Title: Mechanical Properties of Water Hyacinth Stem Fiber and Leaf as Partial

Replacement of Fine Aggregates and Cement

Research Problem:

The growth of the construction industry worldwide is growing at a faster rate, and
there is a massive increase in demand for building materials, and one of the most
commonly used building materials is concrete. Concrete is a building material
composed of asphalt, fine aggregates (sand) and coarse aggregates mixed with water
that is time-hardening. Problems have arisen in recent times as a result of constantly
mining the supply of aggregates. There are over 5 billion cubic yards of concrete
manufactured globally, taking immense physical resources to produce cement and
aggregates that greatly affects the ecosystem. Another is that one ton of concrete is
commensurate to one ton of carbon dioxide released into the air or the so- called
"greenhouse gas" that contributes to global warming. And lastly, the concrete industry
uses over one trillion gallon of water each year globally, which decreases the supply of
water that is supplemental to the needs of people.

To overcome this problem, to some degree it is necessary to find a remedy for

the conventional concrete, and the alternative is to use what we consider "organic
concrete" or “green concrete.” Green concrete are composed of concrete wastes that
are eco-friendly. In its processing, it uses less energy and emits less carbon dioxide than
traditional concrete. It is also a type of concrete that is similar to traditional concrete, but it
requires a minimum amount of energy and does the least harm to the environment. The
aim of using concrete products that are environmental friendly is to make the system
more efficient. Green concrete is very often manufactured and also cheap to produce, as
most of them use waste products as a partial substitute for fine aggregates. Various
researches were conducted to increase the mechanical properties of the concrete; locally
available materials were usually added to this concrete such as natural fibers and ash.
But in order to convert organic into inorganic, they will undergo Alkali treatments. In this
study, Water Hyacinth stem fiber and leaf ash are the materials to be replace as a portion
of fine aggregates.

Objectives:
1. Determine the workability of the fresh concrete;
2. Determine the mechanical properties such as Compressive Strength, Flexural
Strength and Tensile Strength of Water Hyacinth Stem Fiber and Leaf Ash in
different proportions of as follows:
2.a Mixed with 2% Water Hyacinth Stem Fiber and 20% Leaf Ash
2.b Mixed with 4% Water Hyacinth Stem Fiber and 20% Leaf Ash
2.c Mixed with 6% Water Hyacinth Stem Fiber and 20% Leaf Ash
3. Determine the most efficient mix design ratio and compare it to the
conventional concrete mix design.
Illustration:

Conceptual Framework:

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Green Concrete
Water Hyacinth Water Hyacinth
Harvesting, Drying, with the most
Stem Fiber and Cutting, Physical efficient mix
Leaf Ash, Test, Mixing, design ratio
Moulding, Concrete
composed of
Cement, Sand, Samples Testing,
Compressive Water Hyacinth
Gravel and Strength Testing, Stem Fiber and
Split-Tensile
Water Leaf Ash
Strength
Split-

Type of Research: Quantitative Research, Quasi-experimental Design

Related Literature:

The most Abundant used material all over the world is concrete, it suffers
several drawbacks such as low tensile strength, permeability to concrete and
consequent corrosion to reinforcement. Water hyacinth is a free floating aquatic
plant that infests rivers, dams, lakes, and irrigation channels. It affects water flow,
blocks sunlight oxygen and sunlight and completely destroys the life cycle. If
these plants could be harvested for some beneficial uses, menace can reduce
the large extent. In this study, the feasibility of using water hyacinth fibres to
improve the property of cement concrete has been studied.
The materials and methods in getting water hyacinth fiber discussed in this
paper. The water hyacinth was collected from the Kurichi and Akkadam lakes.
The collected plants were washed with clean water to remove the muddy debris
and impurities. The stalks of the plant were cut and sundried. The dried stalks
were further cut to pieces of 2.5cm length and fibres were extracted. As the fibres
are organic in nature, they were treated with 15% sodium Hydroxide solution to
prevent degradation. The fibres were further dried to remove the moisture
content. The treated fibres were then added in portion of 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% by
weight of cement (K. Akil, P. Parthasarathy and D Siva Shankar, 2017).
In this study, therefore, they found out that incorporation of water hyacinth
fiber results in an economical, utilizing waste meet national energy saving
requirements, have higher compressive strength than other fiber reinforced
concrete and has social benefits as well. The results showed that the present
invention of fiber lightweight concrete material can be used in building structures
(XuYichang Lin HuaShu Golden Haze, 2010).
 Study/Book Author Keynote Date
Modern Eco- Comedis et.al.  . The experiments that may be Water Lily or 2017
Friendly Water Hyacinth have a negative impact on our
Containers: climate. Water Lily can be a dangerous
Transforming because of the excess growth and to become
Water lilies into obstruction or blockage in the rivers.
Proactive The scenario it can lead source of flooding in
Environmental the flow of drainage and etc. And the one
Product. Manila, negative effects that the algae bloom of a
Philippines: De Water Lily which can attract the Mosquito that
La Salle Araneta can cause sickness cause dengue. The main
University purpose of this research is to make recycled.
Instead water lilies as negative environmental
pollution.

