Compressive strength, porosity, and density of mortar containing precipitated silica from Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA)

Abstract

Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) as an agro-industrial waste has potential applications in the construction industry. Using POFA to produce extracted precipitated silica is another step toward improving the performance of mortar and concrete with cost-effective biomass waste. This study investigates precipitated silica extracted from POFA as an additive for mortar. Mortar mixtures containing various percentages of precipitated silica (PS) and silica fume (SF) with 2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of cement were cast and studied. Compressive strength, porosity and density of the mortar at 28 days were tested to study the physical properties of the PCC-SP and PCC-SF mortars. The compressive strength of PCC-PS and PCC-SF mortars increased with the optimum 4% addition of silica. Precipitated silica mortar (PCC-PS) has lower strength, higher porosity, and similar density to the silica fume mortar (PCC-SF). However, the precipitated silica mortar has better strength, porosity, and density than the PCC mortar (control mix). The current findings suggest that the extracted precipitated silica can be used as a cost-effective additive from biomass waste to improve the performance of mortar and concrete.