Increasing durability of blended concrete using controlled-burning sugarcane bagasse ash as cement replacement

Cement production is causing serious impacts to the environment; and concept of using alternatives to cement has been accepted to lessen that concerns. Sugarcane bagasse ash, a by-product of sugar industries, can be beneficially used as a cementitious material. In this study, the effects of utilizing bagasse ash in replacing cement at various levels (i.e. 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by mass) on concrete properties were investigated. For this purpose, sieving the dried-ash and then burning at 700 degrees C were carried out as treatment. Three bagasse-blended concrete mix series with changes in water-binder ratio (i.e. 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) have been developed. The testing results can be summarized as followed. Amorphous silica and high loss on ignition (14.3%) were specified for the treated ash. Addition of 5% bagasse ash improves the concrete workability; and further increasing cement alternative causes workability loss. Compressive and splitting tensile strengths of blended concrete decrease when increasing rate of cement replacement. On the other hand, enhancement of durability indices of concrete prepared with blended cement is noticeably observed. In three mix series, the lowest weight loss caused by sulfate attack and the highest electrical resistance were examined on specimens incorporating with 20% bagasse ash, although these concretes absorbed higher water when comparing to the respective controls.