Effects of Calcium Carbide Residue–Fly Ash Binder on Mechanical Properties of Concrete

Abstract

This study investigated the use of two kinds of waste from landfills, calcium carbide residue and fly ash, as a low CO2 emission concrete binder. Calcium carbide residue is a by-product of an acetylene gas production process, and fly ash is a by-product of a thermal power plant. Ground calcium carbide residue (CR) was mixed with original fly ash (OF) or ground fly ash (GF) at a ratio of 30:70 by weight and was used as a binder to cast concrete without portland cement. The effects of fly ash finenesses and water to binder ( W/B ) ratios of CR-OF and CR-GF concretes on setting times, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and splitting tensile strength were investigated. The results indicated that CR-OF and CR-GF mixtures could not only be used as a new binder in concrete but could also help reduce environmental problems associated with CO2 emissions. Without the use of portland cement, CR-GF concrete yielded compressive strengths of 28.4 and 33.5 MPa at 28 and 90 days, respectively. In addition, lowe...