Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873

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Journal of Environmental Management

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Research article

Concretes and mortars with waste paper industry: Biomass ash and
dregs
Isabel Martínez-Lage a, *, Miriam Velay-Lizancos a, Pablo Va

zquez-Burgo a,
Marcos Rivas-Ferna
zquez-Herrero a, Antonio Ramírez-Rodríguez b,

ndez a, Cristina Va
b
Miguel Martín-Cano
a
n, Centro de Innovacio
Grupo de Construccio
n Tecnolo
gica en Edificacio
n e Ingeniería Civil (CITEEC), E.T.S. Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos.
~ a, Campus de A Corun
Universidade da Corun ~ a, s/n, 15071, A Corun~ a, Spain
b
SACYR Construccio
n S.A., Departamento I þ D þ i, Grupo SACYR, Paseo de la Castellana 83-85, 5a planta, 28046, Madrid, Spain

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

Article history: This article describes a study on the viability of using waste from the paper industry: biomass boiler ash
Received 13 January 2016 and green liquor dregs to fabricate mortars and concretes. Both types of ash were characterized by
Received in revised form obtaining their chemical and mineralogical composition, their organic matter content, granulometry,
10 June 2016
adsorption and other common tests for construction materials. Seven different mortars were fabricated,
Accepted 25 June 2016
Available online 5 July 2016
one for reference made up of cement, sand, and water, three in which 10, 20, or 30% of the cement was
replaced by biomass ash, and three others in which 10, 20, or 30% of the cement was replaced with dregs.
Test specimens were fabricated with these mortars to conduct flexural and compression tests. Flexural
Keywords:
Paper industry waste
strength is reduced for all the mortars studied. Compressive strength increases for the mortars fabricated
Biomass ash with biomass ash and decreases for the mortar with dregs. Finally, 5 concretes were made, one of them
Mortar as a reference (neither biomass ash nor dregs added), two of them with replacements of 10 and 20% of
Concrete biomass ash instead of cement and another two with replacements of 10 and 20% of dregs instead of
Mechanical properties cement. The compressive and tensile splitting strength increase when a 10% of ash is replaced and
Depth of penetration of water under decrease in all the other cases. The modulus of elasticity always decreases.
pressure © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction perform a study on the viability of mortar fabrication, the results of

The paper and woodpulp industry generates different wastes,
with water treatment sludge, lime sludge, sands or lime grits, green
liquor dregs, and biomass ash being the most significant. Their
composition depends on the raw materials used and the configu-
ration and operation of the plant, but in Spain, more than 95% of
these wastes can be considered non-hazardous according to the
European Waste Catalogue.
Currently, at the paper industry, the main wastes are dregs,
biomass ash, and secondary treatment bio sludge. Management of
the latter is internal, but the other two are sent to a dump because
of the lack of studies validating their possible recycling value. This
study is conducted to avoid this poor management of biomass ash
and dregs. Once these wastes were analyzed, it was decided to
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: isabel.martinez@udc.es (I. Martínez-Lage).
which would help decide if another subsequent study should be
performed on their use in concrete.
The first thing that needs to be highlighted is that the chemical
composition of biomass ash varies greatly (Tkaczewska et al., 2012;
Vassilev et al., 2010), not only between ashes of different groups but
even within the same group. Several studies found in the current
literature utilize biomass fly ash or bottom ash in cement based
materials, and it has also been proved that the chemical composi-
tion of the biomass ash utilized is very different. So, in some of
them the sum of the contents of silicon dioxide SiO2, aluminum
oxide Al2O3 and iron oxide Fe2O3 is higher than 70% and calcium
oxide CaO lower than10% (García and Sousa, 2013; Ramos et al.,
2013; Tkaczewska et al., 2012; Wang and Baxter, 2007). In others,
the sum of SiO2, Al2O3 y Fe2O3 is between 50 and 70%, and the
content of CaO is between 10 and 20% (Johnson et al., 2010; Wang
and Baxter, 2007) and in others the sum of SiO2, Al2O3 y Fe2O3 is
lower than 50% and the content of CaO is higher than 20% (García
Calvo et al., 2010; Rajamma et al., 2009; Esteves et al., 2012;

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.06.052
0301-4797/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
864 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873

