High-strength sustainable geopolymer concrete based on fly ash and sugarcane bagasse ash

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Rihan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6575722/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The 21st century has witnessed a substantial increase in the demand for construction materials, mainly influenced by the growing population. This increase in demand has resulted in higher prices for these materials and has also placed considerable burdens on environmental resources, prompting the search for eco-friendly and economically viable alternatives such as geopolymer materials to replace traditional materials like cement. The benefits of geopolymer materials as substitutes for cement in concrete extend beyond their exceptional durability. Initially, geopolymer was introduced to address the environmental impact arising from carbon dioxide emissions and the substantial consumption of fossil fuels through the production of cement. The study presents the use of fly ash and sugarcane bagasse ash to produce geopolymer concrete. The alkaline activators that were used are sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. Sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) was employed as a partial substitute for fly ash (FA), with varying proportions ranging from 5–20% with increments of 5%. Various tests, including the x-ray diffraction (XRD), scan electron microscope (SEM), slump test, and compressive strength test. The research findings have revealed that the mixture comprising 5% SCBA has the greatest compressive strength of 64 Mpa. However, as the percentage of SCBA in geopolymer concrete rises, its workability in its fresh form decreases significantly. Geopolymerization Bagasse ash Compressive strength Microstructure Alkaline activator Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 1 Introduction Concrete is the second most often used material globally [ 1 , 2 ]. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is the main ingredient in concrete [ 3 ]. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) contributes around 5 to 7% of global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions [ 4 – 7 ]. The manufacturing process of cement requires a significant quantity of energy, leading to adverse environmental impacts. Thus, the development of a suitable substitute for OPC is highly significant. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is a viable alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete for constructing environmentally friendly buildings in the future [ 8 ], which has a substantially lower environmental impact than Portland cement [ 9 ]. Davidovits first introduced Geopolymers in 1978 as a new type of inorganic polymer binders [ 5 , 10 , 11 ]. Geopolymers, which are inorganic aluminosilicate compounds, consist of two primary components: an alkaline activator solution and a raw material rich in SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 [ 12–14]. Geo-Polymer Concrete (GPC) has superior chemical and mechanical properties than Portland Cement-Based Concrete (PCC) for use in civil engineering applications. On the other hand, SCBA is a globally accessible byproduct, made by converting bagasse into energy by combustion in boilers [ 15 ]. The yearly SCBA production is anticipated to reach 48–60 million tons based on yield [ 16 – 18 ], and if dumped recklessly will cause an environmental problem. SCBA has the potential to be utilized as a pozzolanic cement substitute material in concrete. The researchers burned bagasse in some of the cases to create the ash, and the method used to burn the ash affected the outcomes. Sometimes the ash was used directly after treatment, and other times some sort of preparation was applied. The results are therefore affected by a lot of different factors and don't give a clear picture of what might happen when SCBA is used in place of cement in concrete production. The purpose of this research is to characterize SCBA produced by a local sugar mill, to attempt to improve it by controlled reburning, then use it to design a high strength geopolymer concrete and to study its characteristics in the fresh and hardened state. This project aims to increase the value of local SCBA waste, minimize clinkers used in concrete production, reduce nonrenewable raw material usage, and lower CO 2 emissions. 