RICE HUSK ASH AN IDEAL ADMIXTURE FOR CONCRETE IN

AGGRESSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
R.N. Krishna, KC Contech Admixtures, India
37th Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 29 - 31 August 2012,
Singapore

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th

37 Conference on Our World in Concrete & Structures

29-31 August 2012, Singapore

RICE HUSK ASH AN IDEAL ADMIXTURE FOR CONCRETE IN

AGGRESSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
R.N. Krishna
*Former Secretary General- Indian Concrete Institute.
Proprietor KC Contech Admixtures.
#532 TTK Road Alwarpet Chennai-600018 India
e mail: krishna_rn2000@yahoo.com web page www.kccontech.com

Keywords:

Admixture ash chemical resistance sustainable concrete

Abstract. The use of durability enhancing mineral admixtures or supplementary

cementing materials has gained considerable importance the last decade or so as a
key to long service life of concrete structures1. There are many mineral admixtures
that are used in way throughout the world but rice husk ash stands out as an ecofriendly, sustainable and durable option for concrete. This paper attempts to bring
out the effectiveness of rice husk ash as a versatile concrete admixture and
discusses some versatile application of rice husk ash concrete.
1. INTRODUCTION
Rice husk is the outer cover of paddy and accounts for 20-25 % of its weight. It is removed
during rice milling and is used mainly as fuel for heating in Indian homes and industries. Its heating
value of 13-15 MJ/kg is lower than most woody biomass fuels. However, it is extensively used in rural
India because of its widespread availability and relatively low cost. The annual generation of rice
husk in India is 18-22 million tons and this corresponds to a power generation potential of 1200 MW.
A few rice husk-based power plants with capacities between I and10 MW are already in operation and
these are based either on direct combustion or through fluidized bed combustion.
Rice husk is characterized by low bulk density and high ash content (18-22% by weight). The
large amount of ash generated during combustion has to be continuously removed for a smooth
operation of the system. Silicon oxide forms the main component (90-97%) of the ash with trace
1
amounts of CaO, MgO, K2O ) and Na2O .
2. MANUFACTURE
Rice husk ash is produced by burning the outer shell of the paddy that comes out as a waste
product during milling of rice. Since they are bulky disposal of husk present an enormous problem.
Each ton of paddy produces about 200kg of husk and this rice husk can be effectively converted
through controlled burning. At around 500C a valuable siliceous product that can enhance the
durability of concrete in the chemical composition of rice husk ash is obtained. Variations in the
burning temperature much above or below will drastically alter the silica content of the ash. It is
estimated that one fifth of the five hundred million tons of world annual paddy production is available
as rice husks. Only a small quantity of rice husk is used in agricultural field as a fertilizer, or as
bedding etc. and stabilisation of black cotton soils.
The manufacture and batching of Rice husk Ash involves bulk handling of a light raw material
and proper and a controlled burning methodology has to be adopted. Grinding of the ash is done after

R.N. Krishna

necessary cooling and can be done to any desired fineness. The author manufactures RHA and
adopts a fineness value of around 4200blaine.There is another difficulty in the manufacturing of RHA.
Namely burning of the raw husk to a high temperature for a sustained period makes it extremely
difficult to cool the ash to normal temperature. This is also compounded by the inherent nature of raw
husk to retain heat for a considerably long time. Therefore the method adopted is to allow the burnt
husk to stay for some time and subsequently cool with water. However, when this is done the Ash is
saturated with moisture and therefore grinding becomes a challenging task-especially with an
abrasive material like RHA. Therefore drying of RHA is a must. Among the several methods that are
possible normal sun drying and / or drying using paddy driers are the cheapest options.
Another point to be borne in mind is the variation in the raw material composition from
different sources and therefore the material has to be tested for chemical composition.
3. CONCRETE WITH RICE HUSK ASH
However the durability enhancement properties of RICE HUSK ASH
when blended with cement makes it the most eco-friendly versatile supplementary cementing
material to concrete. The following properties of concrete are considerably altered when blended with
RHA :
1. Reduced heat of hydration leading to minimal crack formation in higher grades of concrete.
2. Reduced permeability at higher dosages.
3. Increased chloride and sulphate resistance/mild acids.
Therefore RHA can be used as an effective and Green supplementary cementing material. RHA
can be used for a wide variety of applications starting from a simple water proof coating to an
admixture for cement to resist a wide variety of chemicals including mild acids like lactic acid(milk)
alkalies, etc. in bathroom floors, swimming pools, Industrial factory floorings, foundation concreting
when concrete is exposed to both chlorides and sulphate attack and as an effective repair mortar to
resist chlorides.
4. LABORATORY INVESTIGATION
A small study was conducted to assess the chloride resistance of RHA concrete and proves that
RHA can be used as an effective corrosion inhibitor in concrete:
An ideal corrosion inhibitor has been defined as a chemical compound, which, when added in
adequate amounts to concrete, can prevent corrosion of embedded steel and has no adverse effect
on the properties of concrete. Corrosion inhibitor admixtures are used to delay or retard corrosion of
reinforcing steel in concrete.
In this part of the study, corrosion resistance of Ordinary Portland Cement concrete with
commercially available zinc rich epoxy coatings for reinforcing bars was studied and compared with
RCC specimens using rice husk ash.
The commercially available rice husk ash (Hyper 2000
manufactured by the author) was used for the study to prove its efficacy as an effective corrosion
inhibitor. Details of chemical composition are given in Table 1 for three different samples from
different places in the country.
M 30 and M 35 grades of concrete with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Rice Husk Ash
Cement (replacing OPC 30% by weight) have been used. Polymer based coating and Zinc rich
coating were the two different coatings applied on the surface of steel rebars.
Sl. No
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.

