Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, 2018, 6, 257-270 http://www.scirp.org/journal/jmmce ISSN Online: 2327-4085 ISSN Print: 2327-4077 DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2018.63019 Apr. 9, 2018 257 J. Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering Mechanical, Microstructural and Mineralogical Analyses of Porous Clay Pots Elaborated with Rice Husks Yeri Dah-Traoré, Lamine Zerbo, Mohamed Seynou * , Raguilnaba Ouedraogo Laboratory of Molecular and Materials Chemistry, Chemistry Department, University Ouaga 1 Professor Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Abstract This paper deals with the elaboration of porous ceramic pots with raw clay materials and rice husks for water filtration. The basic raw clays have been mixed with rice husks at different ratio 10% and 15% weight (wt) and sinter- ing at 1200˚C, 1300˚C and 1400˚C for 30 minutes. The elaborated pots have been tested for their densification properties and filtration flow. The mineral- ogy and microstructure of pot have been also studied to explain the different results. The pot with 10% wt rice husks and sintering at 1300˚C during 30 minutes presents a sufficient porosity and mechanical strength to be used for water filtration. Keywords Ceramic, Porous Materials, Raw Clay, Rice Husks 1. Introduction The analysis of water sector in Burkina Faso shows that 11% of urban population and 33% of rural population have no access to drinking water [1]. The principal reasons are the pollution of great part of surface and underground water. The pollutants are principally chemical (sulfate, nitrate, metals), physical (alteration of limpidity), microbiological and organic. Their origins are natural and anth- ropic. Chemical pollutants are generally present in the rock in salt form and dissolve in the running water at concentration higher than the standards of World Health Organization. The mining boom in our country is another reason of water pollution. The water resources of mining areas are polluted with cya- nide and metals like arsenic, mercury. In addition, with population growth, the How to cite this paper: Dah-Traoré, Y., Zerbo, L., Seynou, M. and Ouedraogo, R. (2018) Mechanical, Microstructural and Mineralogical Analyses of Porous Clay Pots Elaborated with Rice Husks. Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, 6, 257-270. https://doi.org/10.4236/jmmce.2018.63019 Received: February 12, 2018 Accepted: April 6, 2018 Published: April 9, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access