Investigations on the Pozzolanic Properties of Residual Rice Husk Ash

Abstract

Rice husk, an abundantly available agricultural waste from paddy industry, is popularly used in rice mills as fuel for parboiling operations. Potential of rice husk ash produced under controlled incinerations of rice husk as a supplementary cementing material is well proven by many researches. The residual ash from rice husk after utilizing its fuel value is considered as a waste material and it generally faces environmental issues on disposal. This paper investigates the potential of residual rice husk ash collected from a rice mill where rice husk is using as fuel. Chemical composition and specific surface area of the samples were evaluated to assess pozzolanicity. XRD and SEM analyses were conducted to check the transition of amorphous form to crystalline form and surface topography. The tests results on lime reactivity and electrical conductivity confirm the pozzolanicity of residual rice husk ash without significant reduction compared to the ash prepared under controlled burnt conditions.