Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Review

Supplementary cementitious materials origin from agricultural

wastes – A review
Evi Aprianti a,⇑, Payam Shafigh b, Syamsul Bahri b, Javad Nodeh Farahani b
a
Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Malaysia
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Malaysia

h i g h l i g h t s

 Potential uses of agricultural wastes as cementitious material were reviewed.

 Ashes from agricultural wastes have high silica content.
 The use of RHA is limited due to the porosity nature of RHA particles.
 POFA has good potential to be used as cementitious material in cement based materials.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Concrete is heavily used as a construction material in modern society. With the growth in urbanization
Received 25 July 2014 and industrialization, the demand for concrete is increasing day by-days. Therefore, raw materials and
Accepted 8 October 2014 natural resources are required in large quantities for concrete production worldwide. At the same time,
a considerable quantity of agricultural waste and other types of solid material disposal are posing serious
environmental issues. To minimize and reduce the negative impact of the concrete industry through the
Keywords: explosive usage of raw materials, the use of agricultural wastes as supplementary cementitious materials,
Supplementary cementitious material
the source of which are both reliable and suitable for alternative preventive solutions promotes the envi-
Pozzolans
Concrete
ronmental sustainability of the industry. This paper reviews the possible use of agricultural wastes as a
Compressive strength supplementary cementitious material in the production of concrete. It aims to exhibit the idea of utilizing
Agricultural waste these wastes by elaborating upon their engineering, physical and chemical properties. This provides a
summary of the existing knowledge about the successful use of agricultural wastes such as rice husk
ash, palm oil fuel ash, sugar cane bagasse ash, wood waste ash, bamboo leaf ash, and corn cob ash in
the concrete industry.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
2. Supplementary cementitious material (SCM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
2.1. Agricultural wastes as SCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
2.1.1. Rice husk ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
2.1.2. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
2.1.3. Bagasse ash (BA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
2.1.4. Wood waste ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
2.1.5. Bamboo Leaf ash (BLA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
2.1.6. Corn cob ash (CCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 1114247118; fax: +60 379675713.

E-mail addresses: eviaprianti93@siswa.um.edu.my, eviaprianti93@yahoo.com (E. Aprianti).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.10.010
0950-0618/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187 177

3. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

1. Introduction agricultural engineers, would pave the way for other potential uses
of solid waste materials in the construction industry, as well as cer-
Today, concrete has become the most commonly used building tain other industries. It will also lead to a more environmentally
material in the construction industry. The other important charac- sustainable concrete industry.
teristics of concrete, besides its strength, are its ability to be easily
moulded into any form, it is an engineered material that can
2. Supplementary cementitious material (SCM)
meet almost any desired specification, and it also adaptable,
incombustible, affordable and easily obtained. The great advantage
A substantial quantity of waste materials are produced globally
of concrete is its excellent mechanical and physical characteristics,
as by-products from different sectors, such as industrial, agricul-
if properly designed and manufactured. Currently, concrete is
tural, and wastes from rural and urban society. These waste mate-
extensively used with more than 10 billion tons produced annually
rials, if not deposited safely, it may be hazardous. The type and
in modern industrial society [1]. It has been estimated that by
amount of sewage produced increases with the growth in popula-
2050, the rate of the world’s population will grow substantially
tion. These wastes remain in the environment for a longer duration
from 1.5 to 9 billion, and, thus, will cause an increase in the
since they are unused. The waste disposal crisis has arisen due to
demand for energy, housing, food and clothing as well as for con-
the formation of decomposed waste materials. The solution to this
crete, which is forecast to increase to approximately 18 billion tons
crisis lies in the recycling of wastes into useful products. Research
annually by 2050 [2].
into the innovative uses of waste materials is continuously advanc-
Unfortunately, a considerable quantity of concrete is being pro-
ing. Waste and by-product materials, such as fly ash, silica fume,
duced, the effect of which is contrary to its benefits. In the last
ground granulated blast slag, rice husk ash, and palm oil fuel ash
100 years, the concrete industry has had an enormous effect on
have been successfully used in concrete for decades [4–8]. The suc-
the environmental appearances. In addition, CO2 emissions are
cessful usage as a partial or whole replacement of Portland cement,
caused during the manufacturing process with a large volume of
contributes to the resolution of the landfill problem and reduction
raw materials required to produce the billions of tons of concrete
in the cost of building materials, provides a satisfactory solution to
worldwide each year. The cement industry alone is estimated to
the environmental issues and problems associated with waste
be responsible for about 7% of all the CO2 generated worldwide
management, saves energy, and helps to protect the environment
[3]. It has been found that every ton of Portland cement produced
from pollution. Agricultural wastes, such as rice husk ash, wheat
releases approximately one ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. In
straw ash, and sugarcane bagasse ash, hazel nutshell ash which
addition, during the production of cement and concrete, issues like
constitute pozzolanic materials can be used as a replacement for
carbon dioxide emissions, along with the use of energy and aggre-
cement.
gate consumption in great amounts, the demolition waste of con-
Today, supplementary cementing materials are widely used as
crete, and filler requirements, contribute to the common
pozzolanic materials (create extra strength by pozzolanic reaction)
environmental impact that concrete has making it a non-friendly
in high-strength concrete, reduce permeability and improve the
that is unsuitable for sustainable development.
durability of the concrete. Many types of pozzolans are used glob-
Several studies have focused on finding alternatives that can be
ally, and are commonly used as an addition or replacement for
used as replacement to cement, such as, the disposable and less
Portland cement in concrete. It is well known that pozzolanic con-
valuable wastes from industry and agriculture, whose potential
crete contributes to the compressive strength in two ways: as the
benefits can be realized through recycling, reuse and renewing
filler effect and the pozzolanic reaction. Thus, the pozzolanic mate-
programmes. Hence, researchers have been investigating the effec-
rial will reduce the demand or usage of cement at that time. A poz-
tiveness, efficiency and availability of waste materials that are poz-
zolan comprises siliceous materials, and when combined with
zolanic in nature as a cement replacement. The required materials
calcium hydroxide, exhibits cementitious properties depending
should be a by-product from an-original source that is rich in sili-
on the constituents of the pozzolan. On the other hand, the ‘‘high
con (Si) and aluminium (Al). The framework for utilizing industrial
early strength’’ concrete can be produced by the highly reactive sil-
waste material for building applications has a successful history,
ica in pozzolans. The basis of the pozzolanic reaction is a simple
which includes fly ash, slag, and silica fume. Consequently, land
acid-based reaction between calcium hydroxide, also known as
filled waste materials that are normally disposed of and land filled
Portlandite (Ca(OH)2) and silicic acid (Si(OH)4). This reaction is rep-
are now deemed to be valuable for enhancing the desired proper-
resented as follows:
ties of concrete.
Previous studies showed that some agro-waste materials could 2
be used as a cement replacement in cement based materials. The CaðOHÞ2 þ ðSiðOHÞ4 Þ ! Ca2 þ þH2 SiO4 þ 2H2 O
utilization of agricultural waste can provide the break-through ! CaH2 SiO4  2H2 O
needed to make the industry more environmentally friendly and
sustainable. The purpose of this paper is to clearly describe and And is the same as the abbreviated notation below:
briefly introduce waste materials from agricultural commodities ~
CH þ SH ! CSHC—S—H
that have been well managed and successfully used as supplemen-
tary cementitious materials (SCM) for the manufacture of concrete. As the density of CSH is lower than that of Portlandite and pure
The relationships among concrete made using these types of waste silica, a consequence of this reaction is a swelling of the reaction
materials, environmentally friendly concrete, and green building products. This reaction, which is also known as alkali–silica reac-
rating systems are also discussed. Mutual recognition of these tion may occur over time in concrete between the alkaline cement
materials, and their usage in concrete by both civil engineers and pore water and poorly-crystalline silica aggregates.
178 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187
Basically, concrete is a combination of cement, water, fine and
coarse aggregate. As consequence of the greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG), most concrete mixtures utilize supplementary cementi-
tious materials (SCMs) either in blended cements or added sepa-
rately in the mixer. The utilization of SCMs, such as rice husk
ash, which is a by-product from agriculture, represents a viable
solution to the partial cement substitution. Which is divided into
natural and artificial materials. The usage of SCMs without the
