Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterization of cogeneration generated Napier grass ash and its potential use as SCMs

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Materials and Structures Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of present study was to investigate the potential utilization of one cogeneration generated biomass ash Napier grass ash (NGA) as SCMs in cement-based materials. The chemical and mineral composition of NGA and its morphology characterization were investigated by means of XRF, XRD and SEM. In addition, the effect of NGA addition on the hydration of blended mixtures was studied by means of isothermal calorimetry. Furthermore, the effect of NGA addition on the properties of blended mortars was characterized by flowability and mechanical strength. The results show that the NGA from the industrial process presents irregular shapes with roughness and porosity surface textures and contains high silica content as well as high LOI. Further thermal treatment at 400 °C was applied aiming to reduce the LOI. The cement replacing by NGA (20% by mass) can partially contribute to the cement hydration. The mechanical strength results indicate that the NGA can meet the requirement to classify the material as a pozzolan no matter whether a further burning process was applied or not. In the present study, the pozzolanic behavior of NGA is slightly higher than that of FA, in terms of compressive strength. It will be of great interest to optimize the combustion technology to produce NGA ashes with lower LOI, aiming to improve its performance in mortar preparation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Van den Broek R, Faaij A, Van Wijk A (1996) Biomass combustion for power generation. Biomass Bioenergy 11:271–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Strezov V, Evans TJ, Hayman C (2008) Thermal conversion of elephant grass (Pennisetum Purpureum Schum) to bio-gas, bio-oil and charcoal. Bioresour Technol 99:8394–8399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Schank SC, Chynoweth DP, Turick CE, Mendoza PE (1993) Napiergrass genotypes and plant parts for biomass energy. Biomass Bioenergy 4:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Waramit N, Chaugool J (2014) Napier grass: a novel energy crop development and the current status in Thailand. J Int Soc Southeast Asian Agric Sci 20:139–150

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mehta PK (1992) Rice husk ash—a unique supplementary cementing material. In: Proceeding of the international symposium on advances in concrete tech, Athens, Greece, pp 407–430

  6. Sua-iam G, Makul N (2013) Use of increasing amounts of bagasse ash waste to produce self-compacting concrete by adding limestone powder waste. J Clean Prod 57:308–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Demis S, Tapali JG, Papadakis VG (2014) An investigation of the effectiveness of the utilization of biomass ashes as pozzolanic materials. Constr Build Mater 68:291–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Morales EV, Villar-Cociña E, Frías M, Santos SF, Savastano H Jr (2009) Effects of calcining conditions on the microstructure of sugar cane waste ashes (SCWA): influence in the pozzolanic activation. Cem Concr Compos 31:22–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Ganesana K, Rajagopal K, Thangavel K (2007) Evaluation of bagasse ash as supplementary cementitious material. Cem Concr Compos 29:515–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Biricik H, Akoz F, Berktay I, Tulgar AN (1999) Study of pozzolanic properties of wheat straw ash. Cem Concr Res 29:637–643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Cordeiro GC, Toledo Filho RD, Tavares LM, Fairbairn EMR, Hempel S (2011) Influence of particle size and specific surface area on the pozzolanic activity of residual rice husk ash. Cem Concr Compos 33:529–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rodier L, Bilba K, Onésippe C, Arsène MA (2017) Study of pozzolanic activity of bamboo stem ashes for use as partial replacement of cement. Mater Struct 50:87. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-016-0958-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. James J, Subba Rao M (1986) Reactivity of rice husk ash. Cem Concr Res 16:296–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Nakanishi EY, Frías M, Martínez-Ramírez S, Santos SF, Rodrigues MS, Rodríguez O, Savastano H Jr (2014) Characterization and properties of elephant grass ashes as supplementary cementing material in pozzolan/Ca(OH)2 pastes. Constr Build Mater 73:391–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Cordeiro GC, Sales CP (2015) Pozzolanic activity of elephant grass ash and its influence on the mechanical properties of concrete. Cem Concr Compos 55:331–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Cordeiro GC, Toledo Filho RD, Fairbairn EMR (2009) Effect of calcination temperature on the pozzolanic activity of sugar cane bagasse ash. Constr Build Mater 23:3301–3303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. European Standard EN 196-1 (2005) Methods of testing cement—part 1: determination of strength. European Committee for Standardization, rue de Stassart 36, Brussels 1050, Belgium