Tkaczewska et al., 2012; Carrasco et al., 2014; Cuenca et al., 2013; 2. Materials and methods
Berra et al., 2015). It should also be noted that in many cases, the
content of magnesium oxide is higher than the amount allowed by 2.1. Biomass ash and dregs
the EN 450-1 Standard and by the ASTM C618 Standard (García
Calvo et al., 2010; Rajamma et al., 2009; Esteves et al., 2012; Biomass ash utilized in this study is a waste produced in the
Tkaczewska et al., 2012; Wang and Baxter, 2007; Carrasco et al., process of obtaining energy through the biomass combustion. This
2014; Cuenca et al., 2013) and that almost all cases comply with biomass comes from eucalyptus wood, both the bark and forest
the content of sulfuric anhydride. residues, and the black liquor from the wood baking process. Dregs
In some studies, mortars were made replacing part of the are the heaviest solids “unburned” included in the ashes of green
cement with biomass ash. With regard to the flexural strength, bleaches produced from the burning of the obtained black liquor.
García and Sousa (2013) and Ramos et al. (2013) found that it is Both residues are listed as non-hazardous wastes according to the
similar to that of the reference mortar, but Rajamma et al. (2009) European List of Waste.
found that it diminishes. Concerning the compressive strength, Table 1 shows the chemical analysis performed using X-ray
García and Sousa (2013) found that it is lower at 28 days but in- fluorescence, which also shows the loss of ignition (LOI) at 975  C.
creases at 90 days; Rajamma et al. (2009) found that it increases In light of the chemical composition results, it is confirmed that
when 10% of cement is replaced but decreases for higher replace- both biomass ash and dregs are of limestone origin, so clearly none
ment levels; and Ramos et al. (2013) and Johnson et al. (2010) found of them comply with the requirement regarding the sum of silicon
that it is similar to that of the reference mortar; García and Sousa dioxide, aluminum oxide, and iron contents specified in EN 450-1
(2013) notice that the chloride permeability increases as the con- (CEN, 2005a) or ASTM C618 (2008), as these standards are oriented
tent of biomass ash raises. Johnson et al. (2010) observe that the towards silicon-based fly ash.
content of biomass ash does not have an effect on the behavior of The mineralogical composition was obtained using X-ray
frost/thaw cycles; and Esteves et al. (2012) and Ramos et al. (2013) diffraction, including the diffractogram of the biomass ashes shown
notice that biomass ashes mitigate the expansion in the alkali-silica in Fig. 1 and of the dregs shown in Fig. 2. From these figures, it is
test. possible to conclude that the dregs are basically made up of calcite,
Barbosa et al. (2013) used two biomass ashes, fly ash and bottom very little dolomite, and possible traces of sodium sulfate and so-
ash, to fabricate concrete and they concluded that for 10% substi- dium calcium sulfate and that the biomass ashes exhibit greater
tution of cement with fly ash, compressive strength was similar to variation in sodium chloride, calcium chloride, anhydrite, calcite,
the reference concrete, while concretes with 30% substitution dolomite and porlandite, with the most intense peak being that of
yielded lower compression strength than the reference concrete. quartz but the majority phase being calcite.
Wang and Baxter (2007), Wang et al. (2008a, 2008b) fabricated The granulometry of the biomass ashes as well as of the dregs
concrete replacing 25% of cement with biomass ash. The main re- was obtained using laser techniques. Fig. 3 shows the accumu-
sults obtained were as follows: (1) compressive strength was lated distribution of ashes and the accumulated distribution of
similar for any type of ash at 7, 28, 91 and 365 days, and for 28, 91 dregs. Analysis of this distribution reveals that the maximum size
and 365 days they were also similar to the concrete without ash, (2) of the ash particles is 200 mm and of the dreg particles is 125 mm.
mixed biomass exhibited better behavior in mitigating alkali-silica In addition, there are almost no ash or dreg particles with sizes
expansion than C ash, (3) flexural strength for the concrete with between 0.15 and 5 mm, although in the case of the ashes, the
biomass ash at 56 days was lower than for the rest of the concretes, percentage of particles smaller than 0.15 mm is 15%, and in the
(4) biomass ash had no impact on freeze-thaw stresses and (5) case of the dregs, that percentage is 50%. In both cases, the
biomass ash specimen exhibited higher chloride permeability, amount retained by the 45 mm sieve is lower than 40% (require-
