An overview of the influences of mechanical and chemical processing on sugarcane bagasse ash characterisation as a supplementary cementitious material

Abstract

Abstract Recent researchers are giving more importance to cut the practice of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) by replacing the cementitious properties with industrial by-products in construction materials as supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). Many researchers are using Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SCBA) as SCM which is an industrial by-product. Generally, SCM are pozzolanic materials which are rich in alumina and silicate. Naturally these pozzolanic materials may not be cementitious, but had tendency to react with calcium hydroxide and water in order to form cementitious compounds. The present paper reviews the processing adopted on sugarcane bagasse ash in order to transform it into supplementary cementitious material. The procedure to develop the sugarcane bagasse ash as a pozzolanic material is planned through a structure. The chemical compositions and physical properties of SCBA from the various sources are has been discussed. Furthermore, the influence of grinding and calcination on the characterisation of sugarcane bagasse ash has been discussed. Basically, the characterisation of sugarcane bagasse ash were studied on the basis of physical properties, chemical properties and microstructural studies. This review paper focuses on micro analytical studies of SCBA samples with respect to X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The micro analytical investigation reveals that grinding made SCBA finer and calcination process had reduced the carbon the content in SCBA along with there is an increase in the amorphous reactivity as due to the increment in pozzolanic oxides, observed in X-ray fluorescence (XRF).