2 Materials and method 2.1 Materials 2.1.1 Sugarcane bagasse ash and fly ash Unprocessed SCBA was acquired from Western Kenya's Sukari Industries Ltd. To eliminate moisture, SCBA was dried in an oven for 24 hours at 105 O C. The ash resulting from the burning of sugarcane was passed using a 75 µm filter to eliminate large clumps of ash substances and any remaining carbonaceous components to obtain the appropriate particle size for the SCBA. The next step involved testing the compositions of chemicals and loss of ignition (LOI). The unprocessed SCBA had a high LOI of 10.20%. As a result, it was burned again at 650 ° for four hours in a muffle furnace to decrease the LOI under 6% to conform to the ASTM C618 criteria. The LOI of re-burned SCBA was 0.97%. A chemical analysis was performed on the raw and processed SCBA using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and the outcomes are displayed in Table 1 . The FA that was employed in this investigation was obtained from India. As indicated in Table 1 it is classified as a Class F fly ash due to its calcium oxide level being below 10%, as per ASTM C-618. Table 1 XRF and LOI results for SCBA and FA Oxides Raw SCBA Processed SCBA FA SiO 2 81.32 76 54 Al 2 O 3 5.51 9 19.6 Fe 2 O 3 6.95 4.2 6.9 CaO 1.71 3.1 7.9 K 2 O 2.68 3.83 2.2 MgO - 2.7 6.9 P 2 O 2 0.5 0.69 0.34 TiO 2 0.65 0.46 0.88 MnO 0.39 0.2 0.1 2.1.2 Aggregates The crushed stone in coarse aggregate had a specific gravity and max aggregate size of 2.66 and 12.5 mm respectively. To prepare the coarse aggregate for use in geopolymer concrete, it was washed and dried in the sun. The fine aggregate is a mixture consisting of 30% quarry dust and 70% river sand that had been cleaned through an ASTM 0.18 mm filter, followed by oven drying for 24 hours at 105°C. Figure 1 displays the distribution of particle sizes in the aggregate. 2.1.3 Alkaline activator Alkaline activators including sodium silicate (Na 2 SiO 3 ) and (NaOH) with ratio of 1.5 were used to make FA-SCBA based geopolymer concrete. They were acquired in Nairobi, Kenya, from Euro Industrial Chemicals. Sodium silicate was in solution form with a specific gravity of 1.530 at 20 o C and Na 2 O: SiO 2 ratio of 1:2.10 (Na 2 O of 13.76%, and SiO 2 of 28.9). The sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pearls used in the study had a purity of at least 99%. 2.1.4 Water Laboratory potable tab water was employed to prepare an alkaline solution. 2.1.5 Superplasticizer A commercially available superplasticizer (SP) (ViscoCrete-20 HE KE) was utilized to increase the workability and flowability of fresh concrete. It satisfied the standards for SP as stated by ASTM-C-494 Type G and EN 934-2 with a specific gravity of 1.09 and clear color. 2.2 Methods This research employed different variations of SCBA and FA ash in geopolymer concrete mixtures. The composition of the blended FA-SCBA geopolymer concrete is detailed in Table 2 , in which SCBA took the place of FA at 5%,10%,15%, and 20% of the total binder. To make the NaOH solution, a suitable dose of NaOH pearls was dissolved in one liter of water to achieve the preferred NaOH concentration (14 M) 24 hours before casting. To start with, the aggregate, FA, and SCBA were blended in the mixer for three minutes while dry. Secondly, the dry mixture was gradually mixed with a pre-made NaOH solution, and three minutes. The wet mix was then treated with a Na 2 SiO 3 solution, which was then mixed for a further five minutes to ensure perfect homogeneity. In order to make up for the workability losses that occurred in the fresh condition, a superplasticizer was added. The superplasticizer was introduced progressively at a rate of 2.5%. The GPC mixture was blended for a total of five minutes before being used. This was done to produce the needed flowability and workability of fresh concrete. Finally, the finished product was poured into several standard testing mould. Table 2 FA-SCBA-based geopolymer concrete proportions in kg/m3 Mix ID Cement FA SCBA Coarse agg Fine agg Na 2 SiO 3 NaOH water S. P Control 500 - - 1000 700 - - 175 12.5 0% SCBA - 500 0 1000 700 105 70 - 12.5 5% SCBA - 475 25 1000 700 105 70 - 12.5 10% SCBA - 450 50 1000 700 105 70 - 12.5 15% SCBA - 425 75 1000 700 105 70 - 12.5 20% SCBA 400 100 1000 700 105 70 - 12.5 3 Results & discussions 3.1 X-ray diffraction analysis As illustrated in Fig. 2 a, the main FA's mineralogical phases were quartz, chlorite, and muscovite. Quartz was found to be present in the SCBA, as demonstrated by the results in Fig. 2 b, which was also reported by Rukzon and Chindaprasirt [ 19 ], and Neto et al. [ 20 ]. 3.2 Scan electron microscope (SEM) From Fig. 3 a it was found that the SCBA particles are shaped like flakes that are fibrous and irregular and have round surface capillary pores. The particles are elongated oval-shaped and have several pores. SCBA requires more water than cement in concrete which is due to the presence of pores on the surface and the fibrous morphology of the particles, resulting in poorer workability, and the porosity (sponginess) of these materials influences other concrete qualities. The SEM pictures in Fig. 3 b reveal that the FA particles have a spherical morphology, characterized by spherical-shaped balls with fragmented Ceno spheres. 