which was similar to the case without ash, almost certainly due to ment in EN 450-1 (CEN, 2005a) and 34% (requirement in ASTM
the higher particle size. C618 (2008)).
Carrasco et al. (2014) investigated the substitution of cement for
bottom ash from a biomass plant, using proportions of 10%e90%,
fabricating concrete blocks with compressive strengths of 20 MPa. Table 1
They determined that as the substitution percentage was increased, Chemical composition.
the porosity also increased, leading to decrease thermal conduc-
Component Biomass ash (wt%) Dregs (wt%)
tivity, which is beneficial. They also found that the apparent density
decreases, which increases water absorption, confirming that CaO 34.9 46.2
SiO2 11.6 1.3
compressive strength is also reduced.
SO3 11.4 1.4
Analyzing the chemical composition of the biomass ash and K2O 6.5 0.28
dregs from the paper industry studied, it may be concluded that it is MgO 4.4 3.3
not possible to assimilate it to any of the previous studies so, to Al2O3 4.4 0.43
Cl 2.7 0.099
decide on its feasibility as a substitute of concrete to produce
Fe2O3 2.6 0.8
mortars and concretes it is necessary to conduct a specific study P2O5 1.6 3.3
with these materials. Na2O 1.4 3.4
In the study of the mortars, flexural and compressive strength MnO 1.4 0.41
will be analyzed and compared with the studies performed with TiO2 0.25 <0.03
SrO 0.21 0.14
another kind of biomass ash. In the case of concrete, the
V2O5 0.18 <0.03
compressive stenght, tensile splitting strength, modulus of elas- ZnO 0.057 0.15
ticity and permeability will be studied. It should be highlighted that NiO 0.040 0.015
studies with results of these last three properties have not been Rb2O 0.037 <0.03
CuO 0.022 0.023
found. Although there are some studies in which compressive
ZrO2 0.020 0.007
strength is studied, the composition is so different that they cannot Br 0.007 <0.03
be compared with these ashes.
LOI 15.8 38.5
 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873
Fig. 1. X-ray diffraction patterns of biomass ash.
In addition, other tests have been performed on these materials,
which are typical of cements or fine aggregates, to evaluate their
use in fabricating mortars or concretes, the results of which are
shown in Table 2.
From the results of the characterization tests, is possible to
conclude that the main problems found in these materials for their
use as ash in mortars and concretes are as follows:
Both biomass ash and dregs are of limestone origin.
Neither the biomass ash nor the dregs comply with the chemical
specifications listed in European Norm EN-450-1 (CEN, 2005a) or in
ASTM C618 (2008).
The loss of ignition is high for the ash and very high for the
dregs, which may lead to durability problems, especially regarding
resistance to freezing, and they may also exhibit incompatibility
with certain admixtures.
2.2. Fine aggregate
The sand used to fabricate mortars and concretes was quartzite
of RAMSA. To characterize it, its grading curve was obtained by the
method of sieving according to the standard EN 993-1 (CEN, 2012a),
it is attached in Fig. 4, its densities and water absorption according
to the standard EN 1097-6 (CEN, 2013), the sand equivalent ac-
cording to EN 933-8(CEN, 2012c), chemical compounds according
to EN 1744-1 (CEN, 2009b) and the content in clumps of clay ac-
cording to the standard UNE 7133 (AENOR, 1958), all of these re-
sults are collected in Table 3.
865
2.3. Coarse aggregate
Two fractions were used as coarse aggregate, the 6/12 and the
12/20, of a granitic aggregate. For its characterization a grading test
was made by the method of sieving according to the EN 933-1 (CEN,
2012a), the densities and the water absorption according to the
standard EN 1097-6 (CEN, 2013), the flakiness index according to
the EN 933-3 (CEN, 2012b) and the resistance to fragmentation by
the test method of Los Angeles according to the EN 1097-2 (CEN,
2010). The particle size distribution is included in Fig. 4 and the
rest of the tests in Table 4.
2.4. Cement
The cement used to fabricate all the mortars and concretes was
CEM-I 52.5 N/SR. This decision was taken because it is the cement
which contains the lowest additions. Its main properties are
collected in Table 5.
2.5. Mortars
2.5.1. Mortars mixes
A total of 7 different mortars were fabricated, with M-0 being
the reference with a mass composition of one part cement, 3 parts
fine aggregate, and a half part of water; M-10 C, M-20 C, and M-
30 C, which have 10, 20, or 30% substitutions of cement by biomass
ash, and M-10 D, M-20 D, and M-30 D, where 10, 20, or 30%
866 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873

