The Use of Biosilica to Increase the Compressive Strength of Cement Mortar: The Effect of the Mixing Method

Abstract

In this work, the effect of biosilica concentration and two different mixing methods with Portland cement on the compressive strength of cement-based mortars were investigated. The following values of the biosilica concentration of cement weight were investigated։ 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 wt.%. The mortar was prepared using the following two biosilica mixing methods: First, biosilica was mixed with cement and appropriate samples were prepared. For the other mixing method, samples were prepared by dissolving biosilica in water using a magnetic stirrer. Compressive tests were carried out on an automatic compression machine with a loading rate of 2.4 kN/s at the age of 7 and 28 days. It is shown that, for all cases, the compressive strength has the maximum value of 10% biosilica concentration. In particular, in the case of the first mixing method, the compressive strength of the specimen over 7 days of curing increased by 30.5%, and by 36.5% for a curing period of 28 days. In the case of the second mixing method, the compressive strength of the specimen over 7 days of curing increased by 23.4%, and by 47.3% for a curing period of 28 days. Additionally, using the first and second mixing methods, the water absorption parameters were reduced by 22% and 34%, respectively. Finally, it is worth noting that the obtained results were intend to provide valuable insights into optimizing biosilica incorporation in cement mortar. With the aim of contributing to the advancement of construction materials, this research delves into the intriguing application of biosilica in cement mortar, emphasizing the significant impact of mixing techniques on the resultant compressive strength.

Non-Cement Building Materials from Volcanic Rock Extraction Waste

“…Too much content of silicate lump is also undesirable because of the formation of a large amount of alkalis, which leads to a significant deterioration in water resistance and other vital operational properties of artificial stone materials [19,20,[36][37][38].…”

The Impact of Waste Generated from Thermal Transformation of Municipal Wate on Selected Properties of Cement Mortar

“…A 25% cement replacement rate with fly ash sieved through a 63 µm sieve increased the 2-day compressive strength of the mortars by 24% compared to untreated fly ash. In addition, a number of other wastes were used for mortars and concretes, including Biosilica (Muradyan et al, 2023), waste materials from cement mortars, slag ashes and aggregates from recycled concrete (Kalinowska-Wichrowska et al, 2022), agricultural and industrial waste (Martinez-Molina,2021), hemp (Šadzevičius et al, 2023). Research into alternative raw materials for concrete production and the development of effective waste treatment processes in the construction sector are key to achieving sustainable development goals, and at the same time constitute an important step towards building a more environmentally friendly society.…”

Analysis of the Impact of Sludge and Slag Waste on the Basic Properties of Cement Mortars

“…In addition to fly ash and slag from the combustion of conventional fuels, laboratory tests also focus on determining the impact of waste such as biomass ashes (Jura, 2020;Jura, 2023;Jura and Ulewicz, 2021;Popławski, 2020;Popławski and Lelusz, 2023;Ulewicz and Jura, 2017;Ulewicz and Pietrzak, 2023) building ceramics (Gautam et al, 2021;Ray et al, 2021;Mohit and Sharifi, 2016;Nayana and Rakesh, 2021), sanitary ceramics (Farinha et al, 2015;Pitarch et al, 2021;Ulewicz and Halbiniak, 2016), glass cullet (Adhikary et al, 2021;Dębska et al, 2020;Pietrzak, 2018) hemp shives (Šadzevičius et al, 2023), polymeric materials (Bassam et al, 2020;Pietrzak and Ulewicz, 2023;Saikia and de Brito, 2012;Pietrzak, 2021. Ulewicz and, bio-silica (Muradyan et al, 2023), concrete and cement waste (Kalinowska-Wichrowska, 2022) as well as ash from the combustion of agricultural and municipal waste and sewage sludge (Kalak et al, 2023;Pietrzak, 2019) on the properties of composites with a cement matrix. The literature also contains reports on the use of waste from the iron, aluminum and copper metallurgy for the production of cement-based composite materials (Ahmad et al, 2022;Bae et al, 2021;Brachaczek et al, 2023;Cardoso et al, 2022;Faraone et al, 2009;Lee et al, 2019;Lehner et al, 2022;Lis and Nowacki, 2022;Mohit, 2014;Nazer et al, 2021;...…”