India is a leading rice producer, and husk released during milling is used as fuel in boilers to process paddy and generate electricity through combustion.

About Rice Husk and Rice Husk Ash

Rice Husk

Rice Husks, also known as rice hulls, are the thick outer coverings to protect the rice grains during harvesting season.

Also, they can be used as:

  • Wall and roof insulation 
  • Insulation for cold storage
  • Construction material, 
  • Source of energy, 
  • Fertilizers

Rice husk is made of solid materials like opaline silicon and lignin. It is difficult for humans to chew and digest its high fiber content.

Production:

Winnow the rice in a pan, toss it into the air as the wind blows to remove the rice from the husks. The thin husks drift in the air leaving the heavier rice in the pan. Around 1885, an advanced rice husking machine got developed in Brazil. The rice husks are separated from rice grains during the milling process, uncovering brown rice. It is then processed further to remove bran coating, yielding white rice.

Uses:

Rice Husk can be used for energy and non-energy purposes

Energy:

  • Fuel – liquid, solid, and gasification
  • Generate heat 
  • For domestic purposes 
  • Source of electricity
  • Industrial boilers

Non-energy:

  • Industrial purposes –  Construction materials
  • Agriculture- activated carbon and animal production (bedding, fodder)

Rice husk ash

Rick husk ash is an organic waste product used as a source of power, biomass gasification to run rice mills, brick manufacturing, producing heat for rice dryers, etc. It is easy to gather rice husks at a low cost after the rice milling process. Rice husk ash is also utilized as natural fertilizer, insulator, activated carbon, etc.

It is generated by burning rice husks and is a source of reactive silica. Silicon is the main ingredient of soil substrate utilized in grouting and concrete work with cement.
Ash is an excellent choice for repairing fine cracks in buildings due to its purity. It infiltrates deeper than a normal cement sand solution. 

Rice Husk Ash Business opportunity and Current Status

Rice Husk Ash Market was valued at $2.3 Billion in 2020. 

The next section describes the uses and application of rice husks.

Each of them will provide a great business opportunity in the following ways:

  • Chipboard or fibreboard has a promising future due to rising deforestation. Its demand is rapidly increasing in India and all over the world.
  • There will be demand for specific construction materials in certain regions to prevent adverse climatic conditions or natural calamities. It would require durable, economical, eco-friendly, thermal insulation, and low-weight building materials.

Rice husk ash (RHA) is a natural byproduct of rice husk processing collected from paddy rice.

Rice Husk SWOT analysis

Strengths

  • It contains 95% silica which can be integrated with glaze to aid the melting of glaze.
  • The low cost of manufacturing and raw materials is speeding up the market growth.

Weakness

  • Mixing rice husk ash with cement affects the water and cement ratio
  • The ash generated from rice husk can pollute the environment and has disposal problems

Opportunities

  • Its demand is rapidly increasing in the Asia Pacific
  • It is an incredible asset for steel and concrete industries due to its significant silicon composition and is increasingly used.
  • Industrialists can earn carbon credits as it helps to reduce greenhouse gasses emission.

Threats

  • The production sector of rice husk depends on the manufacturing of rice paddy.

Products from Rice Husk and Market Forecast

Rice husk can be utilized to produce economically valuable products. It ensures proper disposal and recycling of agricultural waste.

Energy source

Rice husks can be used as a source of power for steam engines. Another best alternative is syngas. Burning rice husks generates a light source and its charcoal is an excellent soil supplement. Also, they can be used as fuel in brickmaking furnaces.

Juice extraction

Rice husks are used as an auxiliary product in apple crushing to enhance extraction yield.

Pet food

Rice husks are considered as a low-cost residual product of canned foods. It is rich in dietary fiber and can be used in pet foods.

Cardboard production

Since rice hulls contain silica, they can be used in the manufacturing of cardboard for protection from pests.

Toothpaste

In ancient times, rice husk ash was used as used to clean teeth.

Pillow stuffing

The pillows are sparsely filled with rice husks that offer comfort to the head.

Rice bran oil

Rice bran consists of protein, ash, fat, and crude fiber. It is derived from rice hulls used as cooking oil in South Asian countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Japan, Malaysia, etc. Byproducts of the rice milling process can lead to economic growth for rice-producing countries.

Fertilizers

Hulls may be transformed into fertilizer in about four months using vermicomposting procedures. Parboiled Rice Husks are used as a growing medium for gardening and facilitate drainage allow moisture to propagate.

Globally, 482 million metric tons of rice husk are produced. The worldwide rice husk ash industry is expected to be worth USD 2.54 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 5.4 percent between 2016 and 2021.

Complete Technology Book on Value Added Products from Rice Husk

Rice Husk was treated as a waste and useless product frequently burnt and discarded in landfills. This book opens new avenues for entrepreneurs and professionals intrigued to produce commercial products from rice husk and rice husk ash. Also, it provides practical solutions to recycle and reuse agricultural waste.

This book contains detailed information on using RHA with a production strategy to manufacture marketable goods. It describes the production process through flow charts, pictures, and diagrams to create valuable products from rice husks. 

The main contents of this book are rice husk, rice husk ash RHA), precipitated silica from rice husk ash, activated carbon from rice husk, cement from rice husk ash, electricity from rice husk, ethanol from rice husk, hardboard from rice husk, oxalic acid from rice husk, paper from rice husk, particleboard from rice husk, rice husk briquettes, rice husk pellet, silicon from rice husk, sodium silicate from rice husk, packaging.