Synthesis and characterization of nanosilica from rice husk waste Sigupai varieties endemic to Aceh

The global demand for nanosilica is steadily rising due to its broad applications, from enhanced oil recovery to advanced membrane development. However, high costs of nanosilica posed significant economic concern to many industries. This study addresses the economic limitation of nanosilica by utilizing agricultural waste specifically Sigupai rice husks from Southwest Aceh, Indonesia. This approach not only lowers production cost but also offers an environmental solution to the rice milling by-product disposal challenge. Moreover, this research also investigated the impact of the geographical and varietal factors of rice husks on the quality and the yield of the nanosilica. By employing sol-gel method, the characteristics of nanosilica under varying calcining temperature and precipitating agents (HCl and HNO₃) were evaluated. The results indicated a high silica yield of 51.98 % with up to 95 % purity and >23 nm particle size at 800 o c calcining temperature with HNO₃ precipitation agent. These results provided a valuable insight into cost-effective, environmentally sustainable nanosilica production with implications for future applications in various industries.