3.3 Workability Figure 4 displays the values of the slump for all geopolymer concrete mixes with various levels of SCBA replacement. The workability of the geopolymer mixes was discovered to diminish with an increase in the amount of SCBA. The slump values of mixes were 150, 210, 195, 185, 160, and 155 mm for cement concrete, 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% SCBA respectively. Prior research has demonstrated that the rise in the amount of SCBA causes a reduction in the workability of GPC [ 21 , 22 ]. The values agree with the outcomes of Landa et al. [ 23 ] and Abdalla et al. [ 21 ], who discovered a decrease in workability with increasing SCBA volume. The decline in workability is explained by the lowered specific gravity of SCBA which is 2.2 compared to FA which is 2.5. Additionally, the presence of fibrous and uneven flakes on the surface of SCBA with spherical capillary holes, as observed in SEM images, leads to an increase in water demand. There is a serious issue with activated alkali materials. Due to the materials' high viscosity and resulting inadequate workability parameters, it may be essential to employ superplasticizers to resolve the problem [ 24 ]. Furthermore, GPC has better workability than cement concrete. This is because the fine materials have smooth surfaces and hollow spherical shapes. 3.4 Compressive strength Figure 5 shows compressive strength outcomes for the five mixes of FA-SCBA-based geopolymer concrete (14M, SS/SH = 1.5) at different percentages of SCBA from 0 to 20%. The average compressive strength of mixes 0%, 5%, 10%,15, and 20 of SCBA at 7 days were 55.3, 62.5, 53.8, 55.4, and 49.5 MPa respectively. And at 14 days was 57, 63.1, 57.7, 56.7 and 58.5 MPa respectively. The average compressive strength of 28 days was 60.6, 64, 58.4, 57 and 59.2 respectively. A significant increase in strength over the cement concrete and 0% SCBA is observed in a mix containing 5% of SCBA with an increase of 28% and 6% respectively. A comparison was made between the compressive strength of cement concrete mix and geopolymer concrete mixes. The compressive strength of the GPC demonstrated a higher level of performance in comparison to conventional Portland cement concrete. The enhanced strength can be ascribed to the small particle size of FA and SCBA, which is uniformly dispersed throughout the geopolymer concrete mixture and enhances the density. There was a progressive increase in strength as the SCBA content increased up to 5%, after which there was a little decline. However, in all situations, the strength exceeded that of normal concrete. The 5% level of SCBA replacement exhibited maximal strength in comparison to the other mixtures. The drop in compressive strength that occurred with an increasing amount of SCBA can be assigned to the higher permeability of the materials. 4 Conclusions An investigation based on experiments was carried out to examine the effects of binary binders composed of FA and SCBA on the mechanical characteristics and microstructure of geopolymer concrete. The results of the investigation allow for the drawing of the following conclusions: SEM images show that SCBA is made up of elongated, uneven shapes with spaces between them, which significantly impacted the paste's workability while also increasing the requirement for water due to increased porosity. Concrete made of geopolymer has superior workability in comparison to ordinary Portland cement concrete. The compressive strength of the GPC was discovered to be greater than that of ordinary Portland cement concrete. The combination with 5% SCBA provided the highest compressive strength which is 64 MPa. The present study determines that the geopolymer mixes under investigation exhibited a substantial improvement in strength due to the inclusion of SCBA content. Moreover, incorporating SCBA into geopolymer production also protects the environment from pollution and decreases the need for expensive and environmentally beneficial SCBA disposal in landfills. References Danish A et al Sustainability benefits and commercialization challenges and strategies of geopolymer concrete: A review. 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Constr Build Mater, 149, pp. 338–349, 2017/09/15/ 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.05.139 Yaseri S, Hajiaghaei G, Mohammadi F, Mahdikhani M, Farokhzad R The role of synthesis parameters on the workability, setting and strength properties of binary binder based geopolymer paste. Constr Build Mater, 157, pp. 534–545, 2017/12/30/ 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.09.102 Sarker PK, Kelly S, Yao Z Effect of fire exposure on cracking, spalling and residual strength of fly ash geopolymer concrete. Mater Design, 63, pp. 584–592, 2014/11/01/ 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.06.059 Rihan MAM, Onchiri RO, Gathimba N, Sabuni B Assessing the durability performance of geopolymer concrete utilizing fly ash and sugarcane bagasse ash as sustainable binders. Open Ceram, 20, p. 100687, 2024/12/01/ 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceram.2024.100687 El-said A, Awad A, Ahmad M, Sabri MMS, Deifalla AF, Tawfik M (2022) The Mechanical Behavior of Sustainable Concrete Using Raw and Processed Sugarcane Bagasse Ash, Sustainability , vol. 14, no. 18. 10.3390/su141811181 Torres de Sande V, Sadique M, Pineda P, Bras A, Atherton W, Riley M Potential use of sugar cane bagasse ash as sand replacement for durable concrete. J Building Eng, 39, p. 102277, 2021/07/01/ 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102277 Rihan MAM, Onchiri RO, Gathimba N, Sabuni B (2024) Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Geopolymer Concrete Containing Fly Ash and Sugarcane Bagasse Ash. Civil Eng J 10(4):1292–1309. 