Compressive Strength and Water Absorption of Pavement Derived from Palm Oil Eco Processed Pozzolan (EPP) Material as Partial Cement Replacement

Abstract

Eco Processed Pozzolan (EPP) is derived from Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) by the calcination process via heat treatment in the palm oil refining industry. EPP can be used as a partial replacement of cement as it contains a high amount of silica and has pozzolanic properties. Besides its properties, the sustainable production of EPP in the palm oil industry, abundantly available, and cheaper raw material have opened an opportunity to explore it as a cement substitute in pavement industries. This research aimed to study the properties of pozzolanic EPP and discover its potential as a partial substitute of cement in the pavement block's development. The compressive strength and water absorption of the formulated pavement block using EPP were analyzed in this study. Two sets of paving blocks were developed, namely, Set A, EPP was added as a partial replacement of the cement in pavement formulation at 20% - 90%, while in Set B, integration of EPP and Fly Ash (FA) was used as a partial replacement of the cement. The results indicated that the maximum addition of EPP into pavement formulation was 20%. The increment of EPP as a cement substitute in a formulation of more than 20% has reduced the compressive strength and increased the water absorption of the pavement. Simultaneously, the addition of FA and EPP in the formulation of hybrid pavement in Set B shows that the addition of FA has improved the compressive strength of the pavement and less water absorption was detected. The pavement’s highest compressive strength by addition of FA was 36MPa at the EPP was added of 15 – 20%. The study indicated that EPP could be used as a partial substitute of the cement, but addition of FA might require to improve pavement compressive strength.

A Study on Linear Shrinkage Behavior of Peat Soil Stabilized with Eco-Processed Pozzolan (EPP)

“…Henceforth, this is the first study which focus on stabilization of peat soil that uses eco-processed pozzolan as the main material. Recent study reported by Kusaimi et al [7] also indicates that replacement of cement by EPP with the right percentages will enhance the compressive strength up to 32.4 MPa and lower water absorption of 4.78%. The changes in soil volume are usually concurrent with shrinkage or swelling.…”

“…Pozzolanic materials have been practically used as a substitute for cement. Chindaprasirt et al [6] have established that the use of pozzolan would reduce the use of cement, and Kusaimi et al [7] exemplified by their study, support the idea that the use of EPP as a cement substitute in the manufacture of paving blocks can help to lessen the manufacturing industry's reliance on cement. Eco-processed pozzolan (EPP) is derived from the process of degumming and bleaching crude palm oil waste products from refinery plants and is used in blended cement processing [8].…”

Spent Bleaching Earth as Value-Added Material to Material Construction Applications: A Review

“…Various studies have explored the potential utilisation of EPP as a sustainable alternative to cement in different construction applications. Kusaimi et al (2020) conducted a study concentrated on integrating EPP as a cement substitute in pavement blocks. The research aimed to evaluate the performance of pavement blocks formulated with EPP, considering properties such as water absorption and compressive strength.…”

Maximizing Volume of Spent Bleaching Earth Ash (Sbea) Pozzolan Used as Cement Replacement in Mortar Through Mechanical Activation

“…Currently there are research that looked into recycling SBEA for use as partial cement replacement. Part of these research include assessing the pozzolanic properties of SBEA (Rahman et al, 2019) as well as using incorporating it as partial cement replacement in mortar (Rahman et al, 2020), foamed concrete (Rokiah et al, 2019) and road pavement (Kusaimi et al, 2020). These research have shown that SBEA exhibits sufficient pozzolanic properties for use as cement replacement up to 30 %.…”