Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics (2019) 32:77–93

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-019-09768-1

ARTICLES

When Agricultural Waste Transforms

into an Environmentally Friendly Material: The Case
of Green Concrete as Alternative to Natural Resources
Depletion

Cătălina Mihaela Grădinaru1 · Adrian Alexandru Şerbănoiu1 ·
Danut Traian Babor1 · Gabriel Constantin Sârbu2 ·
Ioan Valentin Petrescu‑Mag3,4 · Andrei Cristian Grădinaru5

Accepted: 18 February 2019 / Published online: 26 February 2019

© Springer Nature B.V. 2019

Abstract
In an increasingly urbanized world, construction industry is called upon to serve the
needs of human society, such as environmental protection and safety in terms of
infrastructure. In this context, a sustainable and ethical development means a close
connection between buildings and environment. This connection can be achieved
through, for example, the concept of ecological concrete or green concrete, as it is
often called. The conventional process of obtaining cement and mineral aggregates
from the concrete composition generates pollution, especially through greenhouse
gas emissions. Also, one should not ignore the fact that extraction of the raw materi‑
als affects the habitats of the sites and of the neighboring areas. When construction
materials are questioned, the ethical issues lay not in the means of expression, but
mainly in the means of production. More to the point, the present contribution aimed
to find solutions for enhancing the adhesion of vegetal aggregates with the cement
matrix, in order to obtain a material with optimal mechanical properties, which is
valued as an ethical approach of building industry. Results showed that plant aggre‑
gates can be used to obtain a building material which can be improved by using
partial substitution of cement by silica fume, fly ash, or by using additives (sodium
silicate and air entraining additive) and that green concrete as an environmentally
friendly material offers the alternative for lower energy use and fewer ­CO2 emis‑
sions. Marketers must understand not only the advantages of these green materials,
but also that they have an ethical commitment to provide consumers with environ‑
mentally friendly materials.

Keywords  Environmentally friendly materials · Green concrete · Fly ash · Silica

fume · Plant aggregates

* Ioan Valentin Petrescu‑Mag

zoobiomag2004@yahoo.com
Extended author information available on the last page of the article

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 78 C. M. Grădinaru et al.

Introduction

The cement industry has to face challenges related to the deficit of the mineral
raw materials, the consumption of fossil fuel reserves, the protection of the envi‑
ronment through decrease of CO, ­CO2, ­SO2, and NO emissions that have effect on
global warming and ocean acidification (Mittermayr et al. 2015). Concrete is one
of the most common building materials used in the construction industry, which
is made of cement, mineral aggregates, and water. It is estimated that world‑
wide, more than 10 billion tons of concrete are produced each year (Meyer 2009).
The obtaining process of the cement and mineral aggregates generates pollution
through greenhouse gas emissions. The cement processing implies a burning pro‑
cess at very high temperatures which determines the consumption of other natural
resources such as coal, oil or gas. Moreover, dust particles generated in quarries
­ O2 emissions from
affect the health of the inhabitants of the neighboring areas. C
fossil fuels usage and cement production are steadily rising, data reported in 2013
showing values of 61% higher than those recorded in 1990, 2.3% higher than in
2012, and 2.5% lower than those reported in 2014 (Carbon Dioxide Information
Analysis Center Global Carbon Budget 2014). In many cases, ­CO2 emissions may
be equal to and even exceed 1 tonne per tonne of cement produced (Błaszczyński
and Król 2015). Consequently, there is a stringent need towards green innovation
which is acknowledged to be one of the important strategic tools to reach sus‑
tainable development (Chang 2011). Sustainable development requires a rethink
and redesign of some of current resource practices (Burkhardt 1989). Within this
picture of paradigm shift, the herein scientific approach has been integrated. All
the above-mentioned data encouraged the use of waste in the process of con‑
crete manufacturing, contributing to the overall management of environmental
security understood as the organization and coordination of activities targeting
creation, preservation, recovery, and enhancement of environmental quality for
the moral value of the environment itself and for human life support (Belluck
et  al. 2006; Petrescu et  al. 2015). The concept of ecological concrete or green
concrete fits within that of environmentally friendly materials, as it uses less
energy and produce fewer ­CO2 emissions (Proske et  al. 2014). Environmentally
friendly products/services do not damage the environment whether in the process
of their production, use or disposal. They can be made from scraps of materials,
new sources of cheap natural materials, or from recycled materials (Helepciuc
et  al. 2017; Helepciuc et  al. 2018a, b; Vadicherla and Saravanan 2014). Invest‑
ment in research, development and innovation targeting cleaner products have
made environment-friendly products more and more present on the market in the
last years. However, consumption of environment-friendly products, as any other
products, are largely culturally determined, therefore differences in consump‑
tion habits can appear over time and places (Petrescu-Mag et al. 2016). Not to be
ignored are the price and quality of the products which play their relevant role in
purchase decision. In many cases, green concrete production can be cheaper than
the conventional one due to waste used as partial cement or aggregates replace‑
ment (Hameed and Sekar 2009). Waste is understood to be any substance or a

