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Cairo University
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
a
Chemical Engineering Department, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
b
Material Research Laboratory, Structural Engineering Department, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
KEYWORDS Abstract The utilization of black liquor, produced by the pulp and paper industry in Egypt, as a
Rice straw black liquor; workability aid and set retarder admixture has been investigated. This approach may help eliminate
Workability; the environmentally polluting black liquor waste. It also provides a low cost by-product, which can
Concrete; be widely used in the construction industry. The properties of black liquor and its performance on
Set retarder; concrete at two different ratios of water to cement have been studied. The results revealed that black
Admixture liquor from rice straw pulp increases concrete workability, improves compaction, and reduces hon-
eycombing. Moreover, it retards the initial and final set time and enhances uniform compaction.
The effect of incorporating small portions of silica fume has been investigated. The ageing effect
of this material over a period of one year, to determine its safe storage period, has been studied.
Finally, this admixture was found to comply with the relevant Egyptian standards.
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lignin can serve a lot of purposes as binder, dispersant, and and that of Edfu is concentrated to 40%. Samples from the
emulsifier [8–10]. Lignosulfonates obtained in the acidic pul- three pulping companies were obtained. The black liquor from
ping process have been used as a workability aid for cement the Edfu pulp mill was diluted using distilled water to reach
[11,12], while alkali lignin may be extracted from black liquor 27% total solid content to be comparable with Quena black
and sulfonated for the same purpose [13,14]. In this regards, liquor, while that of Rakta was taken from the effluent of
Chang et al. treated black liquor by filtration, evaporation, sul- the concentrating pilot plant with 10% total solid content.
fonation, and drying in a spray dryer to get the finished prod-
uct as solid material [13]. Using this product as concrete Characteristics of black liquor
admixture increases the strength of concrete by 0.3% and de-
creases the water content by about 10.2%. However this Characterization of black liquor was performed by determin-
method is more expensive due to the cost of the sulfonation ing the relevant parameters using devices and apparatuses
process. Besides, it is well known that the separation of lignin available at the Chemical Engineering Laboratory, Faculty
from black liquor is, in many ways, a very difficult process. In of Engineering, Cairo University. pH was measured by a Ino-
many cases, it was considered more difficult than the pulping lab pH meter, while specific gravity was measured by a Ertco
process itself [15–21]. Kumar et al. performed a study on paper hydrometer for heavy liquids. Total solids content was deter-
mill effluent as a workability aid for cement mortars [22]. Var- mined by drying a weighted sample at 110 C in a dryer till
ious dosages (5–100%) of effluent based on water requirement constant weight was achieved. Chloride content was measured
extended the setting time of cement and increased the work- by an Orbeco 975 spectrophotometer, test no. 34, using chlo-
ability of cement sand mortar. ride readymade vials. Sulfate content was measured by the
Both the Edfu pulp and paper mill, located at Edfu, the site Orbeco 975 spectrophotometer test no. 13, using the ready-
of the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus near the remains of ancient made vials. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) was measured
pyramids, and the Quena pulp and paper mill, located at Qous by the Orbeco 975 spectrophotometer test no. 64, and biolog-
city, produce black liquor with an average rate of 1500 tons/ ical oxygen demand (BOD) was measured by the OxiTop IS 12
day each, as a by-product of the pulping process of bagasse. BOD measuring device that is based on pressure measurement
These black liquors, similar to those of most of the paper mills via electronic pressure sensors. Sugar content was determined
worldwide, are used in waste heat boilers to generate steam. by extracting 0.5 g of the sample via boiling in 80% aqueous
The Rakta pulp and paper mill, located at Abu Quer bay ethanol for 6 h. The extract was filtered, and the ethanol was
35 km to the east of Alexandria, used to produce black liquor removed by vacuum distillation. The aqueous sugars were ex-
at an average rate 1.8 million m3/day, as a by-product of the tracted using 5% phenol solution and sulfuric acid 98%. Then
soda pulping process, which uses rice straw as a raw material. the total sugars content were determined by measuring the
This amount was mainly discharged to sea causing severe envi- absorbance of the yellow orange color at 490 nm. A standard
ronmental problems. The difficulties of rice straw black liquor curve was prepared using pure glucose [29]. Carbohydrate con-
recovery, in the Rakta case, are mainly due to its high silica tent was determined by digesting the sample using 1N sulfuric
content [19,20] and low heat value that make silica removal acid in a sealed tube placed overnight in an oven at 100 C.
and the burning of lignin in a waste heat boiler, as at Edfu The solution was then filtered and the total hydrolysable car-
and Quena, an uneconomic process [19]. bohydrate content was determined using the Phenol-Sulfuric
Some reports describe the use of alkaline black liquor as a acid method [29]. Ash content was determined by burning
workability aid for mortar and concrete, and show that alkali the material in an oven in a porcelain crucible at 450 C for
black liquor does not have any negative effect on concrete 30 min and then at 850 C for 45 min; the residue was then
durability or steel corrosion [23–25]. Although other research- gravimetrically estimated [30]. Lignin content was determined
ers succeeded in using microbial community to treat alkaline by treating the oven dried ground sample with 72% sulfuric
black liquor [26–28], there is extra economic added value in acid with 20:1 liquid to solid ratio for four hours at room tem-
the utilization of black liquor as a concrete admixture. Actu- perature, 25–30 C, then diluted to 3% sulfuric acid and boiled
ally, for all sorts of pulping raw material, the creation of useful for four hours under reflux. The lignin was filtered on a
products from the waste liquors represents an increased weighed ashless filter paper and washed with hot distilled
income for the industry and a solution to the pollution prob- water till neutrality; then ash free lignin was gravimetrically
lem. Therefore, this research studies the possibility of utilizing estimated [31].
black liquor, as received from local paper mills, as a concrete
admixture, which represents a simple, economically preferred Concrete and cement testing
solution to the black liquor environmental problem.
