Characterization of rice husks and the products of its thermal degradation in air or nitrogen atmosphere

Rice husk is a by-product of rice milling process and are a major waste product of the agricultural industry. They have now become a great source as a raw biomass material for manufacturing value-added silicon composite products, including silicon carbide, silicon nitride, silicon tetrachloride, pure silicon, zeolite, fillers of rubber and plastic composites, adsorbent and support of catalysts. The bulk and true densities of raw rice husk with different moisture and sizes were determined. The rice husk was subjected to pyrolysis in fluidized-bed reactor in air or nitrogen atmosphere. The products obtained were characterized by thermogravimetric and X-ray powder analysis, IR-spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. The specific surface area of the products is comparable with this of γ-Al₂O₃. The kinetics of H₂SeO₃ adsorption out of aqueous solutions at 298 K was studied. The adsorption capacity of white rice husks ash was found to be higher than that of black rice husk ash and the adsorption kinetics obeyed the second order kinetic equation.