additional process causes a significant decrease in CO2 emissions
per ton in the atmosphere. These materials are also referred to as
mineral admixtures or pozzolans, and when used in concrete and
combined with Portland cement form cementitious particles, how-
ever by themselves, they do not possess any cementitious com-
pounds. They should meet the requirements of the established
standards.
The structural advantage of SCMs is that they enable the pro-
ducer to modify the mixture and calculate the proper design of
the desired application. In addition, it can be used to improve the
performance of concrete, either in fresh or hardened mixtures. In
economic terms, using alternative waste materials can reduce the
cost of construction while providing comparable performance. This
cost includes the source and transportation of the alternative
material, controlled combustion process, and savings through
diversion, such as disposal management. Subsequently, the envi-
ronmental benefits will decrease the sizeable needs and demands
of Portland cement per unit volume of concrete as well as the
impact on the enormous deflation range of GHG emissions.
2.1. Agricultural wastes as SCM
Nowadays, global environmental warming is considered to be
the most important worldwide issue. Solid waste materials are
found everywhere, such as in the urban and rural society, industry
and agriculture. As agricultural wastes affect of the environment,
the use of these waste materials in construction will realize the
many benefits previously mentioned. Research has determined
that concrete that produced using agricultural wastes presents
improved thermal properties [13,27,36–49], which can result in
significant points being gained in the atmosphere and energy cat-
egory of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
rating system. Moreover, due to the high cost constraints and lim-
ited availability of the main material in concrete, particularly in
developing countries, agricultural wastes used as SCMs in concrete
production can contribute to the environmental friendliness and
economic effectiveness of structures worldwide.
2.1.1. Rice husk ash
Rice husk is a natural sheath that forms around rice grains dur-
ing their growth. It is widely available in rice-producing countries,
and considered to be an agricultural solid waste material. Rice husk
has no commercial value when removed during the refining pro-
cess. The rice milling industry is one of the most important sectors
in some countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Bangladesh, and worldwide by the end of 2013, the rice husk har-
vest produced approximately 742 million metric tons of rice pad-
dies annually [9]. Of this, more than 20% comprised the husk.
India produces around 160 million tons of rice husk (widely avail-
able waste) of which, during the milling process, about 78% of the
weight is rice, broken rice and bran, while the rest, 22% of the
weight of the paddy, is the husk [10]. Malaysia alone produces
approximately 3 million tons of rice paddies each year [9]. Table 1
shows the top 10 highest countries that produced rice paddy in
2013 [9]. Asia is still expected to sustain growth in the world rice
production in 2013.
The advantage of rice is that it produces a high volume of rice
husk, which is a low-density residue of the process [11]. At present,
the rice-producing countries are hindered by the landfill problem
of the rice husk, which they are attempting to utilize to benefit
the economy. When dumped, this waste covers a large area and
can self-incinerate, thereby spreading its ash over a wide area
and causing significant environmental problems. Unless used, this
large quantity of rice husk goes to waste and becomes a major
challenge to the environment by destroying the land and the areas
surrounding its dumping ground. A huge amount of RHA is pro-
duced globally and has been estimated to be growing at more than
7.5 million tons, or, approximately 1.1% each year [9].
2.1.1.1. Properties of rice husk ash (RHA). Rice husk ash (RHA) is a
carbon neutral green product gained from raw rice husk that is
changed to ash using the combustion process. The colour of the rice
husk ash (RHA) ranges from white grey to black, depending on the
source of the raw material, method of incineration, time and burn-
ing temperature. Many ways of disposal have been considered
including the commercial method of RHA. Rice husk is burnt in a
furnace/incinerator with a controlled laboratory atmosphere of
600–800 °C. After the firing process, the produced ash is cooled,
either rapidly or slowly. The rapid cooling method is performed
by uniformly distributing the ash in trays at a laboratory ambient
temperature of 21 ± 1 °C after reaching the required temperature
of 800 °C. The slow cooling method involves, leaving the ash in
the incinerator. It can be used in large amounts to make special
supplementary concrete mixes. This RHA, in turn, contains around
85–90% of amorphous silica [13–15].
Zain et al. [15] reported a new method for producing RHA. The
rice husk, as displayed in Fig. 1(a), is the raw form after the milling
process, which is fired in a gas furnace at a rate of 10 °C per minute
up to 700 °C, and maintained at this temperature for 6 h. Thereaf-
ter, it is left to cool at room temperature, as shown in Fig. 1(b).
There are various chemical compositions of rice husk ash due to
the type of paddy, differences in the type of land, harvest year,
combustion temperature, cooling method and geographical
conditions.
RHA is a very fine material. The average particle size of RHA
ranges from 5 to 10 lm [14]. Table 2 shows the physical and chem-
ical properties of RHA, Portland cement and some cementitious
materials. RHA should meet the requirements of the chemical com-
position of pozzolan to be used in cement and concrete, as stated in
ASTM C618. The amount of silicon dioxide (SiO2), iron oxide
(Fe2O3) and aluminium oxide (A12O3) in the ash should not be less
than 70%, and the loss of ignition (LOI) must be up to 12%, as men-
tioned in the ASTM requirements. In addition, Chauhan and Kumar
[75] clearly explained the importance physical properties of mate-
rial used that control the flow of micro-system in concrete such as
surface area, fineness, incineration system and porosity.
Fig. 3 shows the SEM morphology of the RHA powder. As shown
in this figure, RHA grains are in different shapes and have porosity
on the surface. Thus causing the mixing water to be absorbed, and
reducing the slump value and workability. In addition, Fig. 2 shows
that the cellular shape of rice husk ash gets broken due to the
longer period of the grinding process. After the grinding process
within 15, 60 and 120 min, the average diameter of the rice husk
ash particle was 49.0 lm (Fig. 2a), 41.0 lm (Fig. 2b) and 16.6 lm
(Fig. 2c), respectively. As described in Fig. 2a, the cellular shape
of RHA could be clearly seen. The transformation occurs for
120 min (Fig. 2c), the cellular particles become smaller and disap-
pear. This observation determines that the RHA sample is com-
posed of irregular shaped particles with micro-pores, which
could significantly affect the properties of the final product.
Researchers [8,13–16] agree that finer pozzolanic ash is better.
The fineness of the RHA is important because it influences the rate
of reaction and gains in concrete strength. The fineness also influ-
ences the water-cement ratio, workability, shrinkage and creep of
 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187 179

