The Effect of Rice Husk Charcoal and Sintering Temperature on Porosity of Sintered Mixture of Clay and Zeolite

Objectives: Sintered porous clay for possible as a water filter was fabricated from clay and zeolite mixtures (50:50 ratio weight by weight) with adding of rice husk charcoal as porous template. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The effect of particle size (<88 μm, 88-250 μm, and >250 μm) and amount (25, 35, and 50 wt%) of rice husk charcoal and sintering temperature (800, 900, and 1000°C) for linear shrinkage, density, water absorption, compressive strength, and functional groups on sintered mixture clays were investigated. The FTIR and SEM were also used for characterization of sintered porous clays. Findings: The results showed that the water absorption and the open porosity increased with increasing amount and size of rice husk charcoal, while the density and compressive strength decreased. However, these properties are inverse as increasing of sintering temperature from 800 to 10000C. The results of FTIR and SEM confirmed occurring of glassy form, high open porosity and macropore in sintered mixture clays. The study results could be concluded that the mixtures of rice husk charcoal and clays with ratios 25 wt% rice husk charcoal for <88 - >250 μm size : 37.5 wt% Thapo clay : 37.5 wt% zeolite at 800-1000 °C sintering temperature are suitable for water filter fabrication with values of 30.44-42.80 %porosity and 3349.94-4629.66 kN/m² of compressive strength. Application/ Improvements: Rice husk charcoal was used as template for water filter fabrication at 800-10000C sintering temperature which values of porosity and compressive strength are according to traditional water filter manufacture standards..