eliminating large amounts of rice husks. rice husks are the by-product of rice paddy. Rice husks are burnt in the boilers for processing paddy. About 20 million tones of rice husk ash are produced annually. This is a great environmental threat causing damage to the land and the surrounding area in which it is dumped. Lots of ways are being thought of for disposing rice husk ash by recycling it into building materials. Rice husk ash consists of 95% silica and 5% metal ions (iron, aluminum, etc.) The particle size is 25 microns. This material is being used as a refractory brick as it has a good radiation absorption property. It has been used for insulation of molten metal in tundish and ladle in slab caster since it is an excellent insulator and as a pozzolana in the concrete. Silica is the major raw material in the glass composition. The glass industry obtains sand from sea coasts and riverbeds. This causes decline on the ecology of nektons and other organisms. Rice husk ash may be used instead of silica to prevent any sand erosion. In this research rice husk ash has been used instead of sand in the glass composition. The result is a gray colored ‘heat absorbing glass’. This study suggests that heat absorbing glass from rice husk ash helps stabilizing build environment and soil ecology by means of waste utilisation. Producing glass from this material helps to solve a number of environmental problems. Heat absorbing glass would enable better heat control in buildings and therefore this ecological synthesis would create a sustainable environment. Keywords: rice husk ash, heat absorbing glass, sand, silica, iron, aluminum, refractory, insulator, radiation, sustainable environment.

Keywords

rice husk ash, heat absorbing glass, sand, silica, iron, aluminum, refractory, insulator, radiation, sustainable environment.