Fig. 2. X-ray diffraction patterns of dregs.

Fig. 3. Particle size distribution of biomass ash and dregs.

substitutions of cement were made with dregs. Table 6 includes the
dosage of each of the mortars.
2.5.2. Mechanical properties of mortars
Flexural and compression tests were conducted to determine
the mechanical properties of the mortars. The test specimens for
the flexural tests were 40 mm  40 mm  160 mm and were
failed using the three point method, with the distance between
supports being 100 mm and the load at mid span, following Eu-
ropean Standard EN 196-1 (CEN, 2005b). The compression tests
employed the semi prisms obtained from the previous test and
followed the same standard. The flexural test of a mortar specimen
 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873 867

Table 2 Table 3
Other tests. Other tests of fine aggregate.

Property Method Biomass ash Dregs Property Standard Fine aggregate

Real density (g/m3) BET Method 2.615 2.598 Apparent particle density (Mg/m3) EN 1097-6 2.61
Surface area (m2/g) BET Method 3.25 6.24 Oven-dried particle density (Mg/m3) EN 1097-6 2.57
Water demand (g) EN 196-3 (CEN, 2009a) 175 177 Satured surface-dried particle EN 1097-6 2.58
Soundness: A (mm) EN 196-3 (CEN, 2009a) 4.0 5.5 density (Mg/m3)
Soundness: C (mm) EN 196-3 (CEN, 2009a) 6.5 7.5 Water absorption (%) EN 1097-6 0.60
Soundness: C-A (mm) EN 196-3 (CEN, 2009a) 2.5 2.0 Sand equivalent test EN 933-8 88
Setting time: start EN 196-3 (CEN, 2009a) 2 h 15 min 3 h 55 min Chloride salts (%) EN 1744-1 0.00
Setting time: end EN 196-3 (CEN, 2009a) 2 h 50 min 4 h 45 min Acid soluble sulfates (%) EN 1744-1 0.2
Total sulfur content (%) EN 1744-1 0.8
Light contaminants EN 1744-1 Not present

is included in Fig. 5(a) and the compressive test of a semi prism is

included in Fig. 5(b).
Table 4
Other tests of coarse aggregate.
2.6. Concretes
Property Standard Fraction 6/12 Fraction 12/20
3
Apparent particle density (Mg/m ) EN 1097-6 2.66 2.66
2.6.1. Concrete mixes
Oven-dried particle density (Mg/m3) EN 1097-6 2.62 2.60
It was decided that the replacements which involve a loss in Satured surface-dried particle EN 1097-6 2.64 2.64
flexural or compressive strength of the mortars higher than 10% density (Mg/m3)
will not be used for the production of concretes, since the loss in the Water absorption (%) EN 1097-6 0.59 0.38
compressive strength in those concretes will be still greater and % passing 0.063 mm EN 933-1 0.51 0.23
% passing 4 mm EN 933-1 3.8 2.6
those replacements will not mean a feasible implementation of
Flakiness index EN 933-3 11 18
those wastes. Los Angeles Abrasion EN 1097-2 36
So, 5 different types of concrete were produced, one without
ashes nor dregs, with the reference (HC-0), two in which 10% of
concrete was replaced with ashes or dregs (HC-10C y HC-10D) and humidity  95%. The day immediately after, the specimens were
other two in which 20% of concrete was replaced with ashes or unmolded and marked, and introduced again in the climatic
dregs (HC-20C y HC-20D). In Table 7 the dosages used are included. chamber to cure until the moment of the test.

