Abstract

The utilization of industrial and agricultural waste produced during the manufacturing processes has been the emphasis of waste reduction research for economic, environmental and technical reasons. Sugar Cane Straw Waste Ash (SSWA) is a fibrous waste product of the sugar industry, along with ethanol vapor. This waste product is already causing serious environmental pollution, which calls for urgent ways of handling the waste. The SSWA is rich in SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 (83.13%). It has limited life span and after use, it is either stock piled or sent to landfills. This study focuses on experimental investigation on the use of SSWA as cement substitute in concrete production. Total number of 120 cubes of size 150 x 150 x 150 mm, 72 numbers of cylindrical size of 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height specimen were casted from a mix ratio of 1:2:4 by weight and water-cement ratio of 0.6. Concrete cubes were then cast and tested to examine various properties of concrete partially replaced in the ratio of 05, 10 15 20 and 25% by weight of cement. Slump test was conducted on the fresh concrete and it was discovered that the workability increase with increase in additional levels of SSWA which shows that the water absorption capacity of SSWA is low. The compressive strength and flexural strength were carried out on the hardened concrete at various ages of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, respectively. Both the compressive strength and flexural strength of concrete decrease with increase in SSWA content, however, from the results we can conclude that optimum amount of sugarcane straw waste ash that can be replaced with cement is 10% by weight without any admixture.