Journal of Engineering Science and Technology

Vol. 17, No. 4 (2022) 2336 - 2345

© School of Engineering, Taylor’s University

THE EFFECT OF ADDITION OF RUBBING ASH

AND CORNCOB ASH BIOMASS ON THE MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES OF PAVING BLOCKS

SRI ANGGRAENI, ASEP BAYU DANI NANDIYANTO*,

ZIA NAZALIAH AINISYIFA, DINA TRIANADEWI, HILDA YANUAR ABADI,
NISSA NUR AZIZAH, DWI FITRIA AL HUSAENI, ADAM SISWANTO

Fakultas Pendidikan Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Universitas Pendidikan

Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi No. 229, Isola, Bandung, 40154, Indonesia
*Corresponding Author:nandiyanto@upi.edu

Abstract
This study aims to investigate the effect of the quality of paving blocks with
variations in the composition of corncob ash and rubbing ash. The novelty of this
research is (1) variations in the composition of paving block materials; (2) a
mixture of additional biomass paving block materials. Biomass was burnt with a
temperature of 450o C (7 hours), refining, filtering, mixing materials, stamping,
drying, and testing. We varied samples without and with the addition of biomass
(with the ratio of corncob ash: rubbing ash 10.67/2.67; 8.00/5.33; 5.33/8.00;
2.67/10.67), then tested the sample mechanically by compressive strength and
water absorption. The results of this study indicated that the addition of biomass
affected the characteristics, strength, and absorption of paving blocks. The paving
block that had the best compressive strength was corncob ash: rubbing ash of
8.00/5.33 with a compressive strength value of 92.00 N. Meanwhile, the paving
block that has the highest absorption capacity of 6.23%, was corncob ash: rubbing
ash of 10.67/2.67. This study demonstrated the use of biomass materials as an
alternative to additives that can be used daily in making paving blocks.
Keywords: Compressive strength, Corncob ash, Paving blocks, Rubbing ash,
Water absorption.

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 The Effect of Addition of Rubbing Ash and Corncob Ash . . . . 2337

1. Introduction
Wood is a potential energy source and an environmentally friendly material, and
its use is used as rubbing ash. Wood ash or rubbing ash is produced as a by-product
of burning in wood-fired power plants, paper mills, and wood-burning factories.
The increased amount of ash creates disposal problems. The use of wood ash as a
partial substitute for cement in cement and concrete mixtures will be
environmentally and economically beneficial. This will provide a solution to waste
management problems while minimizing the consumption of energy-intensive
hydraulic cement [1]. In terms of cultivation and processing, a commodity will
produce waste, one of which is corn which produces a large amount of waste, such
as cobs, stalks, and husks [2]. In 2017/2018, as maize production reached around
1031 million tonnes, the amount of available waste was quite large in the
environment [3]. The use of paving blocks is increasingly widespread throughout
the world. Paving blocks have the function to cover ground surfaces such as parking
areas, sidewalks, and pedestrian areas and are widely used because of their strength,
durability, and attractive surface aesthetics [4]. Paving blocks can be made by
manual press/hand, press the vibrating machine, and press machine hydraulic [5]
from a mixture of Portland cement, water, and additional coarse aggregate or
without additional coarse aggregate [6].
Concerning the need to reduce consumption of natural resources and utilize
existing waste, many previous studies have developed various kinds of biomass as
a mixture of paving blocks such as the Penteado research which uses ceramic tile
waste as a paving block mixture [7]. Mujanarko et al. [5] studied the utilization of
Bamboo Innovation as Aggregate Substitute for Paving Block, concluding that
Biocon Bamboo Paving is worthy of classifying C quality standards. Agyeman et
al. [8] made paving blocks by exploiting recycled plastic waste, the results obtained
from the lab test clearly indicate that the Control (paving block without plastic)
specimens were less compressive strength than that of the low and high in plastic
specimens. Gencel et al. [9] made paving blocks with waste marble, concluding
that the dry density of the blocks is affected differently depending on marble
content in the mixture and cement type. If the marble content in the mixture
increases, the density decreases due to an increase in the water content of the
mixture. Then, Santhosh and Talluri [10] made paving blocks with fly ash and glass
powder, they concluded that the use of fly ash and glass powder in concrete paving
blocks as partial cement replacement is possible. However, from all the research
that has been developed, there are no studies that examine the use of rubbing ash
and corncob ash as biomass in making paving blocks.
The weakness of some existing research is the requirement of a large number
of testing samples for knowing the standard deviations of variables involved in the
stochastic parameter [11], models, variations, and the addition of added materials
do not provide a significant value to the addition of compressive strength of paving
blocks [12], the amount of added material concentration that is not suitable so that
the volume of cement paste is reduced resulting in many voids or empty gaps that
make the paving structure less solid when tested [13], the increase is not significant
and the results of the water absorption test and the compressive strength of paving
blocks have not met SNI standards [14], a mixture of 15% in added materials causes
the compressive strength of paving blocks to decrease [15]. Therefore, this research
requires accuracy in making paving blocks and variations in the composition of

