Vietnam Finds Alternative Use for Rice Waste

In Vietnam, scientists have developed a method to extract silica from rice husk in an effort to deal with the 9 million tons of the waste material the country generates annually.

Rice husks contain silica, but not at high enough concentrations to be economically feasible as a source. However, using a pyrolysis process, rice husk can be converted to ash with over 90% silica content. Silica can be used in the production of solar cells, semiconductors, tires, paints, bricks, detergents, toothpaste, cement, and concrete. It can also be used as a fertilizer, boosting rice yields 15–30%.

Previous efforts to use waste rice husk have been ineffective. Low efficiencies made burning the waste unattractive from a financial standpoint, while processing it into firewood or plywood sheets did not consume enough volume.