Sample Marked as :

2
(Percent By Mass)
Loss on ignition
8.71
7.00
Silica (as SiO2)
83.60
84.00
Aluminium (as Al2O3)
3.05
3.84
Iron (as Fe2O3)
1.10
0.60
Titanium (as TiO2)
Nil
Nil
Calcium (as CaO)
1.80
2.85
Magnesium (as MgO)
1.28
1.35
Sodium (as Na2O)
0.17
0.13
Potassium (as K2O)
0.29
0.23
Table : 1 Chemical Composition of Rice Husk Ash samples.

3
3.07
90.47
3.13
0.32
Nil
1.96
0.35
0.22
0.48

R.N. Krishna

4.1 Preparation of Specimens

Beam specimens of section 100 mm x 150 mm and length of 1000 mm were selected. For
the beam specimens, main reinforcement of 2 numbers of 10 mm diameter, hanger reinforcement of 2
numbers of 8 mm diameter and shear reinforcement of 6 mm diameter two legged stirrups of HYSD
bars were used. The surface of rebars was derusted using wire brush and rust clear solution in order
to remove any loose rust particles. The coating material was applied over the surface of the rebars
with a brush and was allowed for curing. The initial weight of the rebars was taken and then the
rebars were tied together to form the skeleton reinforcement cage. Twelve numbers of beam
specimens were cast during M30 and M35 grades of concrete. After curing them for a period of 28
days, the specimens were transferred to Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) tanks and were subjected to
accelerated corrosion process.
4.2 Acceleration of Corrosion Process
Galvanostatic method was used to accelerate the corrosion process. In this method, the
embedded steel acts as anode and an external stainless steel plate acts as cathode. The beam
specimens were impressed a selected current intensity under low voltage conditions. The specimens
and the stainless steel plates were immersed in an electrolyte solution of three-percentage sodium
chloride concentration to simulate the conditions of seawater. The current was applied using a
regulated D.C. Rectifier. The accelerated corrosion process was carried out for a period of fifteen
days. Thereafter, concrete samples from the cover portion near main rebars were collected to
determine the pH value and chloride content. Then the beam specimens were broken and the rebar
grid was taken out separately, from which the main rebars were separated. Then the rods were
cleaned and wiped. The weight of rebars was determined to estimate the weight loss. (Table 2).
Beam Designation
S.No.

Initial
Weight
(gms)

Final
Weight
(gms)

Loss of
Weight
(gms)

Loss in
Percentage

M30 Grade OPC Concrete

1.

M30 OPC control

1086.9

942.4

144.5

13.29

2.

M30 OPC Z*

1108.6

1062.0

46.6

4.20

3.

M30 OPC IP**

1062.3

1047.5

14.8

1.39

M30 Grade RHA Blended Concrete

4.

M30 RH control

1063.5

993.4

70.1

6.59

5.

M30 RH Z*

1092.7

1051.0

41.7

3.82

6.

M30 RH IP**

1073.5

1065.8

7.7

0.72

M35 Grade OPC Concrete

7.

M35 OPC control

1086.7

1004.2

82.5

7.59

8.

M35 OPC Z*

1105.7

1089.9

15.8

1.43

9.

M35 OPC IP**

1075.6

1063.3

12.3

1.14

M35 Grade RHA Blended Concrete

10.

M35 RH control

1065.5

1017.4

48.1

4.51

11.

M35 RH Z*

1091.5

1076.6

14.9

1.37

12.

