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