Bioresource Technology 73 (2000) 37±39

A preliminary study of manufacture of cement from rice husk ash

V.I.E. Ajiwe*, C.A. Okeke, F.C. Akigwe
Department of Science Technology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, P.M.B. 5025, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
Received 25 January 1999; received in revised form 2 July 1999; accepted 28 August 1999

Abstract
Cement has been successfully produced from the agricultural waste, rice husk ash. For this production, rice husk was pre-
carbonized in a pilot-plant and was further decarbonized in an electric furnace to produce rice husk ash. 24.5% rice husk ash was
mixed with other raw materials (sourced locally) for producing white Portland cement and the cement produced was used to make a
concrete slab. The formulated cement slab, commercial cement and slab were tested for their physical characteristics and chemical
composition. The results of tests con®rmed that produced cement was of similar standard to commercial cement. Based on the
results, the production of cement from rice husk has been recommended for developing countries since it would help reduce
problems of rice husks as farm wastes. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Rice husks; Cement manufacture

1. Introduction cements by utilizing the local raw materials, to make

The term cement means the name given to powdered
minerals which when mixed with water form a plastic
body that can easily be shaped and that hardens grad-
ually to yield a strong stone-like body. Depending on
their uses and properties, cements are divided into three
main groups: air-hardening cements which can harden
only and retain their strength in air, hydraulic cements
which can also harden and retain their strength in water
and acid resistant cements which after hardening with-
stand the action of mineral acids. Cement is the product
of the silicate industry and is manufactured on the
largest scale and it is extensively used in building homes,
industrial buildings and other structures.
The raw materials used in making cements are natu-
rally-occurring materials and in part industrial waste
products. The naturally-occurring materials include
gypsum, CaSO4 á2H2 O, anhydride CaSO4 and limestone
rock. The industrial waste materials utilized in making
cements include metallurgical slag, the nepheline sludge
of the alumina manufacturing industry, sludge of the
sodium hydroxide process which contains CaCO3 , pyrite
and other materials.
This study attempted to create a technological basis
for the manufacture of building materials in the area of
*
Corresponding author.
prefabricated reinforced-concrete products. The prob-
lem of developing nations in the area of adequate
housing cannot be over-emphasised. It is noteworthy
that the price of cement is going up everyday. Then our
answer to this is to use local inexpensive raw materials
to build houses (Nkwo Patrick, 1990; Ajiwe, 1998; Ajiwe
and Udeh, 1998). The environmental problems created
by under utilization of rice husks from rice produced in
Nigeria and the developing countries led to the idea of
substituting rice husk ash for silica in cement manu-
facture. This idea di€ers from normal sources of pro-
ducing cement.
1.1. Composition of cement
The principal compounds in Portland cement are
tricalcium silicate (3CaO á SiO2 ) which is chie¯y re-
sponsible for initial setting and early strength of the
cement-water paste, dicalcium silicate (2CaO á SiO2 )
which hardens slowly but contributes notably to
strength at ages over a month. Equally it contains tri-
calcium aluminate (3CaO á A12 O3 ) which liberates a
large amount of heat during the ®rst days of hardening
and is rapidly attacked by sulphate solution, the iron-
containing phase (a solid solution) that approaches the
composition 4CaO á A12 O3 .Fe2 O3 which is valuable as a
¯ux in the manufacture. Parts of the mixture are mag-
nesia (MgO) and gypsum (Bogue, 1989).

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38 V.I.E. Ajiwe et al. / Bioresource Technology 73 (2000) 37±39

2. Methods

2.1. Sampling and preparation of sample

The sample of the rice husk was collected from Ac-

halla, Awka North Local Government Area, Anambra
State, Nigeria. The sample was burnt to give a white ash
in two steps. It was pre-carbonized with an improvised
stove to reduce the high cost of electricity (power). Note
that the rice husk was lit from either top or bottom of
the stove with a little kerosine and it continued to burn
by itself. The heat produced could locally be used to
cook food. The precarbonized sample was then decar-
bonized completely in an electric furnace at 650°C to
obtain a white ash.

