Indonesia, the third largest global producer of rice, has yet to fully optimize the utilization of rice husk ash, which is generated as a waste byproduct. The silica content of rice husk ash ranges from 15% to 20%, indicating its potential suitability as a viable source material for silica production. The acid leaching procedure employing hydrochloric acid was utilized in this study. The present investigation resulted in the acquisition of silica with a yield of 42.55%. The morphological examinations conducted using a digital microscope yielded black silica powder particles measuring between 0.03 and 0.08 mm in size. The SEM-EDX characterization findings indicate that the predominant constituents of silica are silicon (Si) and oxygen (O), accounting for approximately 73.14% ± 1.59% and 26.86% ± 1.64% of the composition, respectively. The experimental results of the water adsorption test indicate that silica exhibited an average adsorption velocity of 0.021 g/h and an average adsorption capacity of 11.23%. Silica can effectively maintain the moisture content of animal feed at levels below 10%, thereby impeding the proliferation of mold inside the spread.
Putro et al. (Thu,) studied this question.