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2338 S. Anggraeni et al.

added materials suitable for paving blocks so that when testing the compressive
strength and water absorption to get good results and quality of paving blocks.
This study aims to determine the mechanical properties by adding corncob ash
and rubbing ash in making paving blocks where corncob is an agricultural waste
that has not been widely used so that it is still disposed of as garbage into the
environment. Corncob also has a high silica content, namely 66.83% [16]. The
result of burning wood waste produces an organic material that does not decompose
by the process of time, both in shape and structure. The content contained in the
ash from burning wood waste, in general, is crystalline silica (SiO2) of 88.66% and
Calcium (Ca) of 0.75%. [17]. The chemical content of wood ash is required by
ASTM C-618 (standard specification for coal fly ash and raw or calcined natural
pozzolan for use in concrete), which is 70% of the composition (SiO2 + Al2O3 +
Fe2O3) [18]. Rubbing ash has a high content of SiO2 (silica) which is a binding
element for building materials that can be used to improve the quality of paving
blocks [19]. In this study, we tested paving blocks with compressive strength. The
novelty of this research is (1) using a variety of new compositions for materials for
making paving blocks; (2) a mixture of additional biomass paving block materials
that have not been used before.

2. Material and Methods

2.1. Paving Block Making Tools and Materials
The tools used in this study include paving block moulds made of wood with a size
of (7x6x2 cm), oven and baking sheet, digital scales, spoons, containers/basins,
knives, cutting boards, oven thermometer, grinder/blender, glass, filter with a size
of 1000 µm., and pressure test equipment. The materials used in this study were
water, Portland cement, sand (from a building shop in Kuningan, West Java),
corncob, and rubbing ash (from a local market in Kuningan, West Java).

2.2. Paving Block Making Process

Figure 1 shows the method of making paving blocks. First is to prepare the tools
and materials, then 2000 grams of corncobs are based, cut, and dried in the sun
which aims to reduce the air content contained in the corncobs (dehydration stage).
Materials that have been dry and then burned to ashes using an oven at a
temperature of 450°C for 7 hours and mashed. Corncob ashes, 400 grams of rubbing
ashes, and 1000 grams of sands are sieved using a 1000 µm sieve. After that, the
mixing stage of the paving materials was carried out based on the variation in the
composition of the addition of additional material from corncob ash biomass with
rubbing ash. Then the paving block dough material is printed, dried in the sun for
2 days (without direct sunlight), then tested mechanically (compressive strength)
and water absorption test.
Table 1 shows the variations in the mixture of materials to be made in this study.
The ratio used between cement and sand is 1:2 without additional biomass. The
ratio with the additional biomass is cement: sand: biomass, namely 1:1:1 with a
total weight of 150 grams. The test object plan to be made in this study is 1 piece
from each treatment (without adding additional biomass and adding corncob ash:
rubbing ash with ratio (10.67/2.67; 8.00/5.33; 5.33/8.00; 2.67/10.67)).

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 The Effect of Addition of Rubbing Ash and Corncob Ash . . . . 2339

Table 1. Mix variations of materials for making paving blocks

Treatment
(addition of Corncob Rubbing
Cement Sand Water
corncob ash and Ash Ash
(gram) (gram) (ml)
rubbing ash (gram) (gram)
biomass)
Without adding
50 100 - - 13
biomass material
10.67/2.67 65 65 16 4 30
8.00/5.33 65 65 12 8 30
5.33/8.00 65 65 8 12 30
2.67/10.67 65 65 4 16 30

2.3. Mechanical Properties

2.3.1. Compressive Strength Test
The compressive test is carried out by pressing the concrete using a compressive
test instrument [20]. The measurement results are converted into a curve, the level
of hardness of the concrete is indicated by the height of the peak of the curve
(maximum force). The test is carried out by mechanical test using a screw stand
test instrument (Mode I ALX-J, China). Equipped with a measuring instrument
(a Digital Force gauge (Model HP-500, Serial No. H5001909262). This
compressive strength test is carried out in the laboratory of Universitas
Pendidikan Indonesia.

2.3.2. Microscope Test

The microscope test was performed to see particles of rubbing ash, sand, cement,
and corncobs ash. The microscope test was performed using a digital microscope
(BXAW-AX_BC, China; 1000x magnification). The test was carried out by placing
the specimen on paper and then spreading it and observing it using a microscope.
This compressive strength test is carried out in the laboratory of Universitas
Pendidikan Indonesia.

2.3.3. Water Absorption Test

The test was carried out by weighing the paving block sample first to determine the
dry weight, then soaking it for 2 minutes and weighing it again to find out the wet
weight. The absorption test [21] can be calculated using the following equation:
𝑊2 − 𝑊1
WA = 𝑊1
x 100% (1)

where WA is water absorption (%), W1 is dry sample weight (g), and W2 = wet
sample weight (g)

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2340 S. Anggraeni et al.

