Rice husk has been globally recognised as a source of renewable energy with reasonable heat value and a carbon-neutral fuel. Appropriate handling of this precious biomass energy means lesser pollution due to its low sulphur and heavy metal contents in comparison to fossil fuel consumption.

Technically, husks account for 22% of the paddy weight. Depending on the volume of paddy milled at our mills, 10,000 MT of husks will be used as an alternative green fuel, substituting fossil fuel to dry 200,000 MT of paddy.

The onsite use of these rice husks has also proven to be cost-efficient where it reduces our handling and transportation costs. Apart from domestic use, the excess rice husk is supplied to the husk pellet manufacturers to produce pellets used for fuelling, animal beds, and so forth.

By 2050, the global demand for livestock products is forecasted to increase by 60% to 70%, and similarly, the demand for cereals used in animal feed is also projected to escalate. In this respect, we acknowledge the need to address the requirement of the local feed demand landscape. Therefore, BERNAS has entered into a strategic partnership with FGV Integrated Farming Holdings Sdn Bhd (FGVIF) to capitalise on ground rice husk as an alternative feed ingredient in the production of local animal feed.

Other highly nutritious by-products such as the bran and brewer’s rice (small fragments of rice kernels) are being supplied to animal feed producers.

Rice husk ash (RHA) is a by-product of the combustion of rice husks and a concentrated source of reactive silica (SiO2) and a dense source of carbon, making it another sustainable material of substantial economic value. RHA is mostly supplied to the fertiliser manufacturers and farmers to be used as plant growth media. Besides that, it is also used for soil amelioration, primarily to restore the soil structure by improving the air and water balance of the soil.