A replacement of traditional insulation refractory brick by a waste‐derived lightweight refractory castable

Lightweight insulation refractories are essential for high‐temperature performance to reduce energy consumption. This study investigates a new insulation material, that is, solid waste rice husk ash (RHA) derived lightweight refractory castable, replacing traditional insulation refractory brick. The RHA is generated after the burning of rice husk as biomass fuel. The RHA is used as an aggregate and alkali‐extracted silica sol from RHA as a binder to fabricate the insulation castable. The nanosilica containing (~30 wt%) sol is employed to synthesize the refractory castable by varying the sol amount (2.5‐12.5 wt% silica from sol). The castable specimens are cast by a vibro‐caster and fired at 900‐1200°C in a muffle furnace. The physic‐mechanical and thermal conductivity (κ) of the castable is investigated. At 1100°C with 10 wt% dry sol retaining sample shows an excellent apparent porosity (~65%), low bulk density (~ 0.8 g/cm3), and κ (0.136 W/m k) with sustainable compressive strength (6 MPa). The acquired results are a good match with the literature (other wastes‐derived insulation materials) and industrial (silica insulation brick) obtained data. These promising outcomes may inspire the refractory industries for using RHA as an aggregate and RHA extracted sol as a binder for making insulation castable. Lightweight insulation castable refractory is prepared utilizing waste rice husk ash as aggregate and binder.