A brief survey of literature on Silica refractory research and development: a case for nanostructured silica obtained from rice husk ash (RHA)

Silica refractory research and development has taken a down-turn, perhaps due to the problems associated with them or because of concerns regarding earth conservation, earth being a major source of the raw material-quartz, which is used for silica refractory manufacture. In this review, the authors have pin-pointed the problems identified with silica refractory from researches of the early era (1913 to 1990) and have assessed the theme of current research, in order to ascertain how well these current researches have attended to the problems raised in the early research era. The review shows that the gaps identified in the early research era still remain unattended to. It concludes by making a case for nanostructured silica obtained from rice husk ash (RHA) for the production of silica refractory, as a way of solving these problems and making silica refractory a booming industry once again.