Several tests had to be carried out on concrete containing
Experimental black liquor in order to ascertain the reliability of the product
and the conformity of the concrete to Egyptian Standards, as
Black liquor samples explained below. To achieve the objectives of this research
work, two concrete mixes were selected: one contained a water
The total solid content of the black liquor produced from rice cement ratio equal to 0.5 to represent commonly used concrete
straw pulping by the Rakta pulp mill is usually 1%, which in Egypt; the other contained a water cement ratio equal to 0.4,
Rakta can concentrate a small portion of it thermally, by using which corresponds to concrete with higher strength. Moreover,
an existing multiple effect evaporator pilot, to 9–12 weight% tests were conducted on cement paste produced by mixing ce-
total solids. The black liquor from bagasse pulping in the ment with water and black liquor to verify the initial setting
Quena pulp mill is concentrated to 27 weight% total solids, time and final setting time of the cement.
Black liquor as concrete admixture 165
Table 4 Analysis of black liquor produced from Rakta at three different ages.
Property Recent product 6 months age 12 months age
Specific gravity at temp. 15 C 1.04 1.038 1.03
pH 7.22 6.64 6.5
Total solid content (g/l) 93.7 90.8 73
Sugar content (g/l) 28.38 16.75 10.98
Hydrolysable carbohydrate (g/l) 32.8 29.92 12.2
COD (mg/l) 151,200 122,000 101,600
BOD (mg/l) 39,900 29,900 26,900
Black liquor as concrete admixture 167
Fig. 2 Effect of ageing of rice straw black liquor on concrete Effect of silica fume on the selected mixes
compressive strength.
The effect of adding silica fume to concrete mixes from Rakta
with a replacement percentage of black liquor equal to 15%
was studied. The silica fume was added as a replacement per-
centage of the cement weight in small portions, less than 5% of
cement weight, to increase strength without increasing water
content. According to the results that are displayed in Table
6, silica fume decreases slump to an unacceptable value for
mixes at w/c = 0.4, while adding silica fume up to 5% to mixes
at w/c = 0.5 improves strength with acceptable slump.
Setting time
Conclusions
Table 5 Chlorine and sulfate ions in 28 days hardened
concrete.
The use of black liquor produced by the pulp and paper indus-
Concrete mixes Chlorine ions % Sulfate as SO3 % try in Egypt is investigated. Black liquor is considered as a low
of cement weight of cement weight cost admixture to increase the workability and retard setting of
w/c = 0.4, 15% replacement 0.131 2.655 concrete. The results of this research show that black liquor
w/c = 0.5, 5% replacement 0.119 2.138 produced from rice straw noticeably increases the workability
w/c = 0.5, 15% replacement 0.149 3.266 of concrete with maximum performance at 15% water replace-
w/c = 0.5, 25% replacement 0.159 3.3 ment by black liquor. It helps to improve compaction and to
reduce honeycombing. It is also acts as a retarder due to its
high sugar content. At a water to cement ratio of 0.4% and
15% black liquor replacement of water, the compressive
Table 6 Effect of silica fume added to mixes using 15% black strength of the concrete increased by 85% and 78%, as com-
liquor. pared with control mix, after curing for seven days and 28 days
Silica fume replacement 0% 0.5% 5% respectively. In addition, the gain in strength for mixes using
15% black liquor replacement at water to cement ratio of
Slump (mm) w/c = 0.4 85 40 30
0.5 was 58% and 10.2% after curing for seven days and 28
w/c = 0.5 130 90 80
Compressive strength 28 days (MPa) w/c = 0.4 27.5 34.3 29.4 days, respectively. This product is safe to be used for rein-
w/c = 0.5 26.7 33.8 26.7 forced concrete based on the results of chemical analysis of
hardened concrete, according to the Egyptian Code of
Practice, over a maximum storage period of six months. On
the other hand, overdose above 15% causes decreases in
concrete workability and compressive strength. Silica fume
Table 7 Effect of black liquor from Rakta on cement paste can be added up to 5% cement replacement for mixes that
setting time. uses 15% black liquor at w/c = 0.5, which improves strength
Dose (%) Initial setting time Final setting time with acceptable slump. Bagasse black liquors have negative
h min h min
effects on concrete performance as they reduce the compres-
sive strength and should not be utilized for concrete
0 1 18 2 37 applications.
10 1 49 3 55
It is finally concluded that the use of black liquor produced
20 2 27 5 3
30 2 54 6 46
from the Rakta pulp and paper mill in Egypt as a partial
replacement for mixing water improved workability, compres-
sive strength, and setting time without harmful effects on con-
crete durability. On the other hand, the use of bagasse black
liquors produced from the Edfu and the Quena pulp mills is
not acceptable due to reductions in concrete compressive
strength.
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