Fig. 1. The experimental steps for making paving blocks.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Material characteristics and paving block with the addition of
rubbing ash and corncob ash biomass
Figures 2 (a)-(d) show a microscope image of the mixture in the manufacture of
paving blocks, namely rubbing ash, sand, cement, and corncob ash. Each material
used is sieved using a size of 1000 µm except for cement.
Figures 3 (a)-(e) show a sample of paving blocks with variations in the addition
of composition using rubbing ash and corncob ash. The figure shows the physical
appearance of samples a, b, c, d, and e where the physical appearance of the paving
blocks has the same appearance and size for each sample. Figures 3(a)-(e) also display
the sample colour differences. The sample has a lighter colour, which is grey than the
other samples because the raw materials are cement and sand, there is no addition of

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 The Effect of Addition of Rubbing Ash and Corncob Ash . . . . 2341

biomass in the sample. The sample that shows the colour of darker (blackish brown)
means that along with the increase in the added biomass of corncob ash.

Fig. 2. Microscope observation of

(a) rubbing ash; (b) sand; (c) cement; (d) corncobs ash.

Fig. 3. The photograph of paving blocks sample:

(a) Without additional additives; (b) 10.67 corncobs ash / 2.67 rubbing ash;
(c) 8.00 corncobs ash / 5.33 rubbing ash; (d) 5.33 corncobs ash / 8.00 rubbing
ash; (e) 2.67 corncobs ash / 10.67 rubbing ash.

3.2. Compressive strength test results

Figure 4 shows the graph of the results of the paving block compressive strength
test using a screw stand test instrument (Mode I ALX-J, China) equipped with a
measuring instrument (a Digital Force gauge (Model HP-500, Serial No.
H5001909262). The paving block that has the greatest compressive strength value
is shown in the sample with the addition of 8.00 corncob ash / 5.33 rubbing ash
with a compressive strength value of 92.00 N which is greater than the 0% variant
(without additional biomass) with a compressive strength value is 77.40 N. This
happens because the addition of corncob ash can improve the mechanical property
of cement-based material [22]. Corncob ash contains silica, an increase in silica
content along with an increase in the composition of the addition of corncob ash's
high water content. The compressive strength was increased as per increased
corncob ash but in samples with more corncob ash added, samples with an
additional 10.67 corncobs ash / 2.67 rubbing ash the compressive strength is less
than the sample with the addition of 8.00 corncobs ash / 5.33 rubbing ash. However,
the results are still higher than the samples without treatment.
Meanwhile paving blocks that have low compressive strength are shown by the
sample with the addition of biomass 5.33 corncob ash / 8.00 rubbing ash with a
compressive strength value of 64.80 N, this is due to differences in the percentage of
chemical elements contained in each material. The rubbing ash used is the result of
burning wood. The wood ash contains potassium, magnesium, and calcium which
can increase the pH value to form hydrous silica. These compounds can produce

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2342 S. Anggraeni et al.

insoluble compounds if they react with Ca2+ ions [1]. A decrease in compressive
strength has also occurred in several studies that have been conducted [11, 23].

Fig. 4. The graph of paving block compressive strength test.

3.3. Water absorption test results

Figure 5 shows the results of the percentage of the water absorption test. Paving
block samples that have high absorption power are found in the composition
concentration of 10.67 corncob ash / 2.67 rubbing ash samples. Meanwhile,
samples of paving blocks that have low absorption power are found in the material
composition concentration of 8.00 corncob ash / 5.33 rubbing ash samples. This is
because the larger the pore space contained in the paving block, the greater the
water absorption rate and the greater the water absorption rate, the smaller the
compressive strength of the paving block due to a lack of density or density in the
paving block [24]. This shows that the absorption test with the compressive strength
of paving blocks is inversely proportional, or the compressive strength of paving
blocks is strongly influenced by its absorption [25]. The present study agrees with
previous reports [26-30]

Fig. 5. The graph of paving block water absorption test.

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 The Effect of Addition of Rubbing Ash and Corncob Ash . . . . 2343

4. Conclusion
The effect of variations in the composition of biomass-added materials on paving
blocks has been investigated. Paving block testing is carried out by means of a
compressive strength test and water absorption test. Based on the results, the
variations in the composition of added biomass materials affect the compressive
strength and water absorption of the paving blocks because it is influenced by the
content contained in the biomass material, namely corncob ash and rubbing ash.
According to the results, it can be concluded that paving blocks that have a large
compressive strength is obtained in the composition of 8.00 corncob ash / 5.33
rubbing ash with a compressive strength value of 92.00 N and have the lowest
absorption percentage of 0.50%. Meanwhile, the paving block that has the highest
absorption capacity of 6.23%, is obtained in the composition of 10.67 corncob ash
/ 2.67 rubbing ash with a compressive strength of 81.90 N. The absorption test and
the compressive strength of the paving blocks are inversely proportional, or the
compressive strength of the paving blocks is affected by their absorption capacity.

Acknowledgements
We acknowledged RISTEK BRIN, Grant Penelitian Terapan Unggulan Perguruan
Tinggi and Bangdos, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia.

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