Effect of Organic Waste on Crystal Structure and Mechanical Properties of Concrete

Abstract

The influence of organic waste as an additive to concrete formulation has been studied by replacing up to 10% of cement ratio with locally sourced organic additive. The reference cement used was Portland cement; three different organic wastes were used in the mixture: periwinkle shell, extracted silica from corn hob ash and coconut shell ash. Uniform distribution of the additive was ensured by thorough mixing prior to water addition. Casting and curing of the concrete were done in line with established standard. The compressive strength test was carried out using the Instron universal testing machine and the oxides of elemental composition of the cement and the additives were determined using EDXRF Spectrometer (EDX 3600B) while the crystallography studies were carried out using EMMA) X-ray diffractometer . The result obtained indicated that there was a significant difference between the value of density, packing efficiency and compressive strength of each reinforced concrete with that of the reference cement which was attributable to the presence of additives. The cement formulation with silica as admixture was found to have the highest compressive strength of 217.94 MPa, while the reference cement had the lowest compressive strength of 81.45 MPa. This study has established that locally sourced organic additives (emerging additives), influence the mechanical properties of concretes.