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When Agricultural Waste Transforms into an Environmentally… 79

by-product of a technological process that is or is intended to be disposed of

Crossin (2015). By using this waste into concrete, the cost of storing or removing
it can be avoided, a lower energy consumption is obtained and the durability of
the concrete increases.
Authors adopted Naik’s (2008) understanding of green concrete: “have a very low
inherent energy requirement, be produced with little waste, be made from some of the
most plentiful resources on earth, produce durable structures, have a very high thermal
mass, and be made with recycled materials. The green concrete concept folds on the
three Hawken’s (1993) coordinates: “what it takes” (from the nature), “what it makes”,
and “what it wastes”. However, while the significance of the term “sustainable prod‑
uct” overlaps on a great extent with the term „environmentally friendly” product, there
are some differences between the terms. For instance, compared with purely environ‑
mentally friendly products which are mostly environment oriented, sustainable prod‑
ucts focus both on ecological and social significance (Charter and Tischner 2017; An
et  al. 2018). Sustainable products are those products known to provide environmen‑
tal, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and environment over
their entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials until the final disposal. If
we simply define ethics as norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and
unacceptable behavior (Resnik 2011), the link between ethics and sustainable develop‑
ment is even more clear, as sustainability takes over the task to question the right and
wrong of different courses of action and their effects on environment and future human
generations (Kibert 1999). When construction materials are questioned, the ethical
issues lay not in the means of expression, but in the means of production (Hagan 1998).
Therefore, the case study presented in this paper aimed to find solutions for enhancing
the adhesion of vegetal aggregates with the cement matrix, in order to obtain a mate‑
rial with optimal mechanical properties, within a broader debate of environmentally
friendly products. Several variants of additives and cement partial substitution were
tested in two concrete formulas, each one with 50% corn cob or sunflower aggregates
as replacement materials of mineral aggregates. The results showed that plant aggre‑
gates can be used to obtain a building material which can be improved by using partial
replacement of cement with silica fume, fly ash, or by additives (sodium silicate and
air entraining additive), and thus, bringing its share to a cleaner environment. Moreo‑
ver, the contribution of green concrete to sustainable cities may be valued as reference
point towards smoothing the conflict between “building” and “dwelling” (Bastons and
Armengou 2016). In this context, building materials that meet environmental perfor‑
mance criteria, like green concrete, are regarded ethically acceptable because they
consider the well-being of communities, whether those communities are exclusively
human, or inclusive of all life (Hagan 1998).

The Environmental Impact of the Concrete Production and the Ethics

of Using Alternative Raw Materials in Its Composition

In building industry, a sustainable development that incorporates an ethical perspec‑

tive means a close connection between buildings and environment. According to
the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), sustainable

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 80 C. M. Grădinaru et al.