Table 1
Worldwide production of rice paddy, potential husk, and ash production in 2013 [9].

Country Rice paddy production in Husk produced Potential ash production Rice paddy production in Incremental (%) from
2013 (Mt) (20% of total) (Mt) (18% of husk) (Mt) 2002 (Mt) 2002 to 2013
China 200.0 40.0 7.2 177.6 11.2
India 160.0 32.0 5.8 123.0 23.1
Indonesia 90.0 18.0 3.2 48.7 43.2
Bangladesh 45.0 9.0 1.6 39.0 13.3
Vietnam 40.0 6.0 1.1 31.3 21.8
West Africa 13.4 2.7 0.1 10.7 20.1
Brazil 12.3 2.5 0.4 10.5 14.6
Pakistan 9.0 1.8 0.3 5.8 35.5
Egypt 6.1 0.3 0.1 5.7 6.6
Malaysia 3.0 0.6 0.1 2.7 10.0
Europe 2.9 0.6 0.1 1.7 41.4
Australia 1.2 0.3 0.1 0.9 25.0
Others 168.5 33.7 6.1 121.9 27.7
Total (world) 741.4 579.5 21.9
Area (ha) in 2013 164 million hectares

concrete. Mahmud et al. [17] reported that finer RHA particles
yield a larger surface area and increase the strength of the con-
crete. The very fine and chemically reactive substance would fill
the empty columns in the concrete in an optimum manner. Fig. 4
shows photos of the rice husk in raw conditions (4a) that was
obtained from a rice mill located in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. The
RHA conditions before and after the grinding process are displayed
in Fig. 4b and c, respectively.
2.1.1.2. Rice husk ash as pozzolan. Papadakis and Tsimas [19] con-
firmed that the sustainable development of the cement and con-
struction industries could be achieved by maximizing of the use
of the cementitious and pozzolanic by-products. According to
ASTM C 595 [17], a pozzolan is defined as ‘‘a siliceous or siliceous
and aluminous material, which in itself possesses little or no
cementitious value but will, in finely divided form and in the pres-
ence of moisture, chemically react with calcium hydroxide to form
compounds possessing cementitious properties (pozzolanic activ-
ity)’’. It can be explained that when pozzolanic materials are com-
bined with Portland cement, they will react to form cementitious
properties, whereas by themselves, they do not possess any
cementitious properties. Therefore, a cementitious material can
exhibit a self-cementitious (hydraulic) activity and contains quan-
tities of CaO while a pozzolanic materials requires Ca(OH)2to form
strength. It is generally accepted that the CaO content of the last
material is sufficient to react with all the pozzolanic compounds
and show pozzolanic activity (pozzolanic and cementitious materi-
als). Consequently, all these materials are often used in a mixture
with Portland cement which is essential for their activation,
Ca(OH)2 from its hydration.
The possible chemical reaction between silica and Ca(OH)2 in
the presence of water is as follows:
n  SiO2 þ n  CaðOHÞ2 þ H2 O ! n  Cax  SiOx  n  H2 O
It was found that the secondary C–S–H gel was obtained from a
reaction between the silica (SiO2) and Ca(OH)2, as stipulated in the
chemical equilibrium above (Eq. (1)). According to Sugita et al.
[21], the formation of C–S–H gel in RHA-concrete was possibly
caused by the reaction between the SiO2 present in the RHA and
the Ca(OH)2 in the hydrating cement. They proposed that the C–
S–H gel was chemical structure of the Ca1.5SiO3.5xH2O.
In the combustion process, the matrix of cellulose–lignin from
the raw rice husk burns up and remains only as a porous silica skel-
eton. The RHA is considered as a good super-pozzolan material in
the production of concrete due to its high silica content. Thus,
the RHA contains a large volume of silica [12,19], and constitutes
a highly reactive pozzolanic material. The optimized and highly
reactive rice husk ash is found when it is incinerated under a con-
trolled temperature. The optimized RHA properties could be used
as a pozzolanic material in concrete. The duration and temperature
of the furnace are important parameters that influence the reactiv-
ity of the RHA pozzolans. The silica in the rice husk initially exists
in an amorphous form. However, it may become crystalline when
the rice husk is burnt at high temperature. In addition, the silica
in the RHA will not remain porous and amorphous when com-
busted for a long period at a low temperature (<500 °C), or at a very
high temperature for a short time (only a few minutes). In other
words, the produced rice husk ash contains up to 90% amorphous
silica, which satisfies the other requirements of the ASTM standard
C618–03.
2.1.1.3. Rice husk ash as SCM in concrete. Supplementary cementi-
tious materials (SCMs), often referred to as mineral admixtures,
should satisfy the requirements of the established standards for
use in concrete. The utilization of any SCMs will increase its output,
such as the hydraulic factors, permeability, strength, unit weight,
durability and volumetric constancy over a long period. The RHA
is the product of a supplementary cementitious material (SCM)
from the agro-industry. As early as 1942, Pitt [23], explored the
use of RHA as a supplementary cementitious material for produc-
ing high strength concrete [20]. Most studies have indicated that
the standard compressive strength of concrete combined with or
without cementitious materials (SCMs), is within the range for
conventional concrete (15–45 Mpa) and has a density of about
2400 kg/m3 [8,21–23]. However, recent studies have shown the
possibility of producing high strength concrete up to 55 MPa and
72 MPa for 7 and 28 days curing [24], respectively. Promoting the
compressive strength of concrete and the ability to produce high
ð1Þ
strength concrete with SCMs, such as RHA, is very important
because the compressive strength of concrete plays a fundamental
role in the design and construction of concrete structures [25]. The
methods and procedures for producing high strength RHA concrete
have been examined in various published papers [8,12–14]. Table 3
shows some selected mix proportions of concrete containing RHA
in several combinations of designs. In general, the RHA concrete
had higher compressive strengths at various ages and up to 90 days
when compared with the normal concrete without RHA and or
SCMs. Improvements in the mechanical and durability properties
of the concretes containing RHA can be explained by the chemical
and physical effects of RHA. RHA reduces the number of the large
180 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187

Fig. 1. (a) Raw rice husk and (b) rice husk ash (RHA) [15].

Table 2
The chemical and physical properties of Portland cement and some cementitious materials [5,8,11,18,27,34,35,69,74,75].

Chemical composition (%) Ordinary Portland cement I Ordinary Portland cement II Rice husk ash (RHA) Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) Corn cob ash (CCA)
SiO2 20.4–22.0 21.9 80.7–95.9 59.6–66.9 65.4–67.3
Al2O3 3.7–5.3 4.9 0.4–0.4 2.5–6.4 6.0–9.1
Fe2O3 2.3–4.2 3.3 0.2–2.9 1.9–5.7 3.8–5.6
CaO 61.5–65.4 62.3 1.1–1.5 4.9–6.4 10.3–12.9
MgO 1.2–4.8 2.3 0.3–0.9 3.0–4.5 1.8–2.3
SO3 2.2–3.0 2.1 0.7–1.2 0.3–1.3 1.0–1.1
Na2O 0.1–0.2 1.2 0.9–1.2 0.2–0.8 0.4–0.5
K2O 0.3–1.1 0.3 0.8–2.1 5.0–7.5 4.2–5.7
LOI 0.4–2.3 1.1 2.8–6.6 6.6–10.0 0.9–1.5
Physical properties
Median particle size (lm) – – 5.0–10.0 10.5 29.0–45.0
Specific gravity 3.0–3.3 2.90–3.2 2.0–2.2 1.9–2.4 2.5–3.6
Blaine fineness (m2/kg) 336.5–399.0 305.0 350.0–376.8 493.0 270.0–385.0

