Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Rice Husks Concrete?

Concrete made from rice husk and coal ash waste is being developed in a scheme to tackle climate change.

Traditional methods of concrete production release large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere so British and Indian researchers are working together on the scheme to cut the carbon footprint of concrete. The scale of the problems facing infrastructure development in India and the UK means that collaboration between a number of institutions is the only way to reach their goals. The researchers have been working as part of a UK-India Education & Research Initiative (UKIERI) project, led by the University of Dundee. A major component of traditional concrete is Portland cement but for every tonne of cement produced about one tonne of CO2 is released into the atmosphere. As a result concrete production amounts to approximately 5% of global CO2 emissions.

Concrete is the second most used material in the world after water, and so reducing the CO2 emissions produced by it could make a real difference to climate change. Rice husk is already used as a fuel in the boilers for the processing of paddy and for power generation. The ash of the rice husk (rice husk ash or RHA for short) is used as a super-pozzolan to make special concrete mixers. There are many uses for this RHA, such as green concrete, ceramic glaze, oil-spill absorbent, insulator, flame retardants, insecticide, bio-fertilizers and more.

I didn't know rice is super useful man! It's waste has more uses than human waste. Maybe we should make more studies on our waste (poo) to see what else we can use it for :) Well cow dung is used as a source of fuel..

Tip of the day: Have a quick or navy shower to save water. It is the
no.1 used material in the world so please save water and it is still wasted everyday! Or you can shower together with your partner. It helps saves water. Whatever works for you ;)

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