development means “forms of progress that meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (WBCSD 2018).
Today’s society must take care that its actions may compromise environmental,
social and human needs of the tomorrow’s generation. Sustainable development also
means an economic and social growth in harmony with natural habitat (Król 2016).
Novel products, like the environmentally friendly ones, seem to be the nowadays
mantra for business success where ethics should find its place, as far as it describes
codes of conduct that provide the direction for a proper behavior, regardless it is
about business or individuals (Moran et al. 2014). As far as ethics is connected to
relations among people or the effects that their behavior can have on others, devel‑
opment of novel products may rise ethical questions, at least from the perspective of
updating the previous ethical framework (Moran et al. 2014).
Concrete, as the most used material in construction industry, represents a key
element which may affect the natural resources preservation, and may lead to an
increasing of greenhouse gas release. The cement production implies the consump‑
tion of large quantities of mineral raw materials, energy and heat, and the production
of significant quantity of solid waste materials (Huntzinger and Eatmon 2009). In
order to reduce the environmental impact of concrete, some principles that refers
to the use of the appropriate concrete for the appropriate purpose must be fol‑
lowed. Those guidelines refer to the inclusion of a high content of recycled or alter‑
native materials, optimization of the content of cement in concrete and the use of
cement with reduced environmental impact, with the lowest possible clinker content
(Damtoft et al. 2008).
There are signals that cement and concrete industries started to take measures
with positive effects on the climate change, by continuously reducing the C ­ O2
emissions resulted from cement production, by developing concrete recipes with a
decreased environmental impact by cement or/and mineral aggregates replacement,
by encouraging the concrete recycling or by exploiting the thermal mass of con‑
crete to obtain an energy saving for buildings heating and cooling (Damtoft et  al.
2008). Over the past decades, the cement industry looked for ways to reduce the
consumption of energy and natural exhaustive resources, and to emit less ­CO2 per
unit of cement produced (Damtoft et al. 2008). One way is represented by the use
of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash or silica fume, two
industrial by-products considered waste otherwise (Helepciuc et al. 2017, 2018a, b).
Despite of all progress made, the cement industry still determines environmental
and health problems (Helepciuc 2017). Because of its high level of energy consump‑
tion, the cement processing creates environmental and health problems all over the
world; its emissions degrade air quality and contributed in 2015 to global warming
and climate change by almost 8.0% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions
(Olivier et  al. 2016). According to the International Energy Agency’s Greenhouse
Gas R&D Programme, cement industry generates around 0.81 kg ­CO2 emissions per
each kg of cement produced (Hendricks et al. 2004). One tonne of Portland cement
produced requires around 1500 kg of raw materials, from which around 1.2 tonnes of
limestone and marl, 0.4 tonnes of clay and 0.05 tonnes of gypsum; these raw materi‑
als emit about 65% of the total C­ O2 released by the cement industry. The remained
35% are released during the limestone burning process at 1450 °C (Ali et al. 2015).

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When Agricultural Waste Transforms into an Environmentally… 81

Each year, for every human is produced around 1 tonne of concrete, globally (Huntz‑
inger and Eatmon 2009). Compared to 1990 levels, the cement global demand will
be with 115–180% higher by 2020 and with four-fold more by 2050 (Damtoft et al.
2008). There are signals that it is imperative that C
­ O2 emissions have to be reduced
by 50% by 2050 (Ali et al. 2015).
The fuel consumption implied in cement processing involves over 500,000 tonnes
per year of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide (Ali et  al. 2015).
These emissions are in relation with some important health problems and environ‑
mental damages:

(i) In high concentrations, sulfur dioxide is in relation with respiratory and car‑
diovascular diseases in humans and it may cause acid deposition, acid rain or
smog in the environment (Kermani et al. 2016; Xu et al. 2018; Ge et al. 2017;
Yun et al. 2018);
(ii) Nitric oxide determines lung diseases and visual impairment, and contributes
to eutrophication, global warming, water quality deterioration, smog and acid
rain generation (Boningari and Smirniotis 2016; Helepciuc 2017);
(iii) Carbon monoxide causes respiratory problems and reduces the oxygen supply
to organs and tissues, and it has adverse effects on nervous and cardiovascular
systems (Helepciuc 2017).

In the cement production process, cement kiln dust (Huntzinger and Eatmon
2009) result which is a potential hazardous waste according to the EPA (ECOTEC
2018) because it has a caustic nature and can be irritant for skin, eyes, or respiratory
tract (Huntzinger and Eatmon 2009).
Another problem determined by cement industry implies the environment con‑
tamination with heavy metals. The effects of heavy metals pollution on environ‑
ment starts mainly from soil, air and groundwater, and expand on the plants and
living organisms (Petrescu-Mag et al. 2010; Petrescu-Mag and Petrescu-Mag 2010;
Todoran et al. 2010). In soil, heavy metals contamination produces low fertility that
decreases the vegetal productions. From soil, the heavy metal residues are taken
up by plants and then transmitted to animals and humans through food (Bora et al.
2017; Gradinaru et al. 2017). In humans and animals, heavy metals accumulate in
liver, kidney, thyroid and/or bone marrow, and may cause genetic effects. Heavy
metals are toxic even in low concentrations (Cosier and Petrescu-Mag 2008).
Mineral resources are the main components of the concrete, as raw materi‑
als for cement production but also as aggregates in the concrete mix. In Roma‑
nia, mineral aggregates are extracted mainly as such, from riverbeds, but in other
countries can be obtained by rock blocks crushing previously excavated or mined.
Mineral aggregates represent a natural resource and their extraction, no matter
of the method used, affects the plant and animal habitats and alter the landscape.
The aggregate mining produces damages on environment as noise, dust, blasting
effects, relief changes, loss of habitat for plants, animals, and humans (Langer
and Arbogast 2002). The environmental impact of mineral aggregates mining or
extraction depends on the geological characteristics of the site, if the deposits
contain high or low percent of materials with adequate properties to be used in