10.28991/cej-2024-010-04-018 Rihan MAM, Alahmari TS, Onchiri RO, Gathimba N, Sabuni B (2024) Impact of Alkaline Concentration on the Mechanical Properties of Geopolymer Concrete Made up of Fly Ash and Sugarcane Bagasse Ash, Sustainability , vol. 16, no. 7. 10.3390/su16072841 Rukzon S, Chindaprasirt P (2012) Utilization of bagasse ash in high-strength concrete. Mater Design 34:45–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2011.07.045 . 02/01/ 2012, doi Andrade Neto JdS, de França MJS, N. S. d. Amorim Júnior, and, Ribeiro DV Effects of adding sugarcane bagasse ash on the properties and durability of concrete, Construction and Building Materials , vol. 266, p. 120959, 2021/01/10/ 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120959 Srinivas D, Suresh N, H LN (2021) Experimental Investigation on Bagasse ash Based Geopolymer Concrete Subjected to Elevated Temperature, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science , https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/796/1/012028 Unnikrishnan S (2023) Mechanical Strength and Microstructure of GGBS-SCBA based Geopolymer Concrete. J Mater Res Technol 24:7816–7831. 10.1016/j.jmrt.2023.05.051 Landa-Ruiz L et al (2021) Physical, Mechanical and Durability Properties of Ecofriendly Ternary Concrete Made with Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash and Silica Fume, Crystals , vol. 11, no. 9. 10.3390/cryst11091012 Marvila MT, Azevedo ARG, Matos PR, Monteiro SN, Vieira CMF (Apr 20 2021) Rheological and the Fresh State Properties of Alkali-Activated Mortars by Blast Furnace Slag. Mater (Basel) 14(8). 10.3390/ma14082069 Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6575722","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":450902192,"identity":"7dac29eb-4e59-4af3-8ada-1b8a9a128c84","order_by":0,"name":"Mohammed Ali M. 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Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is the main ingredient in concrete [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) contributes around 5 to 7% of global carbon dioxide (CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) emissions [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR5 CR6\" citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. The manufacturing process of cement requires a significant quantity of energy, leading to adverse environmental impacts. Thus, the development of a suitable substitute for OPC is highly significant. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is a viable alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete for constructing environmentally friendly buildings in the future [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e], which has a substantially lower environmental impact than Portland cement [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. Davidovits first introduced Geopolymers in 1978 as a new type of inorganic polymer binders [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. Geopolymers, which are inorganic aluminosilicate compounds, consist of two primary components: an alkaline activator solution and a raw material rich in SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e and Al\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3 [\u003c/sub\u003e12\u0026ndash;14]. Geo-Polymer Concrete (GPC) has superior chemical and mechanical properties than Portland Cement-Based Concrete (PCC) for use in civil engineering applications. On the other hand, SCBA is a globally accessible byproduct, made by converting bagasse into energy by combustion in boilers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. The yearly SCBA production is anticipated to reach 48\u0026ndash;60\u0026nbsp;million tons based on yield [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR17\" citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e], and if dumped recklessly will cause an environmental problem.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSCBA has the potential to be utilized as a pozzolanic cement substitute material in concrete. The researchers burned bagasse in some of the cases to create the ash, and the method used to burn the ash affected the outcomes. Sometimes the ash was used directly after treatment, and other times some sort of preparation was applied. The results are therefore affected by a lot of different factors and don't give a clear picture of what might happen when SCBA is used in place of cement in concrete production. The purpose of this research is to characterize SCBA produced by a local sugar mill, to attempt to improve it by controlled reburning, then use it to design a high strength geopolymer concrete and to study its characteristics in the fresh and hardened state. This project aims to increase the value of local SCBA waste, minimize clinkers used in concrete production, reduce nonrenewable raw material usage, and lower CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e emissions.