2.6.2. Slump-flow and making and curing test specimens

Once the concrete was mixed, the slump test has been carried
out according to the European Standard EN 12350-2 (CEN, 2009c)
and the production of specimens according to the EN 12390-2 (CEN,
2009d), calibrated specimens with release agents have been used.
The filling of the specimens has been made in two layers and
each of them was compacted with an internal vibrator. Finally, the
concrete deposited on the edge was removed with a trowel and the
surface was leveled. Once all the specimens were finished, the
specimens with the specimens were introduced in a climatic
chamber at a temperature of (20 ± 2) ºC and a relative
2.6.3. Physico-mechanical properties of concretes
Compressive strength of concretes was measured on cylindrical
specimens of 150 mm  300 mm at 7 and 28 days according to the
standard EN 12390-3 (CEN, 2009e). The tensile splitting strength
and the compressive modulus of elasticity were obtained on cy-
lindrical specimens of 150 mm  300 mm at 28 days and in
accordance with the standards EN 12390-6 (CEN, 2009f) and UNE
83316 (AENOR, 1996) respectively. The compressive strength test of
a concrete specimen is included in Fig. 6(a) and the splitting tensile
strength test of other concrete specimen is included in Fig. 6(b).

Fig. 4. Particle size distribution of aggregates.

868 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873

Table 5
Properties of cement.

Property Cement

Compressive Strength (MPa) EN 196-1 (CEN, 2005b) 2 days 34

7 days 45
28 days 61
Chemical analysis (%) EN 196-2 (CEN, 2005c) Clinker 97
K2O 0.92
Na2O 0.19
SO3 3.17
Chlorides 0.03
Loss of ignition (%) 2.8
Insoluble residue (%) 1.5

Table 6 Table 7
Mix design used of mortars. Mix design used of concretes.

Material M-0 M-10 C M-20 C M-30 C M-10 D M-20 D M-30 D Material HC-0 HC-10 C HC-20 C HC-10 D HC-20 D

Cement (g) 466.7 420.0 373.3 326.7 420.0 373.3 326.7 Cement (kg) 350 315 280 315 280
Biomass ash (g) e 46.7 93.3 140.0 e e e Biomass ash (kg) e 35 70 e e
Dregs (g) e e e e 46.7 93.3 140.0 Dregs (kg) e e e 35 70
Fine aggregate (g) 1400.0 1400.0 1400.0 1400.0 1400.0 1400.0 1400.0 Fine aggregate (kg) 960 960 960 960 960
Water (g) 233.3 233.3 233.3 233.3 233.3 233.3 233.3 Fraction 6/12 (kg) 100 100 100 100 100
Fraction 12/20 (kg) 810 810 810 810 810
Water (kg) 175 175 175 175 175
CHRYSOPLAST (kg) 3.50 3.15 2.80 3.15 2.80
CHRYSOFLUID (kg) 3.50 3.15 2.80 3.15 2.80
Volume (litres) 1006 1010 1013 1016 1021

developed to check the depth of penetration of water under pres-

sure on cylindrical specimens of 150 mm  300 mm according to
the European Standard EN 12390-8 (CEN, 2009g) to obtain the
maximum penetration and its Spanish modification UNE-EN
12390-8 (AENOR, 2011) to obtain the average penetration.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Biomass and dregs characterization

From the results of the characterization tests, is possible to

conclude that the main problems found in these materials for their
use as ash in mortars and concretes are as follows:

 Both biomass ash and dregs are of limestone origin.

 Neither the biomass ash nor the dregs comply with the chemical
specifications listed in European Norm EN-450-1 (CEN, 2005a)
or in ASTM C618 (2008).
 The loss of ignition is high for the ash and very high for the
dregs, which may lead to durability problems, especially
regarding resistance to freezing, and they may also exhibit in-
compatibility with certain admixtures.

3.2. Mortars

Flexural and compression tests at 28 days were conducted to

Fig. 5. Mortar tests.
2.6.4. Depth of penetration of water under pressure
To prove the impermeability of these concretes for the different
environmental conditions which they could be under, a test was
determine the mechanical properties of the mortars. The test
specimens for the flexural tests were 40  40  160 mm and were
failed using the three point method, with the distance between
supports being 100 mm and the load at mid span, following Eu-
ropean Standard EN 196-1 (CEN, 2005b). The compression tests
employed the semi prisms obtained from the previous test and
followed the same standard. Fig. 7 shows the mean flexural
strength and Fig. 8 the mean compressive strength obtained from
these tests.
The following conclusions can be drawn from the previous
 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873 869

values:

 The compressive strengths for all the mortars fabricated with

biomass ash were greater than the value obtained for the
reference mortar.
 The flexural strength for the mortar in which 10% of the cement
was replaced by biomass ash was similar to the strength of the
reference mortar, but for the mortar with 20% substitution, the
strength decreased by 10%, and the mortar with 30% substitu-
tion exhibited a 13% reduction.
 The compressive and flexural strengths of the mortar in which
10% of the cement was replaced by dregs were similar to the
strengths of the reference mortar.
 The compressive and flexural strengths of the mortar in which
20% of the cement was replaced by dregs were reduced by 7 and
5%, respectively, with respect to the reference mortar. The
mortar with 30% substitution exhibited 26 and 19% reductions in
the compressive and flexural strengths, respectively.

