THE HIGH VOLUME REUSE OF HYBRID BIOMASS ASH AS A PRIMARY BINDER IN CEMENTLESS MORTAR BLOCK

Abstract

High Calcium Wood Ash (HCWA) and Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) are by-products from the wood biomass and coal energy production which are produced in large quantity with combined annual production of 500 million tonnes. This poses a serious problem for disposal of the waste material especially at places where land is scarce. The prescribed study was aimed to examine the mineralogical phases and their respective amount present in the industrial wastes which governs the hydration mechanism towards self-sustained solidification of the ashes when used in combination. Besides, the influence of various forming pressure and hydrothermal treatment temperature on mechanical strength performance of HCWA-PFA cementless mortar blocks was also examined. In the study, the mechanical strength of the HCWA-PFA cementless mortar block produced using various forming pressure and hydrothermal treatment temperature was assessed in terms of compressive strength and dynamic modulus. The results of the study are indicative that HCWA is rich in calcium oxide and potassium oxide content. This enables the hybridization of HCWA with the amorphous silica and alumina rich PFA to form a solid geopolymer binder matrix for fabrication of cementless mortar block. Throughout the study, dimensionally and mechanically stable HCWA-PFA geopolymer mortar blocks were successfully produced by press forming and hydrothermal treatment method. Based on statistical analysis, the hydrothermal treatment temperature has a statistically insignificant effect on the mechanical strength of the HCWA-PFA cementless mortar blocks. The dominant factor which governs the mechanical strength of the HCWA-PFA cementless mortar blocks was found to be the hydraulic forming pressure. Moreover, it was found that hybridized HCWA-PFA can be recycled as the sole binder for fabrication of cementless concrete block which is a useful construction material.