  18. Atis CD (2005) Strength properties of high-volume fly ash roller compacted and workable concrete, and influence of curing condition. Cem Concr Res 35:1112–1121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Chandrasekhar S, Pramada PN, Majeed J (2006) Effect of calcining temperature and heating rate on the optical properties and reactivity of rice husk ash. J Mater Sci 41:7926–7933

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. ASTM C 1437 (2015) Standard test method for flow of hydraulic cement mortar. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States

  21. ASTM C 618 (2012) Standard specification for coal fly ash and raw or calcined natural pozzolan for use in concrete. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States

  22. Wang Y, Shao Y, Matovic MD, Whalen JK (2015) Optimization of switchgrass combustion for simultaneous production of energy and pozzolan. J Mater Civ Eng 27(12):04015040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Ataie F, Riding K (2013) Thermochemical pretreatments for agricultural residue ash production for concrete. J Mater Civ Eng 25(11):1703–1711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Xu W, Lo TY, Memon SA (2012) Microstructure and reactivity of rich husk ash. Constr Build Mater 29:541–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. De Schutter G (1999) Hydration and temperature development of concrete made with blast-furnace slag cement. Cem Concr Res 29:143–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Dittrich S, Neubauer J, Götz-Neunhoeffer F (2014) The influence of fly ash on the hydration of OPC within the first 44 h—a quantitative in situ XRD and heat flow calorimetry study. Cem Concr Res 56:129–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Schöler A, Lothenbach B, Winnefeld F, Haha MB, Zajac M, Ludwig H-M (2017) Early hydration of SCM-blended Portland cements: a pore solution and isothermal calorimetry study. Cem Concr Res 93:71–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Tang P, Florea MVA, Spiesz P, Brouwers HJH (2016) Application of thermally activated municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash fines as binder substitute. Cem Concr Compos 70:194–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Lerch W (1946) The influence of gypsum on the hydration and properties of Portland cement pastes. Am Soc Test Mater 46:1252–1297

    Google Scholar 

  30. Sandberg P, Roberts LR (2003) Studies of cement–admixture interactions related to aluminate hydration control by isothermal calorimetry. Am Concr Inst 217:529–542

    Google Scholar 

  31. Hesse C, Goetz-Neunhoeffer F, Neubauer J (2010) A new approach in quantitative insitu XRD of cement pastes: correlation of heat flow curves with early hydration reactions. Cem Concr Res 41:123–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Jansen D, Goetz-Neunhoeffer F, Stabler Ch, Neubauer J (2011) A remastered external standard method applied to the quantification of early OPC hydration. Cem Concr Res 41:602–608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Jansen D, Goetz-Neunhoeffer F, Lothenbach B, Neubauer J (2012) The early hydration of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC): an approach comparing measured heat flow with calculated heat flow from QXRD. Cem Concr Res 42:134–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Chusilp N, Jaturapitakkul C, Kiattikomol K (2009) Effects of LOI of ground bagasse ash on the compressive strength and sulfate resistance of mortars. Constr Build Mater 23:3523–3531

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51808420), State Scholarship Program of China Scholarship Council and Special Research Fund from Ghent University. Dr. Phongthorn Julphunthong from Naresuan University (Thailand) is thanked for his helpful discussions and suggestions to this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Yang Lv

  2. Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research, Department of Structural Engineering, Ghent University, 9052, Ghent, Belgium

    Yang Lv, Guang Ye & Geert De Schutter

  3. Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, 2600 GA, Delft, The Netherlands

    Guang Ye

Authors
  1. Yang Lv
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guang Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Geert De Schutter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yang Lv or Geert De Schutter.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lv, Y., Ye, G. & De Schutter, G. Characterization of cogeneration generated Napier grass ash and its potential use as SCMs. Mater Struct 52, 87 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-019-1377-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-019-1377-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation