Technology to turn rice husk into ... wood

The rice husk was originally removed from bran, then ' crushed ' into small particles by decomposition by temperatures greater than 200 ^° C at the same pressure.

These particles are even smaller, finer than cement particles - Dr. Nguyen Huu Hung - Institute of Physics said about the technology of turning agricultural waste is rice husk into industrial wood can make furniture and exterior.

Material source of 8 million tons

Dr. Nguyen Huu Hung's research work started in 2006, when he realized that in rural areas, especially in the Mekong Delta, after each harvest, straw and rice husk farmers were left. burning and discharging into canals is very harmful, affecting the environment.

Estimated one year, the whole country discharges about 8 million tons of rice husk, according to Dr. Hung. The Mekong Delta is the national granary, so the amount of rice husk emitted in this area is also very large but there is no measure to handle it.

Therefore, the idea of ​​turning rice husk into genuine wood was started by him and scientists from ATPco. If successful, this product will bring great value while input materials are available.

By 2008, the study of making wood from Xenlulo compound was successful and until June 2010, the first product was born. The total cost for this project is about VND 4 billion. There is now a transmission line running with a capacity of 200m / day.

The line is operated with high automatic capability. Pre-construction of raw materials and raw material packaging creates a large amount of jobs. There is already an order of a 6000m company. While the machine has passed the testing phase, it is only a matter of time and price to meet the market demand. The price of this type of wood is similar to other industrial woods today and cheaper than natural wood, according to Dr. Hung.

Technology know-how

Rice husk is characterized by 20% silicon so it has very high hardness. Compared to sawdust, these nuts are uneven and leave cavities in the structure and internal stresses which make the durability less.

During the study, the scientists devised a method of grinding rice husks by using caustic soda in an oxygen-free environment to decompose husk into cellulose structures. Cellulose particles are mixed with glue and additives to be pressed twice, remove steam and put into extruders to produce shaped woods at will.

Wood made from rice husk has a mechanical strength equivalent to that of natural wood, which is more resistant to bending, compressing, higher density than natural wood, without absorbing water because it has removed the inner hole structure with the adhesive special. Colloidal system is also the most important secret in the technology of turning rice husk into wood. Especially, this glue does not use formaldehyde and therefore does not affect the environment.

Heat resistance of this wood reaches 200 ^o C while ordinary wood is heat resistant at 175o C, according to Dr. Hung. This type of wood is highly water resistant, so in addition to making furniture or can make outdoor structures such as roofs or partitions . Therefore, they can make floating houses for the Mekong Delta.

Meanwhile, handling 1 million tons of rice husk is equivalent to planting 1 million hectares of forest.

Dr Hung said that most of the agricultural by-products are now exploiting the gut, for example rice, the shell and straw are discarded, while these by-products decompose quickly and pollute the environment. The by-products such as cashew shell, coffee, rush . can also be treated with this technology.