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 82 C. M. Grădinaru et al.

concrete, on the dimensions and vicinities of the site, on the existing habitats that
are disturbed by these activities (Langer et al. 2004; Langer and Arbogast 2002).
In last decades, in civil engineering, an increased demand for high-strength
concrete was registered in order to obtain thinner building elements, essential
especially in high-rise buildings. To accomplish the high-performance goal,
SCMs as cement partial replacement are used in concrete mixtures. The addition
of SCMs into concrete contributes to the decreasing of the landfilled waste mate‑
rial concomitant to the reducing the clinker produced. The SCMs using results,
therefore, in the reduction of environmental pollution and material costs of con‑
structions (Huntzinger and Eatmon 2009). As partial replacement of cement in
concrete production, pozzolanic materials such as fly ash or silica fume can be
used; these materials chemically react with calcium hydroxide resulted from the
cement hydration, not only with water alone; this is the reason why they are used
as partial and not as total cement replacement (Des King 2012). Supplementary
cementitious materials used in concrete, such as fly ash or silica fume (in combi‑
nation with Portland cement), can result in a reducing by 15–40% and, in special
cases, by 70% of ­CO2 embodied in concrete (Król 2016).
Fly ash is an industrial waste resulted from coal-burning process in thermo-
and power plant (Verma et al. 2016). Fly ash improve the cement hydration, con‑
crete workability and durability, increase the compressive strength of the con‑
crete on long-term, for the periods of more than 90 days (Chousidis et al. 2015;
Shaikh and Supit 2015); it reduces the concrete porosity and the diffusion of ­CO2
and chlorides, diminishes the cracking due to low heat of hydration (Sua-iam
and Makul 2015). Fly ash is widely used in concrete mixtures as SCM because it
improves the concrete properties and it is found in much more higher quantities
than silica fume (Anwar and Roushdi 2013), due to the fact that it is a by-product
of coal-burning power plants, a very expanded industry all over the world. Being
a waste that is usually disposed in high quantities mainly as ash ponds and land‑
fills, there exist the situation in which fly ash is carried out by the wind on very
long distances, determining in this way damages on large areas of environment.
Fly ash contains important percents of heavy metals, so it has the same effects on
plants and living organism as described for heavy metals (Gradinaru et al. 2017).
Silica fume is a very efficient pozzolanic material, being a by-product in the
manufacture of ferro-silicon alloys or silicon metal in electronic arc furnaces,
very useful in high-performance concrete applications (Damtoft et  al. 2008). It
ensures an increased compressive and tensile strength of concrete, a more cohe‑
sive and less prone to concrete segregation, does not significantly affect the set‑
ting time, reduces the concrete bleeding, has a similar hydration heat as cement,
produces very large reduction in water permeability; silica fume concrete pre‑
sents higher carbonatation resistance, and improved behaviour to chloride diffu‑
sion and sodium sulfate attack. This type of concrete should be air entrained if
exposed to freeze–thaw cycles (Des King 2012). Silica fume is more expensive
compared to Portland cement and fly ash but its use is recommended when it is
needed to obtain a concrete with higher performances from mechanical properties
and durability point of view (Anwar and Roushdi 2013).

