Challenges and Prospects of Widespread Adoption of Pozzolans for Building Construction: A Statistical Assessment

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

Pozzolans are supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) that many researchers have found suitable for partial replacement of cement in concrete in order to reduce the environmental hazards and energy consumption involved in the production of concrete. However, these materials have been seldomly used in the present day construction industry especially in Nigeria, in spite of notable research efforts on them over the past decade and abundance of evidence to support their tremendous benefits. A question therefore naturally arises: What is responsible for the hesitation in applying pozzolans widely in the construction industry? This paper investigated by means of a research survey the reasons for their low acceptance and adoption by stakeholders in the construction industry. Opinions from 82 respondents of impressive involvement in the construction industry were collated and statistically analyzed using non-parametric tests, namely Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability, Kruskal-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U tests. The results of the analyses affirmed that pozzolans are effective in mitigating the negative environmental effects caused by using conventional cement in concrete. It further revealed that notable factors militating against their adoption in the construction industry include unavailability of relevant mixture design standards for pozzolanic concrete, lack of commercial production of pozzolanic concrete, unavailability of sufficiently skilled professionals on pozzolan application, inadequate public awareness, lack of policies recommending and guiding its use, and fears on results achievable with use of pozzolans. Respondents generally agreed that development of proper guidelines and standards, as well as adequate public awareness will favour wide acceptance and industrial application of pozzolans.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Hafizyar, R. and Dheyaaldin, M. H., “Concrete Technology and Sustainably Development from Past to Future.” Sustainable Structures and Materials, An International Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, (2019), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.26392/SSM.2019.02.01.001
  2. Hasanbeigi, A., Price, L., Lu, H. and Lan, W., “Analysis of energy-efficiency opportunities for the cement industry in Shandong Province, China: A case study of 16 cement plants.” Energy, Vol. 35, No. 8, (2010), 3461-3473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2010.04.046
  3. Verma, Y. K., Mazumdar, B. and Ghosh, P. “Thermal energy consumption and its conservation for a cement production unit,” Environmental Engineering Research, Vol. 26, No. 3, (2021). https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2020.111
  4. Chikouche Hamina, M. and Naceri, A. “Effects of Pozzolanic Admixture (Waste Bricks) on Mechanical Response of Mortar.” International Journal of Engineering, Transactions B: Applications, 21, No. 1, (2008), 1-8.
  5. Becerra-Duitama, J. A. and Rojas-Avellaneda, D. “Pozzolans: A review.” Engineering and Applied Science Research, Vol. 49, No. 4, (2022), 495-504. https://ph01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/easr/article/view/247697
  6. Sai Giridhar Reddy, V. and Ranga Rao, V. “Eco-friendly blocks by blended materials.” International Journal of Engineering, Transactions B: Applications, 30, No. 5, (2017), 636-642. doi: 10.5829/idosi.ije.2017.30.05b.02
  7. Pachideh, G., Gholhaki, M. and Moshtagh, A. “Performance of porous pavement containing different types of pozzolans.” International Journal of Engineering Transactions C: Aspects, 32, No. 9, (2019), 1277-1283. doi: 10.5829/ije.2019.32.09c.07
  8. Shafabakhsh, G. and Ahmadi, S. “Evaluation of coal waste ash and rice husk ash on properties of pervious concrete pavement.” International Journal of Engineering, Transactions B: Applications, 29, No. 2, (2016), 192-201. doi: 10.5829/idosi.ije.2016.29.02b.08
  9. Kanthe, V., Deo, S. and Murmu, M. “Combine Use of Fly Ash and Rice Husk Ash in Concrete to Improve its Properties (Research Note).” International Journal of Engineering, Transactions B: Applications, 31, No. 7, (2018), 1012-1019. doi: 10.5829/ije.2018.31.07a.02
  10. Arum, C., Ikumapayi, C. M. and Aralepo, G. O. “Ashes of Biogenic Wastes—Pozzolanicity, Prospects for Use, and Effects on Some Engineering Properties of Concrete.” Materials Sciences and Applications, Vol. 2013, No. 4, (2013), 521-527. doi: 4236/msa.2013.49064
  11. Ikumapayi, C. M. “Crystal and Microstructure Analysis of Pozzolanic Properties of Bamboo Leaf Ash and Locust Beans Pod Ash Blended Cement Concrete.” Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, Vol. 20, No. 4, (2016), 943-952. doi: 4314/jasem.v20i4.6
  12. Bakera, A. T. and Alexander, M. G. “Use of metakaolin as supplementary cementitious material in concrete, with focus on durability properties.” RILEM Technical Letters, Vol. 4, (2019), 89-102. https://doi.org/10.21809/rilemtechlett.2019.94
  13. Bamaga, S. O., Hussin, M. W. and Ismail, M. A. “Palm Oil Fuel Ash: Promising Supplementary Cementing Materials,” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 17, No. 7, (2013), 1708-1713. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-013-1241-9
  14. Saraswathy, V. and Song, H. W. “Corrosion performance of rice husk ash blended concrete.” Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 21, No. 8, (2007), 1779-1784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.05.037
  15. Adisa, O. K. “Economy of RHA (Rice Husk Ash) in Concrete for Low-Cost Housing Delivery in Nigeria,” Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 7, No. 11, (2013), 1464-1470.
