In this project we are examining the use of rice husk for the production of high value uniform porous carbon by using the silicon component in rice husk as a natural template for uniform pore generation.  

The total annual rice production worldwide is about 600 million tonnes in 2000 of which about 20% (120 million tonnes) is rice husk.  Rice husk is a thin but abrasive skin covering the edible rice kernel, and is mainly comprised of hemicellulose, lignin, cellulose and silica (up to 20wt%). The relatively high silica content of rice husk makes it unsuitable for use as an energy source or as a feed for livestock.  We are examining alternative uses for rice husk, in particular, the use of rice husk as a possible source of highly porous carbon adsorbent.  High temperature and pressure aqueous treatment of the rice husk followed by careful pyrolysis and activation leads to high surface area carbon adsorbents which we are currently testing for their adsorptive capacity. Preliminary results show relatively high surface area with a high percentage of microporous structure.  For information on this project, contact  Dr.Paul Webley

---