pores and increases the probability of transforming the continuous
pores into discontinuous ones. Hence, all these mechanisms make
the microstructure of the paste more homogeneous and dense. The
performance of concrete with RHA as a supplementary cementi-
tious material (partially cement replacement) is outstanding con-
sidering its resistance to water [8,10] and chloride ion
penetration [24], which, in many cases, constitute the most impor-
tant characteristic for durability and the prevention of corrosion.
The highlighted properties that are the result of air permeability
and chloride ion penetration will show different behaviors depend-
ing on the w/c ratio used in the mixtures. Moreover, the incorpora-
tion of RHA in concrete materials resolves the current problems
associated with the disposal of RHA.
2.1.2. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA)
2.1.2.1. Origins of palm oil fuel ash (POFA). The oil palm is a tropical
palm tree, which is easily cultivated in tropical countries, such as
Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Africa, and Latin America, 90% of
the palm oil production is generated by three of the ASEAN coun-
tries. Palm oil can be grown in many parts of the tropical world, but
is mainly productive within the equator line, which include Indo-
nesia, Malaysia, and several parts of Thailand. The high productiv-
ity of oil palm is concentrated in the tropical zone; located 10° to
the North or South of the equator. Fig. 5 shows the worldwide pro-
duction of palm oil in 2009 [10]. Malaysia produces 7 million tons
of crude palm oil each year [26], and Thailand produces 100,000
tons of palm oil fuel ash (POFA)annually [31], which is likely to
increase due to the development of palm tree plantations.
Palm trees are generally used in commercial agriculture. They
do not produce branches and are spread by sowing the seeds. It
comprises an oily, fleshy outer layer, with a single seed (kernel),
which is rich in oil [29]. Tangchirapat et al. [30] defined POFA as
an agro-waste ash from which palm oil residue, such as palm fibre
and shells, is burnt at temperatures of 800–1000 °C to produce
steam for the generation of electricity in biomass thermal power
plants. The typical oil palm residue constitutes15% shell and 85%
fibre. To produce energy, the empty fruit bunches are burned in a
boiler. Generally, it also produces about 5% ash by weight of solid
waste. The solid waste and ash material produced are rarely used,
thus, posing a serious ecological problem through the concomitant
pollution of the environment. Thus, it should present a feasible
solution to both the problem of land-filling as well as the high cost
of building materials and pollution of the planet. Basically, waste
disposal is always considered as a ‘‘negative value’’ due to the
costly practices. In addition, the manageable maximized use of
POFA will produce ‘‘positive value’’ products as well reduce the
environmental problems. Compared to other types of palm-oil
by-product, both the 20th and 21st century, POFA has represented
an environmental disruption pollutant that ends-up in the atmo-
sphere without being utilized.
2.1.2.2. Manufacture and properties of POFA. Palm oil fuel ash
(POFA) is a waste product obtained in the form of ash through
 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187
Fig. 2. SEM of RHA particles ground for (a) 15 min grinding process, (b) 60 min
grinding process, (c) 120 min grinding process and (d) after sieving analysis [15].
the burning of solid wastes, such as palm oil husk or fibre and palm
kernel shell, as fuel in a palm oil mill boiler. Fig. 6a shows the res-
idue from the palm oil industry, and, after analysis using a 300 lm
sieve, becomes ash, as presented in Fig. 6b. The manufactured pro-
cess of POFA varies from the initial preparation to the incineration
process. Noorvand et al. [73] examined the initial preparation of
POFA after the combustion process by dried samples in an oven
at 105 ± 5 °C for 24 h. Tangchirapat et al. [30] prepared the ash
using the combustion process at a temperature of about 700–
1000 °C and sieve No. 16 (1.18 mm opening) to remove foreign
materials during the incineration process. They found three differ-
ent types of POFA based on specific gravity original size (OP), med-
ium size (MP) and small size (SP).The specific gravity was 1.89,
2.36, and 2.43 for OP, MP, and SP, respectively. It can be concluded
that the grinding process not only improves the fineness of POFA,
but also the specific gravity. Another preparation method was
181
conducted by Abdul Awal and Shehu [36] in 2013, in which the
ash was obtained from the foot of the flue tower in Johor, the
southern-state of Malaysia. Thereafter, it was sieved through a
150 lm filter and ground in a modified Los Angeles abrasion test
machine with 10 stainless steel bars (12 mm diameter and
800 mm long) instead of steel balls inside in order to increase
the fineness. The ash produced sometimes varied in colour, from
whitish grey to a darker shade, based on its carbon content
[30,31,33,34,71–73]. At the end, it was noted that the raw materi-
als for POFA could come from the fuel industry, self-combustion in
a furnace or other milling industries. All the fine ash was trapped
while escaping from the burning chambers of the boiler, then
sieved through a 150–300 lm filter to remove the bigger sized
ash particles as well as any materials that had not been considered.
In other words, the physical characteristics of POFA are very much
influenced by the operating system in the palm oil factory. The ash
was ground in a Los Angeles abrasion test machine that contains
within it 10–20 stainless steel bars instead of steel balls.
In bulk, POFA is greyish in colour and becomes darker as the
proportions of unburned carbon increase. The properties of POFA
are described in Table 22. The main oxide of POFA is silicon dioxide
or SiO2. It has been explained that POFA is moderately rich in silica
content (59.6–66.9%) compared to that of OPC. In addition, the
amount of iron content (1.9–5.7%) is similar to that of CaO, which
is very low, i.e. about 5%. However, it is much finer than OPC and its
specific gravity is around 1.9–2.4 as mentioned in Table 2. Further-
more, the combustion process influences the amount of carbon
present in the ash. For instance, Loss on Ignition (LOI) detected
8.25%, which is somewhat higher than the maximum value of
6.0% stipulated in ASTM C618 [37]. The difference in the amount
of the chemical components in POFA is due to the material source,
and burning process and efficiency (time and temperature).
2.1.2.3. Pozzolanic reaction of POFA. The formation of calcium–sili-
cate–hydrate or C–S–H is gained from the reaction between SiO2
and Al2O3 in a pozzolanic material with Ca(OH)2 in a cement paste.
The Ca(OH)2 is used as an indicator in pozzolanic reaction. Chinda-
prasirt et al. [72] reported that the increasing portion of the pozzo-
lanic replacement and fineness will cause a reduction in the
Ca(OH)2 content, while improving the sulphate resistance in con-
crete. They found that high fineness POFA has a faster pozzolanic
reaction than coarse POFA (without sieving). Hence, POFA can
improve the compressive strength of concrete due to its high fine-
ness which is denser and more homogeneous. In addition, the use
of POFA as a binder satisfies the chemical requirement in ASTM
C618 as a pozzolanic material by having a loss on ignition (LOI)
of less than 10%. Hence, it could be beneficial in the manufacture
of concrete. Many researchers [26,30–32] have found solutions
for making use of this by-product to be a valuable waste. In
2011, Jaturapitakkul et al. [38] investigated the compressive
strength of mortar due to the pozzolanic reaction of POFA for
10–40% of cement replacement by weight of binder. The compres-
sive strength of mortar due to the pozzolanic reaction of POFA var-
ied from 0.1 MPa to 4.5 MPa at 7 days and 2.5 MPa to 22.5 MPa at
90 days. This result confirms that the pozzolanic reaction of POFA
is small at an early age and increases in significance at a later
age. It also shows that the pozzolanic reaction of POFA increases
with arising particle fineness, cement replacement rate and age
of concrete. Furthermore, POFA (median particle size of approxi-
mately 10 lm) has been utilized in the production of HPC, in which
the highest compressive strength was found to be in the range 60–
86 MPa, which was obtained at the POFA replacement level 20% at
28 days with a total binder 550–560 kg/m3 [30,33–34]. According
to Jaturapitakkul et al. [31], the increased fineness of POFA will
reduce the expansion and loss in the compressive strength of con-
crete. They suggested that POFA could be used as a pozzolanic
182 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187

