The production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) causes greenhouse gasemissions, which are a major environmental issue. Finding ways to replace OPC with other materials is essential to maintaining our worldâs ecosystems. Fly ash from burning coal can be used as a replacement, but it contains hazardous substances and is becoming less available. Byproducts from forests or agricultural production are more sustainable and renewable as substitutes for OPC. Rice husks, a waste product, are removed from the rough grain at a processing center, so that they do not need to be separately transported from the fields. When combusted using the proper temperature regimen, rice husks can produce energy and a high silica ash. In the present work, we have incorporated this ash and other nano-pozzolans (OPC substitutes) into cement and have found combinations that substantially increase compressive strength. The microscale properties of these cements were also investigated to find the underlying reasons for the enhancement of properties.