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When Agricultural Waste Transforms into an Environmentally… 83

The main advantages of using silica fume and fly ash in concrete are repre‑
sented by the improving of the technological properties of the concrete, leading
to high compressive strength, low permeability, good resistance to freeze–thaw
cycling, and by the reduction of waste accumulation that lead to significant envi‑
ronmental and economic benefits. For example, if it is used a small percent of
5% cement replacement by silica fume or fly ash, it is obtained a reduction of
around 75 × 106 tonnes of ­CO2, taking into account a globally production of about
1500 × 106 tonnes per year (Anwar and Roushdi 2013).
When silica fume and fly ash are added together in concrete, each one will
exhibit its own characteristics, so that the physical, mechanical and durability
properties of concrete will not be decreased even if there are used higher quan‑
tities of SCMs. For example, silica fume improves the concrete strength in the
first 7  days after placing the concrete because it has an early pozzolanic reac‑
tion, while fly ash exhibits its properties mainly after the concrete age of 28 days
(Anwar and Roushdi 2013).
According to Romanian legislation—Law no. 10/1995 on quality in con‑
structions—among the essential requirements for building materials there are
strength and stability, fire safety, hygiene, health and environment, protection
against noise, energy saving and thermal insulation. In addition, a newly intro‑
duced requirement in 2015 by the Law no. 177/2015 amending and completing
the Law no. 10/1995 refers to sustainable use of natural resources. Based on this
list of requirements, it seems that the innovation in the building materials must
prioritize those directions of research that ensure the decreasing use of depleting
natural resources simultaneously with maintaining the mechanical and durability
characteristics or/and improving the acoustical and/or thermal insulation proper‑
ties of the developed material.
The material developed in this research had as target the decreasing of depleting
mineral aggregates use, accompanied by the use of easy renewable ones, namely
vegetal waste aggregates, for an environment positive effect and a thermal insula‑
tion improvement, and also the cement partial replacement by industrial by-products
in order to obtain a more ecological material. In order to accomplish the strength
and stability requirements, in the developed recipes were used admixtures, namely
superplasticizer, accelerator, air entraining and sodium silicate.
Important sources of plant aggregates that can be analyzed to be used in concrete
production are represented by maize and sunflower, two crops with significant culti‑
vation area in Romania (29% for maize and 12% for sun flower from the total culti‑
vated area of the country, in 2017) (INS 2018). At the global level, maize cultivated
area represented about 178 × 106  ha in 2017 (OECD 2018), while sunflower culti‑
vated area was around of 25.58 × 106 ha (USDA 2018). The use of plant aggregates
such as corn cobs and sunflower stalks in the concrete composition is an ethical and
ecological solution for reducing the pollution related to concrete production. These
raw materials are largely available, easily renewable, and lead to reducing the final
costs of concrete production.
Plant aggregates are suitable to be used in building materials composition, their
advantages being related to simple processing and low sintering temperature which
contribute to environment protection and reducing pollution (Farias et al. 2017).

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 84 C. M. Grădinaru et al.

Case Study: Ecological Concrete with Supplementary Cementitious

Materials and Agricultural Waste as Alternatives to Conventional
Components

Materials and Methods

A C25/30 class concrete was used as reference recipe where 50% by volume of min‑
eral aggregates were replaced with corn cob granules, being obtained SCCC (simple
corn cob concrete), and with sunflower stalk granules, for obtaining the SSFC (sim‑
ple sunflower concrete). The vegetal aggregates used in the mix compositions were
treated before by their immersion in 40% liquid sodium silicate solution (SS) and
then left to dry in a natural ventilated room at 25 °C, this treatment being necessary
in order to reduce their high-water absorption capacity. The vegetal granules aspect
is presented in Fig. 1.
The vegetal concrete has contained the following components:

• Portland cement CEM II/A-LL 42.5R with granulated blast furnace slag and
limestone, produced in Romania;
• Mineral aggregates: sand (0–4 mm) and river gravel (4–8 mm);
• Corn cob granules smaller than 5 mm (Fig. 1a) and sunflower stalks in the same
size granules and fibers smaller than 25 mm (Fig. 1b);
• Additives: a superplasticizer based on policarboxilateter (Sika Plast 140) and an
accelerator based on rhodanid (Sika BE5);
• Water according to a water/cement ratio of 0.43.

