Abstract
Sand contaminated with crude oil is becoming a major environmental issue around the world, while at the same time, fly ash generated by coal-fired power stations is having a detrimental effect on the environment. Previous studies showed that combining these two waste materials can result in an environmentally sustainable geopolymer concrete. Incorporating sand contaminated with crude oil up to a certain level (4% by weight) can improve the mechanical properties of the produced geopolymer concrete but beyond this level can have a detrimental effect on its compressive strength. To overcome this challenge, this study introduces short fibres to enhance the mechanical properties of geopolymer mortar containing fine sand contaminated with 6% by weight of light crude oil. Four types of short fibres, consisting of twisted polypropylene (PP) fibres, straight PP fibres, short glass fibres and steel fibres in different dosages (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% by volume of geopolymer mortar) are considered. The optimum strength was obtained when straight PP fibres were used wherein increases of up to 39% and 74% of the compressive and tensile strength, respectively, of the geopolymer mortar were achieved. Moreover, a fibre dosage of 0.5% provided the highest enhancement in the mechanical properties of the geopolymer mortar with 6% crude oil contamination. This result indicates that the reduction in strength of geopolymer due to the addition of sand with 6% crude oil contamination can be regained by using short fibres, making this new material from wastes suitable for building and construction applications.
Highlights
IntroductionIntroduction published maps and institutional affilCrude oil is one of the most important sources of energy and it plays a great role in improving the economy of any country
Introduction published maps and institutional affilCrude oil is one of the most important sources of energy and it plays a great role in improving the economy of any country
It has been observed that all specimens with fibres displayed signs of shear failure
Summary
Introduction published maps and institutional affilCrude oil is one of the most important sources of energy and it plays a great role in improving the economy of any country. Significant amounts of oily wastewater are generated during oil production, which contaminate the surrounding sand [2,3,4]. Crude oil contamination has a direct effect on the erosion of sand and water infiltration and may cause fire on the ground [5]. Crude oil contamination affects the physio-chemical characteristics of sand [6]. Sharma and Reddy [7] concluded that the intrinsic permeability (k) of contaminated sand increases when there is an increase in density and a decrease in the viscosity of the fluid filling the voids. When the permeability of the sand increased due to the decreased viscosity of the crude oil, the crude oil spread faster, and a larger area was affected. The possibility of the crude oil contamination reaching the underground water was higher
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call