2.2. Cement formulation (manufacture)

For this purpose, cement was formed from 24.5% rice

husk ash and locally sourced raw materials. The theo-
retical percentage fraction in tricalcium silicate was
found to be 26.3%, it was on this basis that rice husk ash
was used to substitute the silica of the tricalcium silicate
(Bogue, 1989). The percentage rice husk ash was earlier
varied between 23%, 23.5%, 24%, 24.5%, 25% and 26%
in the formulation but only that of 24.5% gave a good
bonded slab. The other raw materials were equally
varied, based on their theoretical values in cement
composition (Bogue, 1989; Oyadoghan 1980). The in-
gredients were weighed out in appropriate proportion as
given in Table 1. These were then ground and fused Fig. 1. Flow diagram for the production of white Portland cement
from rice husk ash (*see Table 1).
using the dry process of synthesis (Bogue, 1989).
The formulation of white Portland cement consisted
of two independent processes. The intermediate product 2.3. Formulation of slab
was made in the clinker. This involved preparation of
the mixture of raw materials, followed by ®ring of the The strength and durability of the slab depended
mixture at the temperature of 1400°C in a make-shift chie¯y on the amount of water used. If too much water
clinker furnace (®red with ground coal). Then to the was added the cement would be too weak to hold the
clinker product was added admixtures and the mixture aggregates ®rmly when it hardens. The less water used
was crushed together. Note that water was used. The within reasonable limits, the stronger the slab would be.
product was then stored and packaged in a screw capped In the formulation of slab, the formulated white
container (see process ¯ow diagram in Fig. 1). Portland cement and commercial cement were weighed
Table 1 separately and were mixed with sand in the ratio of 1:2
Composition of formulated Portland cement (cement to sand). 40 ml of water was add to each mix-
Parameter Composition in % (w/w) ture (50:100 g) with good mixing and the cement was
Rice husk ash 24.5
poured into a mould of 10:5  8:2  10 cm3 to obtain a
Aluminaa 4.5 slab. The setting time of the slab was noted.
Iron oxide 0.3
Titanium oxide 0.3
Calcium hydroxide 66.0 2.4. Tests on formulated, commercial cement and slab
Potassium sulphate 0.3
Sodium sulphate 0.3 The silica, calcium oxide, loss on ignition, insoluble
Magnesium sulphate 0.3 residue and iron oxide contents were determined by the
Gypsum 1.5 ocial methods of analysis of the AOAC (AOAC, 1990)
Calcium chroride 2.3 and the method outlined by Basset et al. (1978). The
a
Raw materials of Fig. 1. compressive test was done by the American Society for
 V.I.E. Ajiwe et al. / Bioresource Technology 73 (2000) 37±39 39

Table 2
Results of tests on formulated and commercial cements and their slabsa
Parameter Loss on Insoluble CaO (%) SiO2 (%) Iron Compres- Setting Weight
ignition residue oxide (%) sive test time of of slab
(%) (%) NMÿ2 slab (h) (g)
Commercial cement 1.87 0.92 64.10 23.10 0.25
Rice husk ash formulat- 2.00 1.10 61.70 23.30 0.25
ed cement
Commercial cement slab 2:1  104 2.5 152.1
Rice husk ash formulat- 1:8  104 2.3 147.5
ed cement slab
a
Average of three determinations.

Table 3 content, calcium oxide and silica results in formulated

Costing for 1 kg production and commercial cement were quite close (see Table 2).
Na US$b The major aspect of the project was to ®nd out to what
Formulated cement extent the rice husk ash could be used for the substitu-
Rice husk (obtained free from waste heap) 0.00 0.00 tion of silica in cement formulation so as to reduce its
Water 0.00 0.00 environmental hazard as a farm waste. The high per-
Transport (collection and purchase of 60.00 0.71
materials)
centage value of silica in rice husk had earlier been
Calcium hydroxide (converted from 0.00 0.00 con®rmed by Ajiwe and Udeh (1998). The production of
Welders wastes) cement from rice husk was relatively cheap and cost was
Other raw materials 100.00 1.18 comparable to that produced from the usual raw ma-
Energy/fuel 15.65 0.19 terials (Table 3). Therefore, the use of rice husk for ce-
176.65 2.08 ment production is recommended.
Commercial cement
Transport (for purchase) 20.00 0.24
Cost of cement 180.00 2.12 References
200.00 2.36
a
Ajiwe, V.I.E., 1998. A pilot for production of ceiling board from rice
Nigerian currency (Naira). husk, Bioresource Technology, in press.
b
US dollar. Ajiwe, V.I.E., Udeh, I., 1998. Making silica and silicate products from
rice husk, the chemist chemical society of Nigeria. UNIZIK 3 (1),
2±4.
Testing and Materials (ASTM) method outlined by AOAC 1990. Ocial Methods of Analysis of AOAC. 13th ed., p. 33.
Ryder (1965). Basset, J., Danney, R.C., Je€rey, G.R., Menham, J., 1978. Vogels
Textbook of Quantitative Inorganic Analysis. fourth ed., ELBS
and Longmans, London, pp. 306, 347, 435, 501, 732±758.
3. Results and discussion Bogue, R.H. 1989. Cement in the World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 3, A
Scoh Fetzer Company, Chicago, London, Sydney, Toronto,
The results of physical and chemical tests on formu- pp. 344±345.
lated cement, commercial cement and slabs are given on Nkwo Patrick, S.E., 1990. The synthesis of marble from local sources.
B.Sc. Thesis, Science Technology Department, UNIZIK, Awka,
Table 2.
Nigeria.
The results in Table 2 showed that comparable eco- Oyadoghan, J.A., 1980. A Technical Report on Ukpila Cement
nomical cements could be made from rice husk (ash) as Factory, Federal Polytechnic, Idah, pp. 7±13.
a major raw material or from clay and limestone. The Ryder, G.H., 1965. Strength of Materials. 34th ed., Macmillan,
loss on ignition, insoluble residue and iron oxide London, pp. 320±323.