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2 Materials and method","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Materials\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.1 Sugarcane bagasse ash and fly ash\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnprocessed SCBA was acquired from Western Kenya's Sukari Industries Ltd. To eliminate moisture, SCBA was dried in an oven for 24 hours at 105\u003csup\u003eO\u003c/sup\u003e C. The ash resulting from the burning of sugarcane was passed using a 75 \u0026micro;m filter to eliminate large clumps of ash substances and any remaining carbonaceous components to obtain the appropriate particle size for the SCBA. The next step involved testing the compositions of chemicals and loss of ignition (LOI). The unprocessed SCBA had a high LOI of 10.20%. As a result, it was burned again at 650 \u0026deg; for four hours in a muffle furnace to decrease the LOI under 6% to conform to the ASTM C618 criteria. The LOI of re-burned SCBA was 0.97%. A chemical analysis was performed on the raw and processed SCBA using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and the outcomes are displayed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. The FA that was employed in this investigation was obtained from India. As indicated in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e it is classified as a Class F fly ash due to its calcium oxide level being below 10%, as per ASTM C-618.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eXRF and LOI results for SCBA and FA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOxides\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRaw SCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProcessed SCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFe\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.95\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCaO\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eK\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMgO\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMnO\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.2 Aggregates\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe crushed stone in coarse aggregate had a specific gravity and max aggregate size of 2.66 and 12.5 mm respectively. To prepare the coarse aggregate for use in geopolymer concrete, it was washed and dried in the sun. The fine aggregate is a mixture consisting of 30% quarry dust and 70% river sand that had been cleaned through an ASTM 0.18 mm filter, followed by oven drying for 24 hours at 105\u0026deg;C. Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e displays the distribution of particle sizes in the aggregate.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.3 Alkaline activator\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlkaline activators including sodium silicate (Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) and (NaOH) with ratio of 1.5 were used to make FA-SCBA based geopolymer concrete. They were acquired in Nairobi, Kenya, from Euro Industrial Chemicals. Sodium silicate was in solution form with a specific gravity of 1.530 at 20 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003e C and Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO: SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e ratio of 1:2.10 (Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO of 13.76%, and SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e of 28.9). The sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pearls used in the study had a purity of at least 99%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.4 Water\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eLaboratory potable tab water was employed to prepare an alkaline solution.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.5 Superplasticizer\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA commercially available superplasticizer (SP) (ViscoCrete-20 HE KE) was utilized to increase the workability and flowability of fresh concrete. It satisfied the standards for SP as stated by ASTM-C-494 Type G and EN 934-2 with a specific gravity of 1.09 and clear color.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Methods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis research employed different variations of SCBA and FA ash in geopolymer concrete mixtures. The composition of the blended FA-SCBA geopolymer concrete is detailed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, in which SCBA took the place of FA at 5%,10%,15%, and 20% of the total binder. To make the NaOH solution, a suitable dose of NaOH pearls was dissolved in one liter of water to achieve the preferred NaOH concentration (14 M) 24 hours before casting. To start with, the aggregate, FA, and SCBA were blended in the mixer for three minutes while dry. Secondly, the dry mixture was gradually mixed with a pre-made NaOH solution, and three minutes. The wet mix was then treated with a Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e solution, which was then mixed for a further five minutes to ensure perfect homogeneity. In order to make up for the workability losses that occurred in the fresh condition, a superplasticizer was added. The superplasticizer was introduced progressively at a rate of 2.5%. The GPC mixture was blended for a total of five minutes before being used. This was done to produce the needed flowability and workability of fresh concrete. Finally, the finished product was poured into several standard testing mould.