Fig. 3. SEM morphology of RHA particles in different scales.

Fig. 4. (a) Raw rice husk from Selangor, Malaysia (b) RHA before grinding and (c) RHA after grinding [20].

Table 3
Selected mix proportion of RHA concrete according to the compressive strength⁄ [8,13,16,26,27,70,71].

Mix No. Cement RHA (%) Super plasticizer (SP)% Water Aggregate 28-Day cube compressive strength (Mpa) Ref.
Fine Coarse
1 376 5 1.0 210 844 951 35.4 Madandoust et al. [71]
2 393 10 0.5 165 723 1018 40.0 Sensale et al. [14]
3 481 10 0.9 162 690 1050 47.8 Hesami et al. [8]
4 420 15 1.0 189 815 995 46.9 Ramezanianpour et al. [27]
5 550 15 1.1 162 710 180 53.0 Mahmud et al. [17]
6 1067 15 1.0 628 1,997 4283 50.0 Nagrale et al. [28]
7 889 15 1.1 628 2,176 4268 42.8 Nagrale et al. [28]
8 300 20 0.9 250 94 1456 33.5 Rahman et al. [70]
9 400 25 0.9 250 150 1400 42.9 Rahman et al. [70]
10 277 30 1.1 210 844 951 26.6 Madandoust et al. [71]
⁄
Unit = kg/m3.
 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187
Fig. 5. World palm oil production in 2009 [10].
material as well as to improve the sulphate resistance of concrete.
Meanwhile, Sata et al. [33] studied the ability of POFA as a pozzo-
lan to improve the strength of concrete. All researchers attributed
the improvements in the behavior of the POFA concrete to the poz-
zolanic reaction through which the hydration products were
released.
The development of the compressive strength for selected mix-
tures is presented in Table 4. For concrete mixtures containing var-
ious proportions of POFA, the result shows that the compressive
strength is more than 55 MPa at 28 days. Concrete samples with
20% and 30% POFA show values of 59 and 61 MPa, respectively.
After 28-days, the compressive strengths of all concretes contain-
ing POFA were higher than the normal concrete, as mentioned in
Table 4. The use of 20% POFA resulted in a compressive strength
of as high as 70 MPa at 90-days. Two different POFA (CAPOFA
and ALPOFA) were collected from diverse palm oil industries. The
different mixtures shown in sample G(I) indicate that using addi-
tional fibre (steel) as a binder aggregate to produce a significant
compressive strength of 175 MPa at 28-days compared with no
fibre. Meanwhile, at the same POFA proportions of 10%, 20%, and
30%, but combined with 10% SF, it produced an extraordinary
strength of up to 93 MPa. Furthermore, POFA can be used as a
cement replacement up to 30% in producing high-strength con-
crete, and the compressive strength obtained is higher than con-
crete made from Portland cement. The inclusion of the ultrafine
Fig. 6. (a) Palm oil residue and (b) palm oil fuel ash [33].
183
POFA tends to reduce the water demand of the high-strength con-
crete [42]. Overall, the results described and presented show that
POFA possesses great potential pozzolanic cementing materials
with possibly superior engineering properties in proper mixing
and curing systems. It could also lead to the greater utilization of
waste material from the agricultural side. Subsequently, by mini-
mizing the volume of waste, which is disposed of landfill, will pro-
tect the environment as well as reduce the emission of GAGs
(greenhouse gases CO2). Furthermore, the use of POFA contributes
to a sustainable industry and may contribute to a reduction in the
construction-cost.
2.1.3. Bagasse ash (BA)
Fig. 7 is the flow chart describing the production process from
sugar cane to raw sugar and the resulting by-product materials
as well as referring to the sugar extraction process. The by-prod-
ucts generated from the cogeneration and combustion process at
certain temperatures of sugar cane bagasse, which is called bagasse
ash (BA). Huge quantities of bagasse ash are being produced annu-
ally in developing countries, such as India, Thailand, Brazil, Paki-
stan, Columbia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia [48–50],
and are going to be destroyed and disposed of into the environ-
ment. It has been concluded that this mineral is a promising poz-
zolanic material and can be successfully used as a supplementary
material in Portland cement in either the mortar or the concrete.
For instance, Cordeiro et.al [51] reported that by wt% of BA signif-
icantly decreased the maximum adiabatic temperature rise of con-
ventional concrete. In addition, the sugar cane bagasse ash
produced with air calcinations at 600 °C and a rate of heating of
10 °C/min presents amorphous silica, high surface area and low
carbon content [52]. Similarly, a concrete mixture using BA would
not only reduce CO2 emissions worldwide but also increase the
market value of waste materials [48–50,53]. The chemical and
physical properties of bagasse ash (BA) are the main factors affect-
ing the presence of pozzolan minerals. Table 5 explains the proper-
ties of BA from previous studies. The LOI of bagasse ash is more
than 10% based on the co-generation process and carbon content
within it. However, Chusilp et al. [57] determined that a high LOI
of bagasse ash had no prejudicial effect on the properties of the
binder, nonetheless, if the LOI is less than 10%, it will provide an
excellent pozzolanic material.
Few studies have been conducted on the use of bagasse ash to
produce a great result in the physical and mechanical properties
of concrete. In 2007, Ganesan et al. [56] used BA proportion in 5%
to 30 wt% OPC replacement in dry conditions. In their study, the
mill fired BA burnt under controlled conditions at 650 °C for 1 h.
The control mix (1:3:3 – cement:water:aggregate) was prepared
184 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187