Because the mechanical properties of the vegetal concrete registered a significant

decrease S.CCC and S.SFC compared to RC, there have been analyzed some variants
in order to find a solution for their improvement, by 10  vol% cement replacement

Fig. 1  The aspect of vegetal granules used as partial replacement of mineral aggregates: a corn cob gran‑
ules, b sunflower stalk granules. Source: Authors’ elaboration

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When Agricultural Waste Transforms into an Environmentally… 85

with fly ash and silica fume, respectively, and by addition of SS in 5 vol% of cement
quantity and air entraining agent (AEA) in two proportions, 0.4 vol% and 0.8 vol%
of cement quantity. Therefore, the concrete recipes developed in the present study
are:

1. RC—reference concrete;
2. S.CCC—simple corn cob concrete;
3. S. SFC—simple sunflower concrete;
4. CCC.SS—corn cob concrete with sodium silicate;
5. SFC.SS—sunflower concrete with sodium silicate;
6. CCC.FA—corn cob concrete with fly ash;
7. SFC.FA—sunflower concrete with fly ash;
8. CCC.SS.SF.AE1—corn cob concrete with sodium silicate, silica fume and 0.4%
air entraining;
9. SFC.SS.SF.AE1—sunflower concrete with sodium silicate, silica fume and 0,4%
air entraining;
1 0. CCC.SS.SF.AE2—corn cob concrete with sodium silicate, silica fume and 0.8%
air entraining;
11. SFC.SS.SF.AE2—sunflower concrete with sodium silicate, silica fume and 0.8%
air entraining.

The mix proportion of the variable components of the developed concrete recipes
is presented in Table 1.
The tested specimens were cube molds with sides of 150 mm for density deter‑
mination and compressive strength testing, cylinders with 100  mm in diameter
and 200 mm in length for splitting tensile strength testing, three samples for each
test. The tests were performed according to the Romanian standards (SR EN

Table 1  Mix proportion of the variable components of the analyzed concrete recipes. Source: Authors’
elaboration
Concrete type Vegetal granules Fly ash Silica fume Sodium silicate Air entraining
(vol% of total (vol% of (vol% of (vol% of cement) agent (vol% of
aggregates) cement) cement) cement)

RC 0 0 0 0 0
S.CCC​ 50 0 0 0 0
S.SFC 50 0 0 0 0
CCC.SS 50 0 0 5 0
SFC.SS 50 0 0 5 0
CCC.FA 50 10 0 0 0
SFC.FA 50 10 0 0 0
CCC.SS.SF.AE1 50 0 10 5 0.4
SFC.SS.SF.AE1 50 0 10 5 0.4
CCC.SS.SF.AE2 50 0 10 5 0.8
SFC.SS.SF.AE2 50 0 10 5 0.8

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 86 C. M. Grădinaru et al.

12350-6:2010; SR EN 12390-7/AC:2006;  SR EN 12390-3:2009/AC:2011; SR

EN 12390-6:2010), at the age of 28 days.

Results

Density

The curve of density evolution during the 28 days of curing of the developed con‑
crete recipes is presented in Fig. 2.
According to the data presented in the Fig. 2, it can be observed that the con‑
crete density decreased with only 1.28% in the case of RC, during the 28  days
of curing. In the case of SFC.SS.SF.AE1, SFC.SS, SFC.FA, CCC.FA, CCC.SS
and S.SFC, their density decreased by 3.57–5.34%. Bigger density decreasing
registered the CCC.SS.SF.AE2 (6.72%), S.CCC (8.12%), and SFC.SS.SF.AE2
(8.84%). The biggest slope of the density evolution was registered by CCC.SS.SF.
AE1 with a value of 11.62%.
As regarding the concrete density at 28  days, all the developed recipes con‑
ducted to lightweight concrete obtaining, with density smaller than 1800  kg/
m3 (Fig.  3). The lightest concretes were CCC.SS.SF.AE1 with a density of
1578.82  kg/m3, SFC.SS.SF.AE2 with 1628.47  kg/m3, CCC.SS.SF.AE2 with
1642.48 kg/m3, and S.CCC with 1664.76 kg/m3.
Concrete density [ kg/m3]

Casting 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days

S.CCC 1811.82 1771.71 1712.51 1683.86 1664.76
CCC.SS 1824.55 1792.08 1760.89 1741.79 1728.42
CCC.FA 1824.55 1784.45 1771.08 1741.79 1733.52
CCC.SS.SF.AE2 1760.89 1712.51 1674.95 1652.03 1642.48
CCC.SS.SF.AE1 1786.36 1674.31 1626.56 1611.28 1578.82
S.SFC 1846.20 1795.90 1776.17 1746.25 1747.52
SFC.SS 1856.38 1811.82 1793.99 1790.17 1782.54
SFC.FA 1846.20 1814.37 1782.54 1769.80 1763.44
SFC.SS.SF.AE2 1786.36 1720.78 1659.03 1638.02 1628.47
SFC.SS.SF.AE1 1782.54 1762.16 1750.70 1725.24 1718.87
RC 2230.08 2221.80 2204.61 2201.43 2201.43

