Exploring the Silicon Composition of Rice Husk Ash and Clay Soil along River Niger-Lokoja, Nigeria

Rice is a crop that is grown by subsistence farmers in Lokoja-Nigeria at a very small scale. The elemental chemical composition of the soil has great influence on the plant on it, hence, both the soil sample and rice husk from the same site(s) were used to determine silica percentage composition by calcination techniques for possible use as a raw material for silica-based production products. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) determination show that the Silica content in the White Ash from RHA are 45.86%, 45.47% while the silica content from the calcined soil was 45.06%, 44.61% for Site A and Site B respectively. Characterization of Site A White Ash by FTIR gave absorption bands that tally with other researchers. XRD of the same sample shows crystalline characteristics with the formation of crystobalite and traces of tridymite. Rice planted on this river bank soil in Lokoja proved to be affordable raw materials for silica production.