Replacement of Cement with Rice Husk Ash in Concrete

As the demand for concrete as construction material increases, so also the demand for Portland cement increase. It is estimated that the production of cement increase from 168 million tons in 2007 to 179 million tons in 2011. On the other hand, the climate change due to global warming has become a major concern. The global warming is caused by the emission of gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), to the atmosphere by human activities. CO2 contributes about 65% of global warming. The cement industry is held responsible for some of the CO2 emission because the production of one ton of Portland cement emits approximately one ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. The construction field has prompted the designers and developers to look for ‘alternative materials’ for the possible use in civil engineering constructions. For this objective, the use of industrial waste products and agricultural byproducts are very constructive. These industrial wastes and agricultural byproducts such as Fly Ash, Rice Husk Ash, Silica Fume, and Slag etc can be used as cementing materials because of their pozzolanic behavior, these product require large tracts of lands for dumping. Large amounts of wastes obtained as byproducts from many of the industries can be the main sources of such alternate materials. The RICE HUSK ASH can be used as an alternative material instead of ordinary Portland cement. This technology could reduce the CO2 emission to the atmosphere caused by the cement industries. Therefore, this paper aims at replacement of cement with rice husk ash in concrete which will help in solving major problems of global warming and it also increases the properties of concrete.