Studies on the Synthesis of Silica Powder from Rice Husk Ash as Reinforcement Filler in Rubber Tire Tread Part: Replacement of Commercial Precipitated Silica

Abstract

Rice husks, which can be considered as an agricultural waste, are produced every year in South Gonder, Ethiopia. Precipitated silica is commonly used as reinforcing filler in rubber industry, in the present study an effort has been attempted to replace commercial silica commonly used in natural rubber industries with rice husk ash silica (RHAS). Silica was extracted from RHA by using alkaline extraction followed by acid precipitation. The synthesized RHAS was characterized by AAS, BET, DSC, FTIR, and XRD. RHAS was then used as reinforcing filler in natural rubber. The curing characteristics of natural rubber products filled with RHAS resulted a smaller scorch time which caused a premature vulcanization than the commercial silica filled rubber composite. Overall mechanical properties like hardness, young’s modulus, abrasion resistance of rubber products reinforced with RHAS was better than commercial silica filled rubber composite.