M35 RH IP**

1074.8

1068.3

6.5

0.60

* zinc rich primer

** polymer based primer
Table 2. Weight loss of Rebars.

R.N. Krishna

5. DISCUSSION OF TEST RESULTS

For the M30 grade control concrete with RHA, the beam specimen with uncoated rebars
showed 50% less loss of weight than that of the similar control concrete specimens with OPC. The
same trend was observed for specimens of M35 grade of concrete also. The beam specimen with
uncoated rebars showed loss of weight of 41 % less than that of the specimens with OPC for M35
grade.
For coated rebars with and without rice husk ash concrete, it is observed that the use of rice
husk ash contributes to a significant reduction in weight loss when compared to OPC concrete with
the same coatings.
The chloride content of cover concrete in the beams cast with Rice Husk Ash Cement is less
than that of beams cast with Ordinary Portland Cement by 29 % in case of M 30 grade of concrete.
For M 35 grade of concrete with RHA, it is 12 % less than that of specimens with OPC (Table 3). It
shows that the Rice Husk Ash Cement is very effective in controlling the entry of chloride ions into the
concrete. This reduction in chloride content can be considered to be of significant order.
Concreting with RHA poses no difficulties at all in fact the consistency / plasticity of the mix
shows considerable improvement. However, the initial slump of fresh concrete is slightly reduced.

S.No.
Beam Designation
M30 Grade OPC Concrete

pH Value

Percentage of chloride content

mg/g of concrete dust

1.

M30 OPC control

11.3

0.600

2.

M30 OPC Z

11.6

0.540

3.

M30 OPC IP

11.3

0.490

M30 Grade RHA Blended Concrete

4.

M30 RH control

11.7

0.340

5.

M30 RH Z

11.7

0.490

6.

M30 RH IP

11.4

0.325

M35 Grade OPC Concrete

7.

M35 OPC control

11.5

0.485

8.

M35 OPC Z

11.4

0.620

9.

M35 OPC IP

11.5

0.285

M35 Grade RHA Blended Concrete

10.

M35 RH control

11.8

0.340

11.

M35 RH Z

11.9

0.630

12.

M35 RH IP

11.7

0.255

zinc rich primer

** polymer based primer
Table 3 Chloride content in Concrete samples for M30/M35 Rice Husk Ash concretes.

R.N. Krishna

6. MICROSTRUCTURE STUDIES OF RHA

Scanning Electron Micrographs (SEM) of OPC and RHA cement concrete samples were
taken for manification of 2000 X. The samples were prepared out of hardened cement paste. Fig.1
and 2 show Scanning Electron Micrograph of OPC and RHA respectively.

Figure 1.SEM of OPC Concrete

SEM of rice husk ash blended concrete clearly shows large number of silicon fibers in
concrete. These silicon fibers are seen to be very effective in substantial resistance to corrosion of
RHA blended cement concrete. Earlier experiments combined with SEM observations suggests that
the structure of rice husk ash is similar to the composite material with silica tubes filled with
2.
cellulose material with the matrix consisting of lignin These silica fibers constitute the greatest
advantage when using rice husk ash in concrete and are responsible for its impressive performance
in corrosive environments.

Figure 2.SEM of Concrete with Hyper 2000

R.N. Krishna

7. MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF RHA

Rice husk ash has been effectively used as simple cementitious coatings for concrete
surfaces to act as a waterproofing barrier coupled with higher chemical resistance. Photograph
shows a typical coating application of RHA in a water-treatment plant. Fig.3
Rice husk ash has also been extensively used as an effective repair mortar without the use of
SBR latex /Acrylic polymer bonding agents as seen in the photographs. Fig.4

Fig.3 Water Treatment Plant concrete

with Hyper 2000

Fig.4 Repair of RCC Beams with Hyper 2000.

Field observations done by the author for concrete blended with RHA (Hyper 2000) at 10% by
weight has shown that RHA is intact on the concrete floor subjected to constant salt water usage
Even after more than 2 years of exposure.
Neither plastic shrinkage cracks nor long term drying shrinkage cracks were observed.
8. CONCLUSION
The production and use of RHA in India should be considerably increased given the fact that
RHA contributes significantly to a green building. It not only reduces the consumption of cement due
to blending but also solves the waste disposal problem.
Rice husk ash therefore can be effectively used as a sustainable concrete option in severe
environments and can be considered a class apart from all other mineral admixtures due to its unique
microstructure and the resultant benefits in concrete and its multi various application possibilities.
Considerable study needs to be done on applications of RHA as repair mortars, coatings and soil
stabilization.
REFERENCE
[1]
Role of Rice-Husk Ash and Silica Fume in Sustainable Development by P.K.Mehta and
I.Nakagawa, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Concrete Technology for Sustainable
Development in the twenty first century, Hyderabad, India, Feb.1999
[2] Pyrolysis of rice husk by Anshu Bharadwaj, *, Y. Wang, S. Sridhar and V. S. Arunachalam ;
Center for Energy and Environment Studies and Department of Material Science and Engineering,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA