Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) and silica fume (SF) are the by-products of the oil palm plantation and the ferroalloy smelting industries, respectively. Improper disposal of these materials leads to negative implication to the environment. This study was carried out to investigate the potential application of EFB and SF in cement bricks. EFB fibre and SF replaced up to 25% of sand and cement in the mix, respectively, in several groups of specimens that distinguished the normal, EFB-, SF- and EFB-SF-cement bricks. The specimens were tested for the compressive strength, density and water absorption property. The results reveal that SF, at an optimum amount of 10% cement replacement, increased 10% of the strength of the cement brick. EFB fibre reduced the strength and density but increased water absorption property of the cement brick. For application in the construction industry, SF and EFB fibre contents should be kept within 10% and 20% respectively.
Palm oil has a great commercial value in the global vegetable oil market, due to having several beneficial uniqueness such as significant profits and high yields for farmers, as well as effective and efficient land use. As the second-largest producer of palm oil in the world, Malaysia produces an enormous amount of empty fruit bunch (EFB) as biomass waste, whose proper and improper disposal incurs costs and environmental problems, respectively. This EFB fibre is also used to produce bricks and mortar for building construction, due to being a sustainable solution to environmental problems. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the existing literature related to the application of EFB in the civil engineering field. This focused on the properties of the fibre and its effects on bricks and mortar, to gauge the challenges and prospects of EFB products in the local industry. EFB fibre is a porous voluminous cellulose structure, whose properties vary among each other due to diverse origins, species, and biological growth conditions. This is useful in reducing the weight and thermal conductivity of bricks, as well as slightly increasing their tensile and flexural strengths. However, some disadvantages were observed for the EFB bricks, with the workability and compressive strength being lower. The water absorption of this product was also higher than normal bricks. This confirmed that EFB fibre should be minimally used in bricks and mortar. As a natural fibre, concerns are often observed on inconsistent quality, poor fire resistance, and decay risk, which need to be solved before the use of bricks in the construction industry. This study recommends several patterns of improving the strength, quality, and consistency of EFB bricks, such as the alkaline treatment, which roughens the surface area of the product to enhance the fibre- atrix adhesion.
Ductility plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of a structure, as its inadequacy can lead to sudden and brittle failure. Despite its significance, there is no explicit method for determining, leading to inconsistency and confusion in selecting appropriate techniques. Misjudging a structure’s ductile behaviour can have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, this study examined several preliminary studies and identified twenty-one methods for computing ductility indices. These indices were categorized into three types, namely conventional, displacement-based, and energy-based. The conventional ductility indices are commonly applied to steel-reinforced members, deformation-based ductility indices to FRP-reinforced members, and energy-based ductility indices to earthquake-resistant and static-load structures. Conventional ductility indices are specific to ductile reinforcements, while displacement-based and energy-based ductility indices apply to both ductile and non-ductile reinforcements. However, different calculation methods can lead to significant variations in the computed ductility, particularly for those involving the first crack, and load factor, thereby leading to different ductility requirements for ensuring structural safety. Additionally, not all methods are explicit, and it is crucial to avoid indiscriminately applying requirements from one method to another.
Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) is a biomass waste abundantly produced by the oil palm industry in Malaysia. To minimize the environmental impacts, it needs to be properly disposed of or being rapidly consumed as a raw material of another industry. This study investigated the feasibility of substituting EFB in cement bricks, which is in high demand by the construction industry. A total of 120 specimens having the cement-to-sand (c/s) ratios of 1:2.5 and 1:3 were produced in the laboratory. EFB fibre was used to replace 10% to 25% of sand in the mix by volume. The specimens were tested for the compressive strength, density and water absorption after 28 days of casting. For the mix of 1:2.5 c/s ratio, 25% EFB content reduced 22% of density, decreased 59% of compressive strength and increased 43% of water absorption capacity of normal cement brick. This was mainly attributed to the porous cellular structure of EFB fibre that created a large volume of voids in the mix. Based on the feasibility evaluation, EFB fibre can only replace up to 15% and 10% of sand in the mixes of 1:2.5 and 1:3 c/s ratios respectively.
Silica fume (SF) and palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) are the by-products of the ferroalloy smelting industry and oil palm plantation, which require proper disposal to minimize the environmental impacts. To consume the by-products, the feasibility of utilizing SF and EFB to fabricate bricks was studied. Limited studies were adopting EFB as the natural fibres in bricks and its pro-portion barely exceeded 5%. With the enhancement of SF, EFB content in the mix could be increased. In this study, 336 specimens were produced in the cement-to-sand (c/s) ratios of 1:2.5 and 1:3, where SF replaced 10% to 15% cement in the mix by weight while EFB substituted 20% to 25% sand by volume. The specimens were tested for the compressive strength, density, and water absorption properties. SF was found to strengthen the mix, while EFB reduced the compressive strength and increased the water absorption capacity of the brick. Based on the evaluation results, the mix containing less than 10% SF and 20% EFB content was applicable for non-load-bearing brick.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.