A Comparative Study on the Influence of Banana and Coconut Fibre on Stabilized Soil Blocks

Agricultural waste disposal is among the environmental concerns in many countries. Finding economical uses for this waste by incorporating it in a product is the approach often used to overcome the environmental issue. Banana fibre and coconut coir are major agricultural waste products in Sri Lanka and fewer amounts of these are converted into usable products. Manufacturing cement-stabilized soil blocks incorporating these waste materials can reduce the environmental impact. The present research studied the post-peak behavior and durability of banana fibre and coconut coir-strengthened cement-stabilized soil blocks. Banana fibre-reinforced and coconut coir-reinforced blocks were tested for compression, flexural bending, water absorption, sorptivity and resistance against chemicals, wet-dry weathering and freeze-thaw weathering. The banana fibre showed better post-peak behavior in compression and coconut coir showed better post-peak behavior in flexural. Both fibre reinforcements improved the block’s durability against the acid attack, alkaline attack, wet-dry weathering and freeze-thaw weathering. Moreover, the specimen reinforced with coconut fibres was found to exhibit better durability compared to the specimen reinforced with banana fibres.