The future requires closed-loop integrated systems thinking turning ‘waste’ into a valuable part of the resource cycle. Rice currently provides more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. Rice production is approaching 700 million tonnes annually. Of this, about 20% (140 million tonnes) is ‘waste’ in the form of rice husk or chaff - the outer shell of the rice grain.

In many regions disposal of the husk is a problem yet rice husk has a very wide range of actual and potential uses including contributing to compost, insulation and construction materials, fuel and electricity generation.

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