Mechanical Properties Improvement of Disposable Diapers Concrete by Utilization Rice Husk-Based Admixture

Abstract

Disposable diaper recycling has become a major focus in several countries due to environmental concerns. As for overcoming the problem of recycling technology, the use of diaper waste as a material for concrete can be an easier and cheaper option. Although the use of waste disposable diapers as concrete composite material is still very limited, several studies have shown positive results. The addition of disposable diapers to concrete has increased internal curing hydration, improve strength and durability. However, the problem of strength remains a major issue to the development of this concrete. Previous studies concluded that the addition of diapers to concrete is only a maximum of 5%. To further enhance its workability, the addition of a rice husk-based superplasticizer as a concrete admixture was studied in this paper. The variants of the mix design are the addition of disposable diapers of 5% and 10%, with and without superplasticizer. The results show that the addition has no significant impact to reduce compressive strength compared to normal concrete but enhances its workability and mechanical properties. The result increases compressive strength to 4.4% - 6.9% and increases slump value to 2 - 3 times. The result also indicated the variants utilization of disposable diaper concrete for the infrastructure industry.