Adaptability of Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash in Mortar
- Vol. 100(2), June
- New York Springer 2019
- 225-240p.
Backbone of India’s economy is agriculture. Major commodities which contribute to agriculture include sugar and alcohol. Sugar production process produces bagasse as a waste residue, which is used as fuel for boilers that produce steam for electricity generation. After burning the bagasse in boiler, the residual sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) is used as soil fertilizer, filling material, etc., but mostly dumped as land waste. The present study is an approach to increase the utilization of SCBA and to conserve scarcely available natural sand and energy-intensive cement. This research aims to study the feasibility incorporation of SCBA from the same source of size less than 90 microns as a replacement for ordinary portland cement (OPC) and those of size greater than 150 microns as fine aggregate (FA) replacement in cement mortar. For detailed analysis, the ash samples were subjected to field emission scanning electron microscopy (Fe-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and sieve analysis. Mortars with SCBA as OPC and FA replacement were casted separately, and mechanical tests were carried out. The results indicated that the SCBA samples showed physical properties similar to those of OPC and FA. Relationship between cube and cylinder compressive strength was also derived. Relationship between compressive strength and water-to-binder (W/B) ratio is derived and compared with previous empirical studies. The blended mortars produced with SCBA in place of OPC and FA showed enhanced mechanical results compared to that of reference samples.