Utilization of Wood Ash from Rice Husks in Firebricks Production

Abstract

This paper documents the results of the use of rice husk ash collected from selected parts of Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria, as alternative source of silica and calcium oxide in firebricks body.  The experiment started with the use of rice husks as alternative to sawdust, which instead of burning off to create pores, produced a very weak brick that crumbled into a heap of clay and ash inside the kiln. In fact, all the formulated samples, yielded the same result, except those with less than 30% rice husks.  However, when burnt into ash and mixed with the same material (fireclay) as in the above set of experiments, resulted into a light, dense and hard refractory firebricks at 1250^oC, which can be harnessed for use as outer-back up to insulatory bricks in kiln construction.  The process involves the extraction of the ash, selection of other materials to be combined with the ash, determination of the quantity of each material and firing at temperature of 1250^oC.