Rice husk ash

M. Y. Ahmad Fuad, Z. Ismail, Z.A. Mohd Ishak

and A.K. Mohd Omar

INTRODUCTION
The properties of plastics can be significantly modified by the incorpora-
tion of fillers. Rice husk ash (RHA) fillers are derived from rice husks,
which are usually regarded as agricultural waste and an environmental
hazard. Rice husk, when burnt in open air outside the rice mill, yields
two types of ash that can serve as fillers in plastics materials. The upper
layer of the RHA mound is subjected to open burning in air and yields
black carbonized ash. The inner layer of the mound being subjected to a
higher temperature profile results in the oxidation of the carbonized
ash to yield white ash that consists predominantly of silica.
Reports on the application of RHA as a filler material in thermoplastics
are believed to be quite limited [1]. Perhaps the earliest similar work on
such applications was the incorporation of rice husk flour into phenol-
formaldehyde resin. The use of RHA as a reinforcing agent for synthetic
and natural rubbers and as a replacement for carbon black in epoxidized
natural rubber has also been proposed [2]. The use of RHA to synthesize
zeolite, a type of catalyst, has been carried out, and the incorporation of
zeolites into polypropylene and nylon was patented by Canard et al. [3].
Early work on the treatment of rice husk was described in the United
States Patent, 3,574,816 [4]. The husk was roasted in a controlled condition
for less than 60 seconds and roasting occurred at a specified temperature,
i.e. between 600 to 800°C. The husk was roasted until it lost 30 to 70% of its
original weight. Severe roasting of the rice husk results in a weight loss of
more than 70% and will convert the organic siliceous material of the husk

G. Pritchard (ed.), Plastics Additives

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1998
562 Rice husk ash
Table 1 The chemical and physical properties of typical RHA fillers
Property WRHA BRHA

Chemical composition (%)

CaO 0.36 0.12
MgO 0.16 0.078
Fe203 0.041 0.022
K 20 0.69 0.95
Na20 0.034 0.018
Al2 0 3 0.Q25 0.023
P2 0 S 0.57 0.27
Si02 (silica) 96.20 53.88
Loss of ignition (LOl) 1.62 44.48

Physical properties
Particle size (~m) 6.6 19.5
Surface area (m2 / g) 1.4 26.8
Density (g/ cm3 ) 2.2 1.8

into an unreactive crystalline silica. On the other hand, moderate roasting

to give less than 30% weight loss gives a mixture of a carbonaceous
material and amorphous silica. In relation to the present study, white
RHA (WRHA) may be related to the former product, i.e. crystalline
silica, and black RHA (BRHA) to the latter (amorphous silica).
WRHA has been analysed and found to have about 95% silica content.
BRHA on the other hand has typically only about 54% and a substantial
carbon content, i.e. about 44% (Table 1).

COMPOUNDING AND COUPLING AGENT TREATMENT

In one study, the outcome of which is discussed later, the RHA fillers
were compounded into polypropylene by means of a Brabender twin
screw compounder. The compounds were extruded through a twin rod
die into a water bath, pulled and pelletized. Prior to compounding,
some of the fillers were treated with an organofunctional silane coupling
agent. A special coupling agent with built-in peroxide was utilized so that
it could generate free radicals to initiate an addition reaction with the inert
polypropylene matrix.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
It is a well known fact that incorporation of fillers into thermoplastics
increases the flexural modulus, i.e. the stiffness of the material [5]. Like-
wise addition of both the BRHA and WRHA fillers into polypropylene