Effects of Corn Cob Ash as Mineral Admixture on Mechanical and Durability Properties of Concrete – A Review

Abstract

Concrete is the second most consumed product next to water on earth. Cement is the key ingredient for making concrete. India is the second largest cement producer in the world. The production of cement is emitting an equal amount of CO2 in to the atmosphere and is accounted as about 8% of the world’s total emissions. The addition of mineral additives as supplementary cementitious materials in concrete is one of the solution to avoid such environmental pollution. The natural mineral admixture obtained from the novel agricultural by-product, namely corn cob ash (CCA), is being utilized in cement manufacturing and concrete construction. The similarities in both physical and chemical properties of CCA were established when compared to the decade old agro-based mineral admixtures like rice husk ash (RHA) and sugar cane bagasse ash (BA) through research findings. The results are mentioned that the CCA can be used as chemically active mineral admixture and micro-filler in concrete. With this background, the paper presents a review on the effect of substituting CCA in fresh, mechanical and durability properties of concrete.