Physicochemical Lara-Serrano, J.  Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an 2016

characterization of S., Rutiaga- aquatic flowering plant that belongs to the
water hyacinth Quiñones, O. M., Pontederiaceae family. The plant is a
(Eichhornia López-Miranda, J., freshwater hydrophyte that grows in subtropical
crassipes (Mart.) Fileto-Pérez, H. and tropical regions of the world. The objective
Solms) A., Pedraza- of this study was to determine the
Bucio, F. E., Rico- physicochemical characterization of roots,
Cerda, J. L., and stems, and leaves of E. crassipes. The pH,
Rutiaga- ash, 1% alkali solubility, extractives, lignin,
Quiñones, J. G. holocellulose, tannins, and calorific value were
determined. Our results showed that the
mineral content is relatively high, whereas that
for lignin and tannins is low. The pH is
moderately acid, and the soluble substances
easily dissolved in alkali or organic solvents.
Potassium, calcium, and silicon are the major
constituents present in the ash of this plant.
The determined calorific value was
approximately 14.4 MJ/kg.
Biosorption and Mahmood, T., Malik,  Heavy metal’s release without treatment poses 2018
recovery of heavy S. A., and Hussain, a significant threat to the environment. Heavy
metals from S. T. metals are non-biodegradable and persistent.
aqueous solutions In the present study the ash of water hyacinth
by Eichhornia (Eichhornia crassipes), was used to remove six
crassipes (water metals from aqueous solutions through
hyacinth) ash biosorption. Results of batch and column
experiments showed excellent adsorption
capacity. Removal of lead, chromium, zinc,
cadmium, copper, and nickel was 29.83, 1.263,
1.575, 3.323, 2.984 and 1.978 µgg-1,
respectively. The biosorptive capacity was
maximum with pH >8.00. Desorption in µgg-1
of ash for lead, chromium, zinc, cadmium,
 copper, and nickel was 18.10, 9.99, 11.99,
27.54, 21.09, and 3.71 respectively.
Adsorption/desorption of these metals from ash
showed the potential of this technology for
recovery of metals for further usages.
Hydrogen adsorption was also studied with a
Sievert-type apparatus. Hydrogen adsorption
experiments showed significant storage
capacity of water hyacinth ash.
Composite Fibers in Macanovskis, Concrete beams reinforced by short composite 2018
Concretes with Arturs&Lukasenoks, macrofibers uniformly distributed in their volume
Various Strengths. Arturs&Krasnikovs, were tested mechanically in bending. The short
ACI Materials Andrejs&Stonys, composite macrofibers were a few centimeters
Journal. 115. Rimvydas&Lusis, long and less than 2.5 mm (0.01 in.) in
10.14359/5170234 Vitalijs diameter. Macrofibers were manufactured
3 impregnating glass or carbon-fiber tows by
epoxy resin, forming unidirectionally oriented
composite material rods later cut in short
pieces. Such fibers were designated in the
framework of the paper as macrofibers. The
length-to-diameter ratios L/d of the glass and
carbon macrofibers were equal to 22.9 and
28.2, respectively. The beams were loaded until
the opening of the macrocrack reached 5 mm
(0.02 in.). The macrofibers bridging the crack
were pulled out during opening of the crack.
Low-, medium-, and high-strength concretes in
the range of 40 to 120 MPa (5800 to 17,405
psi) were used in the experiments. Pullout tests
with single fibers were carried out. The volume
fraction of the fibers in concrete was 1.5%. Two
types of fiber-reinforced concrete beams with
glass and carbon fibers were manufactured and
tested, and the data obtained were compared
with experimental results for steel fiber-
reinforced concrete beams. The potential of the
composite fibers was analyzed.
The Durability and Henrik Funke. This study reports the development of a fiber- 2016
Performance of Reichenhainer Str. reinforced alkali-activated binder (FRAAB) with
Short Fibers for a 31/33, Chemnitz an emphasis on the performance and the
Newly Developed 09126, Sandra durability of the fibers in the alkaline alkali-
Alkali-Activated Gelbrich. activated binder (AAB)-matrix. For the
Binder Reichenhainer Str. development of the matrix, the reactive
31/33, Chemnitz components granulated slag and coal fly ash
09126,Lothar Kroll. were used, which were alkali-activated with a
ul. Mikołajczyka 5, mixture of sodium hydroxide (2–10 mol/L) and
Opole 45-271, an aqueous sodium silicate solution (SiO2/Na2O
Poland molar ratio: 2.1) at ambient temperature.