Recycled Rice Products Make Their Mark in Cement
by Trish Smith - Follow me on Twitter
Everywhere you turn you see concrete sidewalks, buildings and walkways. That’s because concrete is the most widely used man-made material in the world. In fact, about 20 billion pounds of it are produced every year. But even though concrete is extremely important to our survival, it’s also very detrimental to it.
The process of making concrete, which is composed of such elements as concrete, lime, gravel, sand and water, produces about 10% of the entire world’s CO2 emissions. That’s exactly why a group of people in Plano, Texas decided to create a new type of concrete from a very sustainable product: rice.
Rajan Vempati, President of ChK Group, along with a few researchers, figured out a way to create carbon-free rice husk ash. By heating the husks to 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit in an oxygen-free furnace, Vempati and the others were able to reduce the husks to fine silica ash particles that could be used as a cement substitute. Not only is this ash stronger than cement, but it’s also more resistant towards corrosion, making it an ideal green building material.
You can learn more about the Rice Concrete at the Discovery Channel.
This is a great green alternative to traditional cement mixtures, and it’s the perfect way to help developing countries construct sustainable buildings. But the idea of reusing rice has been around for a while. Here are a few cool recycled rice products that you can purchase on your own:
Free People Rice Paper Beach Tote
The Animal Rescue Site Recycled Rice Bag Hat
INDEX Corporation Rice Eco Chopsticks
The Hunger Site Vibrant Recycled Rice Bag Purse
The Rainforest Site Recycled Rice Mat Yoga Bag
I personally love anything that has to do with rice. Maybe it’s because I’m half Korean, or maybe it’s because rice is such an abundant and plentiful resource around the world. Whatever your reason is, I hope that the above products gave you good reason to like rice even more!
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