Combined effect of coconut shell and sugarcane bagasse ashes on the workability, mechanical properties and embodied carbon of concrete

Abstract

This experimental research was conducted to study the combined effect of agricultural by-product wastes on the properties of concrete. The coconut shell ash (CSA) was utilized to substitute cement content ranging from 0 to 20% by weight of total binder and sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) to substitute fine aggregates (FA) ranging from 0 to 40% by weight of total FA. In this regard, a total of 300 concrete specimens (cylinders and cubes) were prepared using 1:1.5:3 mix proportions with a 0.52 water-binder ratio. The study investigated the workability, density, permeability, and mechanical properties in terms of compressive and splitting tensile strengths. Additionally, the total embodied carbon for all mix proportions was calculated. It was observed that with an increase in CSA and SCBA contents, the workability, density, and permeability reduced significantly. Due to CSA and SCBA being pozzolanic materials, a gain in compressive and splitting tensile strengths was observed for certain concrete mixes, after which the strength decreased. The increase in embodied carbon of SCBA increased the total embodied carbon of concrete; however, it can be said that C15S40 which consists of 15% CSA and 40% SCBA is the optimum mix that achieved 28.75 MPa and 3.05 MPa compressive and tensile strength, respectively, a reduction of 4% total embodied carbon.

Keywords: Conservation of natural resources; Embodied carbon; Mechanical strength enhancement; Sustainability; Waste materials in concrete.