Utilization Potential of Waste from Sugarcane Factory of Bangladesh as Partial Replacement of Cement in Concrete

Sugarcane bagasse easily found in sugar factories of Bangladesh. Some of them are used as fuel in sugar mills and rest of them are dumped into environment without any commercial return. The disposal of this material is causing environmental problems around the sugar factories. On the other hand, urbanization and industrialization is rapidly increasing in Bangladesh. So, the construction industry is rapidly expanding. Currently large amount of cement is needed for this construction industry. It will be increasing day by day. The study examined the potentiality of using classified Sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) to replace some part of OPC cement in concrete. In this study, bagasse sample was collected from Natore sugar mill. After collecting the sugarcane bagasse, it was dried in sun for a week and then it burned in aggregate burning oven at 800°C to 1000°C temperature for 20 minutes. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was replaced by SCBA at different percentage ratios at 0%, 5%, 7.5%, 10 and 12.5%. Normal consistency and setting time were investigated for these ratios. The compressive strengths of different concrete with SCBA addition were also investigated. Strength was tested for 7, 28 and 56 days. The test results indicated that up to 5% replacement of cement by bagasse ash results in better or similar concrete properties. It also showed the economic advantages by using SCBA as a partial cement replacement material.

Keywords:

Industrial Waste , Sugarcane Bagasse , Ash , Pozzolanic material , Cement replacement , Sustainable Concrete , Setting time , Compressive strength