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFA-SCBA-based geopolymer concrete proportions in kg/m3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"10\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMix ID\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoarse agg\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFine agg\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNa\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNaOH\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ewater\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS. P\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eControl\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e175\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0% SCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5% SCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e475\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10% SCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e450\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15% SCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e425\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20% SCBA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3 Results \u0026 discussions","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 X-ray diffraction analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ea, the main FA's mineralogical phases were quartz, chlorite, and muscovite. Quartz was found to be present in the SCBA, as demonstrated by the results in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003eb, which was also reported by Rukzon and Chindaprasirt [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e], and Neto et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Scan electron microscope (SEM)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea it was found that the SCBA particles are shaped like flakes that are fibrous and irregular and have round surface capillary pores. The particles are elongated oval-shaped and have several pores. SCBA requires more water than cement in concrete which is due to the presence of pores on the surface and the fibrous morphology of the particles, resulting in poorer workability, and the porosity (sponginess) of these materials influences other concrete qualities. The SEM pictures in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003eb reveal that the FA particles have a spherical morphology, characterized by spherical-shaped balls with fragmented Ceno spheres.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Workability\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e displays the values of the slump for all geopolymer concrete mixes with various levels of SCBA replacement. The workability of the geopolymer mixes was discovered to diminish with an increase in the amount of SCBA. The slump values of mixes were 150, 210, 195, 185, 160, and 155 mm for cement concrete, 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% SCBA respectively. Prior research has demonstrated that the rise in the amount of SCBA causes a reduction in the workability of GPC [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. The values agree with the outcomes of Landa et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e] and Abdalla et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e], who discovered a decrease in workability with increasing SCBA volume. The decline in workability is explained by the lowered specific gravity of SCBA which is 2.2 compared to FA which is 2.5. Additionally, the presence of fibrous and uneven flakes on the surface of SCBA with spherical capillary holes, as observed in SEM images, leads to an increase in water demand. There is a serious issue with activated alkali materials. Due to the materials' high viscosity and resulting inadequate workability parameters, it may be essential to employ superplasticizers to resolve the problem [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, GPC has better workability than cement concrete. This is because the fine materials have smooth surfaces and hollow spherical shapes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4 Compressive strength\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e shows compressive strength outcomes for the five mixes of FA-SCBA-based geopolymer concrete (14M, SS/SH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.5) at different percentages of SCBA from 0 to 20%. The average compressive strength of mixes 0%, 5%, 10%,15, and 20 of SCBA at 7 days were 55.3, 62.5, 53.8, 55.4, and 49.5 MPa respectively. And at 14 days was 57, 63.1, 57.7, 56.7 and 58.5 MPa respectively. The average compressive strength of 28 days was 60.6, 64, 58.4, 57 and 59.2 respectively. A significant increase in strength over the cement concrete and 0% SCBA is observed in a mix containing 5% of SCBA with an increase of 28% and 6% respectively. A comparison was made between the compressive strength of cement