Table 4
The selected mix proportion of high strength concrete [30,34,36,41–43].

No Mix proportion (kg/m3) W/c Slump (mm) Compressive strength (MPa) Ref.
Cement POFA Sand Coarse aggregate Water SP (l)
kg/m3 % 28 days 90 days
1 495.0 55.0 10 753 959 176 6.8 0.32 250 60 68 [30]
2 440.0 110.0 20 745 950 176 8.6 0.32 240 61 70
3 385.0 165.0 30 738 940 176 11.6 0.32 250 59 66
4 400.0 100.0 20 711 1067 145 11.5 0.28 – 37 52 [41]
5 400.0 100.0 20 711 1067 145 11.5 0.28 – 49 53
6 540.4 145.3 25 1057 1340 168 50.4 0.23 169 175 182 [42]
7 214.0 213.0 50 787 961 205 - 0.29 115 41 – [36]
8 171.0 256.0 60 787 961 205 - 0.29 90 36 –
9 128.0 299.0 70 787 961 205 - 0.29 80 28 –
10 504.0 56.0 10 757 971 153 8.5 0.28 200 89 91 [34]
11 448.0 112.0 20 749 962 151 11.8 0.28 185 94 93
12 392.0 168.0 30 742 952 148 16.9 0.28 185 87 91
13 270.0 30.0 10 804 1024 216 – 0.72 80 39 40 [43]
14 240.0 60.0 20 801 1021 210 – 0.70 60 32 39
15 210.0 90.0 30 799 1018 219 – 0.73 75 28 34

with a water binder ratio of 0.53 for 100 mm  100 mm  100 mm
cube specimens. The compressive strength optimum was obtained
from 20 wt% OPC replacement for 28 days and 90 days. They dem-
onstrated that the reasons for the early strength development of the
concrete containing bagasse ash are because of the fineness of the
particles, as well as the degree of BA reactivity and silica content.
The splitting tensile strength values after 28 days of curing for con-
cretes containing BA up to 20% increased to 4.81 MPa and at 25–30%
of BA, the values decreased to 3 MPa. Rukzon and Chindaprasirt [50]
reported that the fine bagasse ash indicated that the concrete con-
taining BA up to 30% exhibited a compressive strength result of
68.6 MPa at 28 days. They concluded that the BA particle is finer
than OPC, therefore, it has an increase in the water uptake, and, of
course a larger surface area to react as well as to enhance the initial
and final setting time. The hardening process accelerated due to its
high silica and alumina content.
2.1.4. Wood waste ash
Nowadays, more than 70% of the wood waste is disposed of into
the environment in various forms [59]. The combustion process of
several wood products, such as chips and bark, produces a residue
called wood waste ash (WWA) or wood ash (WA). In general, WA
applications are limited to certain maintained levels for the
intended crop growth. However, the final process of WA should
be properly controlled due to the fineness of the particles and eas-
iness of air pollution that will cause respiratory problems to people
who live near the pollutant site. Research [58,60,61] has been con-
ducted to study the production of greener concrete material
incorporated with WWA as a replacement of cement as well as
for sustainability. Ramos et al. [60] investigated the compressive
and flexural strengths of the paste mix with 0%, 10%, and 40%
cement replacement with WWA and a W/C ratio of 0.4 at 7, 28,
90 and 180 days. They found the optimum compressive and flex-
ural strengths obtained for 10 wt% of WWA. For instance,
42 MPa, 52 MPa, and 61 MPa are the compressive strength for 7,
28 and 90 days, respectively. In accordance with the carbonation
process, cement mixtures using WWA shown a carbonation depth
greater than the mixture for Portland cement. WWA can be a
promising pozzolanic material for cement replacement and while
contributing to the sustainability of eco-constructions.
2.1.5. Bamboo Leaf ash (BLA)
In recent years, research has focused on the utilization of agri-
cultural waste as a pozzolan in the manufacture of concrete. In fact,
the addition of ash from the agricultural waste combustion process
to concrete exhibits better properties and is eco-friendly. The bam-
boo leaf is one of the solid wastes derived from agriculture. Bam-
boo is the highest yielding natural resource and has the fastest
growth and can be used as fibre and other significant purposes
for construction materials. Fig. 8b shows the ash from the bamboo
leaf after the calcination process at 600 °C for 2 h in an electric fur-
nace. The appearance of a bamboo leaf is presented in Fig. 8a.
This waste material is relatively new in the construction indus-
try and only a few studies have been conducted on the use of the
bamboo leaf ash in a concrete mixture. Dwivedi et al. [63] and
Singh et al. [64] investigated the hydration process of the bamboo

