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Investigation On The Characteristics Of Cornstalk Ash Blended Cement
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The Need for Corn Stalk Ash Blended Cement
In Nigeria, astronomical price increases of conventional building materials such as cement, reinforcement bars and sandcrete blocks and failure to adopt truly indigenous building material production systems have not solved the persistent bottlenecks created by building materials sector in low-cost housing delivery (Adedeji, 2007). This, coupled with the pollution associated with the production of cement, has necessitated the search for an alternative medium to partially replace them in the construction industry (Aho&Utsev, 2008).
The use of plastering mortar for coating walls in masonry works further adds significant cost to the total cost of a building, which is already high for low-income earners. A more rational construction process can be implemented with the introduction of technologies that will allow the elimination of mortar; reduce labour costs, and shorten the period of time taken to complete the building. Adedeji (2010) asserted that this new initiative, which is possible through the use of interlocking masonry, has the advantage of saving time and labour, reducing cost and wastages, thus enhancing sustainable and accelerated housing delivery. Therefore to offset the hesitations that do come to mind each time an average citizen thought of having a house of his or her own, researchers have worked and identified the increase in the number of biomass residue identified as pozzolans such as rice husk, groundnut husk, corncob, corn husk, corn stalk, sawdust, coconut shell, etc.
The interest in the application of pozzolan is further propelled by the global concern for the environment, in terms of sustainable development, renewable energy, reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
In order to reduce greenhouse gases, cement companies have turned to the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). There are various SCMs used in concrete including commonly used fly ash, blast furnace slag, and silica fume, while other SCMs can be agricultural by-products such as rice husk ash. Since cement is the most expensive fraction in concrete and difficult to obtain for third-world countries, other ash materials have been used to help extend cement supplies and allow more development. The use of saw dust ash along with naturally occurring metakaolin type clay has shown promise for low-cost concrete production in Africa [Elinwa et al. 2005]. One study from Cuba used another waste material, this time from the burning of sugar cane husks leftover from sugar production
In the construction industry, the fact that nearly 1kg of CO2 is released to the atmosphere for every kilogram of Portland cement produced (United States Department of Energy [USDE], 2003) has further emphasized the need to find alternatives to Portland cement if the contribution of the construction industry to global warming is to be reduced. This is presumed by the fact that an economic advantage of a certain percentage of savings is possible with the application of pozzolans to cement in building works (Adedeji, 2010). ASTM C 618 (2005) specifies that any pozzolan that will be used as a cement binder in concrete requires a minimum of 70% silica, alumina, and ferric oxides; a maximum loss on ignition of 10%; a maximum MgO content of 4%; a maximum SO3 content of 5% and a maximum moisture content of 3%. The global corn production in 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 calendar years were 969.69 million metric tonnes and 1070.51 million metric tonnes respectively; with Nigeria producing 7.00 million metric tonnes and 7.20 million metric tonnes respectively (USDA, 2017). However, most of the corncobs generated worldwide are still discarded as waste. The disposal of this enormous waste can constitute pollution of the environment. However, recent studies9 have shown that agricultural waste is a feasible source of raw materials for blended cement.
Agricultural seed producers have developed corn varieties that contain high levels of elemental silica deposited in the stalks and leaves. High silica levels contained in plant cell walls make those plants undesirable to foraging insects. The silica effectively makes the plant so difficult to digest that the insects find another source of food, thereby protecting the corn plant from infestation without the addition of insecticides [Buendgen et al. 1990]. Mature corn plants have been found to have the highest levels of silica of 7 to 11 percent [Lanning et al. 1980]. Since amorphous silica is the main component in SCMs that react with the calcium hydroxide released from the cement to form hydration products, using ash from a plant with naturally high levels of silica should produce an excellent material suitable for use as an SCM.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]ABSTRACT IS COMING SOON ... Continue reading---
APPENDIX A - [ Total Page(s): 3 ]Appendix D: Concrete cubes after 28days curing. ... Continue reading---
LIST OF TABLES - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]LIST OF TABLESTable 4.1 Chemical Composition of Cornstalk AshTable 4.2 Results for Surface Area, Residue and Expansion Table 4.3 Compressive Strength for Ordinary CementTable 4.4 Compressive Strength of Cornstalk Blended Ash-10Table 4.5 Compressive Strength of Cornstalk Blended Ash-20Table 4.6 Flexural Strength of Ordinary Cement, 10 and 20 Blended CementTable 4.7 Compressive Strength of Ordinary Cement, 10 and 20 Blended Cement ... Continue reading---
LIST OF FIGURES - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]LIST OF FIGURESFigure 2.1: Properties of CementFigure 3.1: Corn plantFigure 3.2: Specimen of CornstalkFigure 3.3: Cornstalk AshFigure 4.1: Flexural Strength Graph of Ordinary CementFigure 4.2: Compressive Strength Graph of Cornstalk Blended Ash ... Continue reading---
TABLE OF CONTENTS - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]TABLE OF CONTENTTitle pageCertificationDedicationAcknowledgement AbstractTable of ContentsList of TablesList of FiguresCHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONi. Background to the studyii. Problem statementiii. Aim of the studyiv. Objectives of the studyv. Justificationvi. ScopeCHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW2.0.Introduction2.1.Corn and Corn Cultivation2.2.Corn and Corn Stalk2.3.Chemical Composition of Corn Stalk2.4.Corn Stalk Ash blended Cement and Construction Industry2.5.B ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER ONE - [ Total Page(s): 2 ]ix. Aim of the studyThe aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of corn stalk blended cement as a partial replacement for ordinary portland cement.x. Objectives of the studyThe main aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of corn stalk blended cement as a partial replacement for ordinary portland cement while the objectives of the study are:• To ascertain the characterization of corn stalk ash.• To determine of the effects of co ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER THREE - [ Total Page(s): 3 ]In order to get the corn stalk, the leaves and sheaths were removed to expose the stalk. The stalks with a straight stem, free from pest and disease, without insect bites, without apparent defects on the surface of the stems, and with uniform color were selected. The mean length of the corn stalks was 2100mm, the pitch of corn stalk was taken artificially and made into a column shape for use as test specimen with a cross-section of 10mm by 10mm and a length of 100-150mm. Figure 3.2 shows the cor ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER FOUR - [ Total Page(s): 5 ]CHAPTER FOURRESULTS AND DISCUSSIONCorn stalk ash (CSA) is not a good pozzolanic material, since it has the combined percentage composition of silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3) and iron oxide (Fe2O3) of 18.78%, which is less than 70%. It therefore does not satisfy the requirement for use as a pozzolana according to ASTM C618(2005). ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER FIVE - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION5.0 CONCLUSIONSThis study has dealt tremendously on the investigation of the characteristics of cornstalk ash blended cement. The findings of this research has led to the following conclusions:• The study revealed that Corn stalk ash (CSA) is not a good pozzolanic material because it does not satisfy the standard specified by ASTM C618(2005).• The compressive strength of the concrete cubes increased with curing period and amou ... Continue reading---
REFRENCES - [ Total Page(s): 3 ]Technical Paper for Industrial Technologies Programme.Rashad, A.: Cementitious materials and agricultural wastes as natural fine aggregate replacement inconventional mortar and concrete. In: Journal of Building Engineering 5 (2016), p. 119–141. SR EN 12350-6:2010: Testing fresh concrete, Part 6: Density. SR EN 12390-3:2009/AC:2011: Testing hardened concrete, Part 3: Compressive strength of test specimens.SR EN 12390-5:2009: Testing hardened concrete, Part 5: Flexural strength of test spec ... Continue reading---
