Influence of Liquid-to-Solid and Alkaline Activator (Sodium Silicate to Sodium Hydroxide) Ratios on Fresh and Hardened Properties of Alkali-Activated Palm Oil Fuel Ash Geopolymer

Abstract

Malaysia is one of the largest palm oil producers in the world and its palm oil industry is predicted to generate a large amount of waste, which increases the need to modify it for sustainable reuse. The green geopolymers produced from industrial waste can be a potential substitute for cementitious binders. This type of polymer helps reduce dependency on cement, a material that causes environmental problems due to its high carbon emissions. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) geopolymer has been widely investigated for its use as a sustainable construction material. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the total replacement of cement with POFA geopolymer as a binder. In this study, we examined the effects of different material design parameters on the performance of a POFA-based geopolymer as a building material product through iterations of mixture optimisation. The material assessed was a single raw precursor material (POFA) activated by an alkaline activator (a combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate with constant concentration) and homogenised. We conducted a physical property test, compressive strength test, and chemical composition and microstructural analyses to evaluate the performance of the alkali-activated POFA geopolymer at 7 and 28 days. According to the results, the optimum parameters for the production of alkali-activated POFA paste binder are 0.6 liquid-to-solid ratio and 2.5 alkaline activator ratio. Our results show that the use of alkali-activated POFA geopolymer is technically feasible, offering a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative for POFA disposal.