Pilot Scale Production of Precast Concrete Elements with Wood Biomass Ash.

Jelena Šantek Bajto,Ivana Carević,Karmen Kostanić Jurić,Sonja Cerković,Nina Štirmer

doi:10.3390/ma14216578

Abstract

Downsizing fossil fuel dependence and greenhouse gas emissions is at the forefront of a sustainable future. The expansion of renewable energy while striving to minimize dependence on fossil fuels has led to biomass taking the lead among renewable energy sources, with wood having the broadest application. Along with the growing trend of using biomass as a renewable energy source, the combustion of wood biomass results in wood biomass ash (WBA), leading to compelling amounts of waste. In this study, the technical feasibility of fly WBA from different Croatian power plants was analyzed to evaluate its potential use in precast concrete drainage elements and curb units. By implementing a performance-based design, the influence of various factors in thermal processing of wood biomass was investigated, together with a detailed characterization of WBA in order to assess the feasibility of using WBA as a secondary raw material in a large-scale industrial batching plant. The compressive strength and durability properties (water absorption, permeability, and freeze–thaw resistance) of concrete mixtures with WBA as a replacement for 15 wt% cement were evaluated and compared with the precast concrete manufacturer’s technical requirements. The main concerns identified were compositional inconsistency of WBA, workability downturn, delay in initial reactivity rate, and increased water absorption. Concrete with WBA based on a circular design has been found to be a viable solution to cement depletion, stepping up from recycling to reuse of industrial waste.

Highlights

Modern society is currently facing widespread, rapid, and worsening climate breakdown, while environmental degradation is having a nearly irreversible impact on people, ecosystems, and livelihoods around the world [1]
The potential of using wood biomass ash (WBA) in cement composites was assessed according to the EN 1340 standard and the limitations obliged by the concrete manufacturer
Based on the data related to compressive strength, capillary uptake, water absorption, water permeability, and freeze–thaw resistance of concrete with WBA, several conclusions can be drawn, which can be used as references for future experimental work based on the investigations carried out:

Summary

Introduction

Modern society is currently facing widespread, rapid, and worsening climate breakdown, while environmental degradation is having a nearly irreversible impact on people, ecosystems, and livelihoods around the world [1]. Rapid actions to cut down greenhouse gas emissions might somewhat curb some impacts that are clearly human-induced, but others are already inevitable. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the largest drop in global emissions ever, CO2 levels in 2020 hit 417 ppm, the highest recorded level in human history [5,6].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion