Production of Sustainable Green Concrete Composites Comprising Industrial Waste Carpet Fibres

Abstract

Green production and sustainable development are the pressing concerns of the twenty-first century. By the growing amount of wastes generated from many practices, there has been a growing consideration in the utilisation of wastes in the production of sustainable composite materials such as concrete composites to attain possible benefits. In the construction industries, the idea of sustainability inspires the usage of waste materials to replace raw resources, such as cement, aggregates and fibrous materials. This leads to sustainable, green and eco-friendly construction by decreasing the cost and natural resources related to disposing of the waste materials. This chapter highlights the outcomes of an experimental examination on the performance of green concrete composites comprising industrial waste polypropylene carpet fibres and palm oil fuel ash (POFA). Six different concrete mixes containing 20-mm-long carpet fibre at dosages of 0–1.25% were made with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Additional six concrete mixes containing 20% POFA with the same fibre dosages were made. Concrete composite specimens then were tested for fresh and hardened state properties. It has been found that by adding carpet fibres the workability of composite mixes was reduced. Besides, the compressive strength of concrete composites did not improve by the addition of carpet fibres. However, the positive interaction amongst carpet fibre and POFA leads to lesser drying shrinkage, higher flexural and tensile strengths, thereby enhancing the ductility of concrete composites with higher energy absorption and impact resistance and, therefore, developed crack distribution. The water absorption and depth of chloride penetration of the concrete composites were significantly reduced with the inclusion of waste carpet fibre. The results further reveal that the replacement of POFA significantly influenced on the durability characteristics of concrete composites at extended curing times. The outcomes of this study proposed that the employment of industrial waste carpet fibre together with POFA in the production of sustainable and green concrete composites is viable technically and environmentally.