Table 5
The chemical and physical properties of bagasse ash (BA) [49,52–56].
SUGAR
INDUSTRY Chemical composition (% by mass)
SiO2 60.0–65.3
Al2O3 4.7–9.1
SUGAR CANE Fe2O3 3.1–5.5
MgO 1.1–2.9
CaO 4.0–10.5
MILLING PROCESS RAW SUGAR Na2O 0.3–0.9
K2O 1.4–2.0
SO3 0.1–0.2
COGENERATION/ Physical properties
BAGASSE BAGASSE ASH
COMBUSTION Particle size distribution, (lm) 66.9–107.9
PROCESS Specific gravity 1.9–2.4
Specific surface area (cm2/g) 274.0–943.0
Loss on ignition (% by mass) 15.3–19.6
Fig. 7. The production process of by-product from sugar industry.
 E. Aprianti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 176–187
Fig. 8. (a) Appearance of bamboo leaf and (b) bamboo leaf ash (BLA) [62].
Table 6
Chemical composition of the bamboo leaf ash [62].
SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO CaO
Chemical composition (oxides (%))
80.4 1.22 0.71 0.99 5.06
leaf ash as a binder. They found that the optimum proportion is
20wt% of BLA, which is comparable to the ordinary Portland
cement. The chemical composition of BLA was studied for the first
time in 2011 by Cocina et al. [62] as described in Table 6.
2.1.6. Corn cob ash (CCA)
Corn cob ash (CCA) is a fine waste derived from the combustion
of maize and corn. By the year 2000, the world production was
about 589 million tons of maize from about 139 million ha [65].
In Africa, South Africa had the highest production with 8.04 million
tons in 2001, while Nigeria was the second largest producer with
4.62 million tons [65]. Previous studies [67–69] determined that
the corn cob ash has an SiO2 content of more than 65% and an oxi-
des combination of Al2O3 and SiO2 in range of 70–75%. This shows
that the ash from corn cob can be used as a supplementary cemen-
titious material in concrete. The chemical and physical properties
of CCA are described in Table 2. Adesanya and Raheem [69] deter-
mined the chemical composition of corn cob ash (CCA)by inter
grinding the ash with the Portland cement clinker at 0%, 2%, 4%,
6%, 8%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% replacement during the manufac-
turing process. The control reference specimen was served by the
0% replacement. The results showed that the SiO2 content of the
blended cement increased from 21.53% to 23.69% for 2% to 25%
CCA replacement. A similar trend was observed for the increase
in the alumina and ferric oxide. Meanwhile, the calcium oxide con-
tent decreased 2.03% from 2% CCA replacement to 25% CCA
replacement. The addition of CCA as a pozzolanic material in
blended cement shows a higher setting time than the control con-
crete. Hence, they are most applicable when a low rate of heat
development in mass concrete (low heat cement) is required. Fur-
thermore, Adesanya and Raheem [66,68] also conducted several
experiments such as a study of the permeability and acid attack
of CCA in blended cement, evaluation of CCA properties in mortar,
as well as the workability and compressive strength of concrete
incorporating CCA. The specimen preparation was performed using
100 mm  100 mm  100 mm cube steel moulds. The range of
water – cement ratio was 0.5–0.7 used. The proportions of mixture
were 1:1½:3, 1:2:4 and 1:3:6(cement:water:aggregate). The com-
pressive strength of CCA – concrete was lower than the plain con-
crete at the early age. However it improved significantly at the
later age. This report showed that the optimum portion of CCA
was 8%.
185
Na2O K2O SO3 P2O5 MnO ZnO LOI
0.08 1.33 1.07 0.56 0.20 0.07 8.04
3. Conclusion
Recent interest focused on sustainable development and the
recognition of eco-concrete with the population growth around
the world. Researchers are becoming increasingly concerned about
concept of a green economy, which is important to the environ-
ment and society. Since Portland cement, the main principal binder
used in concrete, is the product of an industry that is not only
energy-intensive, but is also responsible for the huge emissions
of CO2, often referred to as green-house gas. The production of
cement significantly contributes to global warming, which leads
to climate change. The utilization of agricultural waste can be
the break-through needed to make the industry more environmen-
tally friendly and sustainable. Many types of agricultural waste can
be used as a partial replacement of cement, such as rice husk ash,
palm oil fuel ash, bamboo leaf ash, corn cob ash, wood waste ash,
and sugar cane bagasse ash. Therefore, the enhancement of the
existing knowledge and investigation of other useful agricultural
waste to be used as supplementary cementitious material (SCM)
in concrete mixture will be a valuable contribution and a viable
solution for sustainable construction as well as to produce green-
ing in respect of the environment.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from
University of Malaya under the University Malaya Research Fund
Assistance (BKP), Grant No. BK055-2014.
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