Fig. 2  The evolution of concrete density, from casting till 28  days of curing (kg/m3). Source: Authors’
elaboration

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When Agricultural Waste Transforms into an Environmentally… 87

SFC.SS.SF.AE2 1628.47
CCC.SS.SF.AE2 1642.48
SFC.SS.SF.AE1 1718.87
CCC.SS.SF.AE1 1578.82
SFC.FA 1763.44
CCC.FA 1733.52
SFC.SS 1782.54
CCC.SS 1728.42
S.SFC 1747.52
S.CCC 1664.76
RC 2201.43
0.00 500.00 1000.00 1500.00 2000.00 2500.00

Fig. 3  The concrete density, after 28 days of curing (kg/m3). Source: Authors’ elaboration

It can be concluded that corn cob concrete with sodium silicate, silica fume and
0.4% air entraining agent registered the smallest density, being also the concrete rec‑
ipe with the biggest water loss during the curing period of 28 days.

Compressive Strength

The compressive strength values for the studied concrete recipes are presented in
Fig. 4.
From the compressive strength point of view, in general, sunflower concrete
showed superior results over the corn cob concrete, except in the case of 0.8%
AEA addition. SS addition had positive effect on the compressive strength, the
growth being with around 35% for the both vegetal concretes. In the case of
10 vol% cement replacement by fly ash, the compressive strength values increased
with around 38% and 44% for sunflower and corn cob concrete, respectively.
The replacement of cement by silica fume and the addition of 0.4  vol% AEA
Compressive strength [N/mm2]

30.00
25.18
25.00

20.00

15.00
8.18 8.45 7.81
10.00 6.11 6.11
4.83 5.10 5.14 5.05
3.55
5.00

0.00

Fig. 4  Compressive strength of the concrete (N/mm2). Source: Authors’ elaboration

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 88 C. M. Grădinaru et al.

increased by only 27.78% the compressive strength of simple sunflower concrete,

and by 44.85%, respectively, the corn cob concrete. Increasing the AEA addition
to 0.8  vol% conducted to a 17.36% decrease of sunflower concrete compressive
strength, but to a very impressive increase of 72.32% for the corn cob concrete.

The Density: Compressive Strength Relation

Regarding the relation between concrete density and its compressive strength,
presented in Fig. 5, it can be observed that there is a direct dependence.
SS addition conducted to a slight concrete density increasing by 2% and 3.8%
for sunflower concrete and corn cob concrete respectively, correlated with an
increase of compressive strength of around 34% and 36%, respectively. The veg‑
etal concretes containing fly ash also suffered a very small density increasing
of 0.9% and 4% for sunflower and corncob concrete, respectively, along with a
compressive strength increase of 38.38% and 43.85%, respectively. The cement
replacement by silica fume and the AEA addition conducted to the decreasing
of concrete density. The addition of 0.4 vol% AEA conducted to the decreasing
of concrete density by 1.64% in the case of sunflower concrete and by 5.17% for
corn cob concrete, along with a compressive strength increase of 27.78% for sun‑
flower concrete and 44.85% for corn cob concrete. The higher quantity of AEA
addition had a positive effect also on the density of S.SFC with almost 7%, but
a negative one regarding its compressive strength with around 17%. For S.CCC
instead, it conducted to a very small density decreasing by 1.34%, but a very
important compressive strength increases by 72.32%.
2201.43

2500.00 30.00
1782.54

Compressive strength [N/mm2]

1763.44
1747.52

1733.52
1728.42

1718.87

25.00
1664.76

1642.48

1628.47

2000.00
1578.82

25.18
20.00
Density Kg/m 3

1500.00
15.00
1000.00
8.18 8.45 7.81 10.00
6.11 6.11
4.83 5.10 5.14 5.05
500.00 3.55
5.00

0.00 0.00

Density Compressive strength

Fig. 5  Correlation between concrete density and its compressive strength. Source: Authors’ elaboration

13
When Agricultural Waste Transforms into an Environmentally… 89

Splitting Tensile Strength

Regarding the splitting tensile strength, all the studied variants accomplished the
objective of improving this property comparative to simple vegetal concrete, and
the best results were obtained in the case of corn cob concrete with values between
31.88% and 78.56% higher (Fig. 6).
The addition of SS improved the splitting tensile strength by approximately 6%
in the case of sunflower concrete and 32% for corn cob concrete, respectively. The
cement replacement with fly ash increased the splitting tensile strength of sunflower
concrete by over 20%, and by over 60% for corn cob concrete. The silica fume and
AEA increased the S.SFC splitting tensile strength by approximately 16%. For the
S.CCC, 0.4  vol% of AEA along with 10  vol% cement replacement by silica fume
conducted to an significant improving of this mechanical property by almost 50%;
moreover, the recipe with 0.8 vol% of AEA registered the biggest increase of split‑
ting tensile strength among all studied variants, more exactly by 78.56%.

