Zeolite has been successfully synthesized from clay and rice husk ash in the form of powder by using the hydrothermal method with variations in chemical compositions of alkaline solution and the amount of rice husk ash. The clay raw material was obtained from the Sidrap area of South Sulawesi and rice husk ash is obtained from the burning pile of rice husks. Sidrap clay and rice husk ash were activated using an alkaline solution of NaOH and varied rice husk ash and the addition of AlCl3. The addition of AlCl3, an alkaline solution of NaOH and H2O was used in the amount of 25.5 grams and variations of rice husk ash were 2.5 grams and 6.5 grams. Meanwhile, without the addition of AlCl3, an alkaline solution of NaOH and H2O was used for 20.5 grams and variations of rice husk ash from 2.5 grams and 6.5 grams. Then the mixture was then put into an autoclave with a temperature of 100°C for 3 hours. The basic material used in the manufacture of zeolite is carried out by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) characterization to determine the constituent elements of basic material, which showed the content of SiO2 was 45.80 wt% in the clay and 93.40% in the rice husk ash. The crystalline structure of the zeolite formed was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). It was found the resulting zeolite were identified as Zeolite-Y, Hydrosodalite, and ZSM-5. The microstructure properties of the resulting zeolite were determined by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

The concrete-filled section of columns has been widely in construction used due to its structural elements. As a result, the usage of composite columns has recently increased all over the world. However, using foamed concrete alone does not result in much improvements in strength. Therefore, this paper examines the use of foamed concrete containing fibre to improve the strength of composite columns. Specifically, this study aims to determine the bond strength of concrete-filled hollow section (CFHS) with modified fibrous foamed concrete. Two types of fibre are used in this work, namely, steel fibre and polypropylene fibre, with rice husk ash (RHA) as a sand replacement to improve the compressive strength of foamed concrete. The CFHS with modified fibrous foamed concrete is tested by using the push-out method, and the results show that CFHS with steel fibre has a highest bond strength.