concrete mix and geopolymer concrete mixes. The compressive strength of the GPC demonstrated a higher level of performance in comparison to conventional Portland cement concrete. The enhanced strength can be ascribed to the small particle size of FA and SCBA, which is uniformly dispersed throughout the geopolymer concrete mixture and enhances the density. There was a progressive increase in strength as the SCBA content increased up to 5%, after which there was a little decline. However, in all situations, the strength exceeded that of normal concrete. The 5% level of SCBA replacement exhibited maximal strength in comparison to the other mixtures. The drop in compressive strength that occurred with an increasing amount of SCBA can be assigned to the higher permeability of the materials.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eAn investigation based on experiments was carried out to examine the effects of binary binders composed of FA and SCBA on the mechanical characteristics and microstructure of geopolymer concrete. The results of the investigation allow for the drawing of the following conclusions:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eSEM images show that SCBA is made up of elongated, uneven shapes with spaces between them, which significantly impacted the paste's workability while also increasing the requirement for water due to increased porosity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcrete made of geopolymer has superior workability in comparison to ordinary Portland cement concrete.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe compressive strength of the GPC was discovered to be greater than that of ordinary Portland cement concrete. The combination with 5% SCBA provided the highest compressive strength which is 64 MPa.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe present study determines that the geopolymer mixes under investigation exhibited a substantial improvement in strength due to the inclusion of SCBA content. Moreover, incorporating SCBA into geopolymer production also protects the environment from pollution and decreases the need for expensive and environmentally beneficial SCBA disposal in landfills.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDanish A et al Sustainability benefits and commercialization challenges and strategies of geopolymer concrete: A review. 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Mater (Basel) 14(8). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.3390/ma14082069\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3390/ma14082069\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Geopolymerization, Bagasse ash, Compressive strength, Microstructure, Alkaline activator","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6575722/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6575722/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe 21st century has witnessed a substantial increase in the demand for construction materials, mainly influenced by the growing population. This increase in demand has resulted in higher prices for these materials and has also placed considerable burdens on environmental resources, prompting the search for eco-friendly and economically viable alternatives such as geopolymer materials to replace traditional materials like cement. The benefits of geopolymer materials as substitutes for cement in concrete extend beyond their exceptional durability. Initially, geopolymer was introduced to address the environmental impact arising from carbon dioxide emissions and the substantial consumption of fossil fuels through the production of cement. The study presents the use of fly ash and sugarcane bagasse ash to produce geopolymer concrete. The alkaline activators that were used are sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. Sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) was employed as a partial substitute for fly ash (FA), with varying proportions ranging from 5\u0026ndash;20% with increments of 5%. Various tests, including the x-ray diffraction (XRD), scan electron microscope (SEM), slump test, and compressive strength test. The research findings have revealed that the mixture comprising 5% SCBA has the greatest compressive strength of 64 Mpa. However, as the percentage of SCBA in geopolymer concrete rises, its workability in its fresh form decreases significantly.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"High-strength sustainable geopolymer concrete based on fly ash and sugarcane bagasse ash","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-05-06 01:26:54","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6575722/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7fdd07d9-6d28-4046-84ef-7b9fcdbe926a","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 6th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-05-06T01:26:54+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-05-06 01:26:54","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6575722","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6575722","identity":"rs-6575722","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}