The results obtained from the mortars with biomass ash

corroborate the research conducted by the authors (Rajamma et al.,
2009; Johnson et al., 2010; Ramos et al., 2013). The strengths ob-
tained from mortars with dregs are much lower than the obtained
from mortars with biomass ash.

3.3. Concretes

3.3.1. Physico-mechanical properties of concretes

The values obtained for densities, compressive strength at 7 and
28 days, tensile splitting strength and the modulus of elasticity of
these concretes are included in the Figs. 9e12, respectively,
Analyzing the previous results it should be stressed that:

 The density obtained for both the concretes with ashes or with
dregs is slightly lower than the conventional concrete but in any
case the loss exceeds 2% so regarding this property the behavior
can be considered similar.
 Compressive strength for the concrete with 10% of biomass
ashes increases close to 8% at 7 days and 2% at 28 days. This
concrete acquires strength more quickly than the conventional
one since at 7 days it has already obtained 92% of its strength at
28 days while the conventional concrete has only reached 87%.
 With regard to the concrete with 20% of biomass ashes, the
compressive strength decreases approximately 6% at 7 and 28
days.
 Tensile splitting strength for concretes with biomass ashes in-
creases slightly (less than 1%) when 10% of concrete is replaced
by ashes, and it subtly decreases (approximately 4%) when it is
replaced by 20%.
 The modulus of elasticity for concrete with biomass ashes de-
creases straight-line as the percentage of substitution increases,
even though this decrease is lower than 1% per 10% of
substitution.
 The compressive strength for concretes with dregs suffers a
severe fall with regard to the reference one, so the compressive
strength of the concrete with 10% of substitution decreases
approximately by 20% and the one of 20% by 35%.
 The tensile splitting strength for concretes with dregs also de-
creases dramatically, in the order of 18% for the substitution of
10% and of 23% for the one with the 20%.
 The modulus of elasticity for concretes with dregs also decreases
but to a much lesser degree, the loss of modulus is around 8% for
the substitution of 10% and of 13% for the one with the 20%.

Regarding the values achieved for the compressive strength of

Fig. 6. Concrete tests.
870 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873

Fig. 7. Flexural strength of mortars.

Fig. 8. Compressive strength of mortars.

concrete with biomass ash, the behavior is similar to the obtained
by Barbosa et al. (2013), for a replacement level of 10%, the
compressive is slightly higher, and for the replacement level of 20%
is lower. However, it does not match the values found by Wang and
Baxter (2007) with similar strength with a substitution of 25% and
28 days or more. For concrete with dregs, the loss of strength with a
substitution of 10% is noticeable. Therefore, its behavior is not
similar to none of the studies found with biomass ash. The results
obtained for the splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity
cannot be compared with the results of other authors because in-
vestigations which include these values have not been found.
3.3.2. Depth of penetration of water under pressure
For each concrete of the test of penetration of water under
pressure the following results were achieved: maximum and
average value of the maximum penetration (CEN, 2009g) and
maximum and average value of the average penetration (AENOR,
2011).
In Table 8 all these values are shown.
Judging by the previous results it might be concluded that
concretes made with ashes or with 10% of dregs are more imper-
meable than conventional concrete, this is probably due to the fact
that ashes seal some of the pores of concrete in such a way the
capillary net is less interconnected. On the contrary, the concrete
with 20% of dregs is less impermeable than the conventional one.
The values required at the depth of penetration of water under
pressure in the Spanish Standard of Concrete Structures (EHE-08,
2008) to consider a concrete impermeable enough to water are
the ones reported in Table 9.
Therefore, concretes with biomass ashes and the one with 10%
of dregs meet all the requirements for all types of exposition classes
and the one with 20% of dregs satisfies all types of exposition
classes but for IIIc (marine in tidal zone), Qc (strong aggressive
chemical) and Qb (average aggressive chemical) if the element is
prestressed.
 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873 871

Fig. 9. Density of concretes.