Conclusions

Over the past decades, the cement industry looked for ways to reduce the consump‑
tion of natural exhaustive resources and ­CO2 emissions. One way is represented by
the use of supplementary cementitious materials, such as fly ash or silica fume, and
by the use of plant aggregates instead of the mineral ones.
Important sources of plant aggregates that can be analyzed for concrete produc‑
tion are represented by maize and sunflower, two crops with significant cultivation
area in Romania. The use of plant aggregates such as corn cobs and sunflower stalks
in the concrete composition is an ethical and ecological solution for reducing the
pollution related to concrete production. These raw materials are largely available,
easily renewable, and they lead to reducing the final costs of concrete production.
The case study presented in this paper shows the results of an experimental study
conducted to analyze the effect of partial cement replacement with fly ash and silica
fume, and the effect of using liquid sodium silicate and air entraining as additives on
the density and mechanical properties of two types of vegetal concrete. This vegetal
concrete was made with 50 vol% mineral aggregates replaced by corn cob, in one

4.00 3.07
Splitting tensile
strength N/mm2

3.00
2.00 0.99 1.05 1.19 1.15 1.15
0.67 0.82 0.76 0.91
1.00 0.51

0.00

Fig. 6  Splitting tensile strength of the concrete (N/mm2). Source: Authors’ elaboration

13
 90 C. M. Grădinaru et al.

basic recipe, and by sunflower granules, in a second basic recipe. Corn cob concrete
with sodium silicate, silica fume and 0.4 vol% AEA registered the smallest density,
being also the concrete recipe with the biggest water loss during the curing period of
28 days. Regarding the results on density, compressive strength and splitting tensile
strength of the corn cob concrete the best ones were obtained in the case of cement
replacement by 10  vol% of silica fume, in the case of addition of 5  vol% liquid
sodium silicate, and 0.8 vol% AEA. For sunflower concrete, in terms of density, the
most favorable variant was also the cement replacement by 10 vol% of silica fume
and the addition of 5  vol% liquid sodium silicate and 0.8  vol% AEA. In the case
of compressive and splitting tensile strength, the best results were obtained by the
concrete recipe with 10 vol% cement replacement by fly ash. Moreover, the results
indicated that plant aggregates can be used to obtain a building material that can
be improved by using partial substitution of cement with silica fume, fly ash, or by
additives, sodium silicate and air entraining additive, with applications in closures
and finishes.
Finally, it can be assumed that to construct in a sustainable manner is one of
the keys that represent the “new construction ideology” of this millennium which
should always pay attention to environmental resources, human health, energy con‑
servation and technological resources (Naik and Moriconi 2005). Green products
are proved to be the catalyst for new market opportunities, innovation and societal
welfare (Walley and Whitehead 1994).

Acknowledgements  Special thanks to Sika Romania representatives for their technical support and for
providing the necessary additives in order to accomplish this research.

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Affiliations

Cătălina Mihaela Grădinaru1 · Adrian Alexandru Şerbănoiu1 ·
Danut Traian Babor1 · Gabriel Constantin Sârbu2 ·
Ioan Valentin Petrescu‑Mag3,4 · Andrei Cristian Grădinaru5
1
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Building Services, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University
of Iaşi, 1 Prof. Dimitrie Mangeron Blvd., 700050 Iasi, Romania
2
Faculty of Hydrotechnical Engineering, Geodesy and Environmental Engineering, “Gheorghe
Asachi” Technical University of Iaşi, 65 Prof. Dimitrie Mangeron Blvd., 700050 Iasi, Romania
3
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3‑5 Calea Mănăştur
Street, 400372 Cluj‑Napoca, Romania
4
Doctoral School of Engineering, University of Oradea, 1 Universităţii Street, 410087 Oradea,
Romania
5
“Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Iaşi, 3
Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania

13