Up to 78 wt% of rice husk ash obtained by burning at around 1100 deg C for 2 hours was successfully vitrified into sodium borate glasses. The chemical durability of glasses depended on the amount of rice husk ash present in the glass batch. Corrosion studies of vitrified rice husk ash were carried out using a 0.1 N hydrochloric acid solution at 25 & 90 deg C. The effect of y-irradiation on durability was also studied. The decrease in glass durability observed at 90 deg C is related to the activation energy of corrosion process which leads to the dissolution of the glass and the formation of a surface layer. The change in corrosion behaviour due to successive y-irradiation doses is related to the creation of numerous defects in the glass lattice. Morphological and chemical composition changes were followed using SEM combined with EDX.
