Use of Rice Hull Ash (RHA) as a Sustainable Source of Construction Material

Corresponding data set for Tran-SET Project No. 17CASU02. Abstract of the final report is stated below for reference: "With the imminent shortage of natural resources, the need to find sustainable development is the highest in recent history. Therefore, this study examines the potential uses of Rice Hull Ash (RHA) as a sustainable cementitious material (SCM) in preparation of concrete. This study also assesses the use of RHA as an alternative of commonly used polymers in preparing high-grade asphalt binders. RHA is a potential sustainable solution because it is currently being treated as an agricultural waste material, yet its high silica content makes it a potential construction material. Three different sizes of RHA (600 µm, 150 µm, and 44 µm) with two different partial replacement percentages (10% and 20%) of type I Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) were considered to prepare concrete and mortar samples. For the comparative analysis, two more SCM materials, namely, class C fly ash (CFA) and silica fume (SF), were also incorporated in this study. The results of the fresh concrete tests (slump, unit weight, air entrainment) and hardened concrete tests (e.g., compressive, tensile, flexural strength) have suggested that with a 10% replacement of OPC using finer RHA- modified concrete exhibits the improvement of concrete properties compared to the regular concrete. Based on limited test data of RHA-modified binders, RHA appears to be a viable alternative of commonly used polymers."