Fig. 10. Compressive strength of concretes.

4. Conclusions
The conclusions for the study are as follows:
 Biomass ash and dregs from the woodpulp and paper industry
are of limestone origin; therefore, they do not comply with the
chemical prescriptions specified for concrete ash in EN 450-
1(CEN, 2005a) or ASTM C618 (2008).
 The loss of ignition of biomass ash is higher than the value
prescribed in the previously mentioned standards, and the value
for the dregs is much higher, which would lead to durability
problems, especially regarding resistance to freeze-thaw cycles
or incompatibility with certain admixtures.
 In mortars both flexural and compressive strength decrease as
the percentage of substitution of cement for biomass ashes or
dregs increases.
 Flexural strength of all the mortars studied has always been
lower than the reference mortar, while in the case of M-10C, M-
20C, M-10D and M-10D the loss is lower than 10% and in the M-
30C and the M-30D it is higher.
 Compressive strength of the three mortars with biomass ashes
and of the M-10D is higher than the one in the mortar of refer-
ence, for the M-20D the loss is 7% and for the M-30D it is 26%.
 At 28 days there are hardly any differences (lower than 2%)
between the compressive strength, tensile splitting strength
and the modulus of elasticity of the concrete with 10% of
biomass ashes and the reference one, and its impermeability is
better according to the results of the test of depth of penetration
of water under pressure.
 For concrete with 20% of biomass ashes, the loss of compressive
strength or tensile splitting strength respect to the ones in the
reference concrete is lower than 7%, the one of the modulus of
elasticity is lower than 2% and the impermeability is higher.
 For concretes with 10% of dregs the values of loss in compressive
strength respect to the reference concrete is of the order of 20%,
the one of the modulus is 8% and the impermeability is higher.
872 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873

Fig. 11. Tensile splitting strength of concretes.

Fig. 12. Modulus of elasticity of concretes.

Table 8  For concretes with 20% of dregs the values of loss of compressive
Depth of penetration of water under pressure (mm). strength respect to the reference concrete is of the order of 36%,
Penetration Value HC-0 HC-10 C HC-20 C HC-10 D HC-20 D the one of the modulus is 13% and the impermeability is lower.
Maximum Maximum 35 28 25 25 45
Average 28 26 23 24 37 As a final conclusion it might be indicated that the use of these
Average Maximum 22 18 17 20 26 biomass ashes as replacement of part of the cement in concretes
Average 19 16 17 19 23 can be feasible. For replacements up to 10% the mechanical prop-
erties are virtually unaffected and in the case of replacements up to
20% some slight adjustments must be made respect to the ones of
Table 9 the reference concrete. It is considered that some more durability
Depth of penetration of water under pressure (mm).
studies should be made, such as submitting it to an accelerating
Penetration Value
n
Clase de exposicio ageing process to know if the properties continue being the right
IIIa, IIIb, IV, E, IIIc, Qc Qb ones.
H, F, Qa, Qb (reinforced) (prestressed) Nevertheless, the use of dregs as replacement of part of the
Maximum Maximum 65 40 cement in concretes is not considered to be suitable since the loss in
Average 50 30 the mechanical properties is substantial, higher than 20% for the
Average Maximum 40 27 compressive strength, by 18% for splitting tensile strength and by
Average 30 20
8% for the modulus of elasticity, probably due to its lower
 I. Martínez-Lage et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 181 (2016) 863e873
cementing power and moreover, for the case of the 20% replace-
ment the impermeability decreases, which means a possible
further degradation.
Further research on freeze-thaw behavior and durability is
recommended for this material.
Acknowledgements
This study was developed with the support of the project of
Program FEDER-INNTERCONECTA ITC-20133075 “Use of paper and
tire industry wastes other than their use in building lightweight
ecological embankments and other construction materials”,
convened by the Center for Industrial Technological Development
(CDTI, for its initials in Spanish), dependent on the Ministry of
Economy and Competitiveness and co-funded by the Technological
Fund e FEDER Funds. We thank the companies that make up the
consortium for the project: SACYR Construccio
n S.A.U., ENCE
Energía y Celulosa, S.A., CYE Control y Estudios, S.L., and Xiloga S.L.
for all the assistance they provided in the development of this
study.
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