Characterization of rice husk and kaolinitic clay blends

Ambatipudi, Mani Kalyani; Sinha, Priyanshu; Appadurai, Arun; Chaunsali, Piyush; Varunkumar, S.

Abstract

Limestone calcined clay cements (LC3) are one of the most promising solutions for CO2 abatement in global cement industries. This study presents results on characterization of the product obtained in simultaneous calcination of kaolinitic clay blends co-fired with low-grade powdered fuels. Powdered rice husk is used as fuel, and kaolinite clay is co-fired with rice husk. Calcination is performed in a nearly isothermal Moderate to Intense Low oxygen Dilution (MILD) reactor. Results of co-firing experiments with a 1:1 ratio of biomass to clay with a nominal fuel feed rate of 5–6 kg/h are presented. This operating condition ensured that the particles are exposed to a temperature of 900–1100 °C. The suitability of the obtained product was characterized using (i) furnace tests, (ii) thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), (iii) X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, and (iv) isothermal calorimetry. Furnace tests and TGA studies confirm the biomass conversion and clay conversion to be about 90% and 94% respectively. About 75% of calcination could be achieved compared to furnace calcined clay. XRD analysis shows near complete conversion of kaolin peaks. Calcined clay exhibited filler effect indicating its reactivity in Portland cement-clay blended system.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: International Conference on Calcined Clays for Sustainable Concrete 2022
• Start Date: Jul 5, 2022
• End Date: Jul 7, 2022
• Acceptance Date: Jun 20, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jun 20, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 27, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 57
• Pages: 205-213
• Series Title: RILEM Bookseries
• Book Title: Calcined Clays for Sustainable Concrete
• Chapter Number: 21
• ISBN: 9783031838880; 9783031838897
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-83889-7_21
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/14601478
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-83889-7_21
• Additional Information: First Online: 20 June 2025; Conference Acronym: ICCCSC; Conference Name: International Conference on Calcined Clays for Sustainable Concrete; Conference City: Lausanne; Conference Country: Switzerland; Conference Year: 2022; Conference Start Date: 5 July 2022; Conference End Date: 7 July 2022; Conference ID: icccsc2022; Conference URL: https://lc3.ch/jul-2022-ccsc-lausanne/