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1. Rice husk and charred husk amendments increase porewater and plant Si but water management determines grain As and Cd concentration

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05350-3  

   Linam, Franklin ; Limmer, Matt A. ; Tappero, Ryan ; Seyfferth, Angelia L. ( March 2022 , Plant and Soil)

   Rice is a staple crop worldwide and a silicon (Si) hyperaccumulator with Si levels reaching 5–10% of its mass; this can result in desilication and Si-deficiency if plant residues are not managed correctly. Rice is also uniquely subject to arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) contamination depending on soil conditions. Our goal is to quantify the effects of rice husk (a Si-rich milling byproduct) amendments and different water management strategies on rice uptake of Si, As, and Cd.

   We employed 4 husk amendment treatments: Control (no husk), Husk (untreated husk), Biochar (husk pyrolyzed at 450 °C), and CharSil (husk combusted at > 1000 °C). Each of these amendments was studied under nonflooded, alternate wetting and drying (AWD), and flooded water management in a pot study. Porewater chemistry and mature plant elemental composition were measured.

   Husk and Biochar treatments, along with flooding, increased porewater and plant Si. Vegetative tissue As decreased with increasing porewater Si, but grain As and plant Cd were primarily controlled by water management. Grain As and Cd were inversely correlated and are simultaneously minimized in a redox potential (Eh) range of 225–275 mV in the studied soil. Ferrihydrite in root iron plaque decreased As translocation from porewater to grain, but amendments were not able to increase plaque ferrihydrite content.

   We conclude moderate husk amendment rates (i.e., 4 years’ worth) with minimal pretreatment strongly increases rice Si content but may not be sufficient to decrease grain As in low Si and As soil.

    

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2. Low temperature plasma treatment of rice husk derived hybrid silica/carbon biochar using different gas sources

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2021.129678  

   Mohammed, Zaheeruddin ; Jeelani, Shaik ; Rangari, Vijaya ( June 2021 , Materials Letters)
3. Biomass densification: Effect of cow dung on the physicochemical properties of wheat straw and rice husk based biomass pellets

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2019.01.005  

   Iftikhar, Maira ; Asghar, Anam ; Ramzan, Naveed ; Sajjadi, Baharak ; Chen, Wei-yin ( March 2019 , Biomass and Bioenergy)
4. Rice husk based nanocellulose scaffolds for highly efficient removal of heavy metal ions from contaminated water

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EW00545B  

   Zhan, Chengbo ; Sharma, Priyanka R. ; He, Hongrui ; Sharma, Sunil K. ; McCauley-Pearl, Alexis ; Wang, Ruifu ; Hsiao, Benjamin S. ( October 2020 , Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology)

   null (Ed.)

   Rice husks are an agricultural residue of great annual production and have a high cellulose content. In this study, we have prepared highly charged carboxyl cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) from rice husks using the TEMPO-oxidation method and the extracted CNFs were evaluated as an adsorbent for the removal of lead( ii ) and lanthanum( iii ) (Pb( ii ) and La( iii )) ions from contaminated water. Three different forms of nanocellulose adsorbents were prepared: suspension, freeze-dried, and nanocomposite containing magnetic nanoparticles, where their adsorption performance was tested against the removal of the two chosen heavy metal ions. The maximum adsorption capacity of rice husk based CNFs was found to be the highest in the nanocellulose suspension, i.e. , 193.2 mg g −1 for Pb( ii ) and 100.7 mg g −1 for La( iii ). The separation of the used adsorbent in the suspension was further facilitated by the gelation of the CNFs and metal cations, where the resulting floc could be removed by gravity-driven filtration. The absorption mechanism of the investigated CNF system is mainly due to electrostatic interactions between negatively charged carboxylate groups and multivalent metal ions. It was found that 90% lanthanum content in the form of lanthanum oxychloride (determined by X-ray powder diffraction) could be obtained by incinerating the CNF/LaCl 3 gel. This study demonstrates a viable and sustainable solution to upcycle agricultural residues into remediation nanomaterials for the removal and recovery of toxic heavy metal ions from contaminated water. 

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5. Rice husk ash and Zr-MOF nanoparticles improve the properties and ultrafiltration performance of PVDF nanomembranes

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinma.2021.100234  

   Rojjanapinun, Akarapan ; Pagsuyoin, Sheree A. ( December 2021 , Results in Materials)