  16. Becerra-Duitama, J. A. and Rojas-Avellanda, D. “Pozzolans: A review.” Engineering and Applied Science Research (EASR), Vol. 49, No. 4, (2022), 495-504. https://ph01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/easr/article/view/247697
  17. Kanthe, V. N., Deo, S. V. and Murmu, M. “Early age shrinkage behavior of triple blend concrete.” International Journal of Engineering, Transactions B: Applications, 33, No. 8, (2020), 1459-1464. doi: 10.5829/ije.2020.33.08b.03
  18. Sudha, S. “Durability and Strength Character of Concrete Using Lime Sludge and Flyash as Partial Replacement of Fine Aggregate.” International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, Vol. 03, No. 07, (2016), 1724-1729.
  19. Dwivedi, A. and Jain, M. K. “Fly ash - Waste management and Overview: A Review.” Recent Research in Science and Technology, Vol. 6, No. 1, (2014), 30-35.
  20. American Coal Ash Association, “Fly Ash Facts for Highway Engineers [2003].” United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Technology Applications, 2003.
  21. Ha, T. Muralidharan, S., Bae, J., Ha, Y., Lee, H., Park, K. and Kim, D. “Accelerated short-term techniques to evaluate the corrosion performance of steel in fly ash blended concrete,” Building and Environment, Vol. 42, No. 2007, (2007), 78-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.08.019
  22. Dhadse, S., Kumari, P. and Bhagia, L. J. “Fly ash characterization, utilization and Government initiatives in India - A review.” Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research, Vol. 67, (2008), 11-18.
  23. Karim, M. R., Zain, M. F. M., Jamil, M., Lai, F. C. and Islam, M. N. “Strength development of mortar and concrete containing fly ash: A review.” International Journal of the Physical Sciences, Vol. 6, No. 17, (2011), 4137-4153. doi: 10.5897/IJPS11.232
  24. Kayali, O. “Fly ash lightweight aggregates in high performance concrete.” Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 22, No. 12, (2008), 2393-2399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2007.09.001
  25. NPCA, “Fly Ash Trends Downwards,” Utility Structures, 2017. https://precast.org/2017/03/fly-ash-trends-downward/ (accessed Oct. 27, 2021).
  26. Sutter, L. L., Hooton, R. D. and Schlorholtz, S. "Methods for evaluating fly ash for use in highway concrete", Vol. 749. Transportation Research Board, 2013.
  27. Al-Akhras, N. “Durability of metakaolin concrete to sulfate attack,” Cement and Concrete Research, 36, No. 2006, (2006), 1727-1734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2006.03.026
  28. Güneyisi, E., Gesoğlu, M. and Mermerdaş, K. “Improving strength, drying shrinkage, and pore structure of concrete using metakaolin.” Materials and structures, Vol. 41, No. 5, (2008), 937-949. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-007-9296-z
  29. Dinakar, P., Sahoo, P. K. and Sriram, G. “Effect of Metakaolin Content on the Properties of High Strength Concrete.” International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials, Vol. 7, No. 3, (2013), 215-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40069-013-0045-0
  30. Dhinakaran, G., Thilgavathi, S. and Venkataramana, J. “Compressive Strength and Chloride Resistance of Metakaolin Concrete,” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 7, (2012), 1209-1217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-012-1235-z
  31. Vejmelková E., Pavlíková, M., Keppert, M., Keršner, Z., Rovnaníková, P., Ondrácek, M., Sedlmajer, M. and Cerny, R. “High performance concrete with Czech metakaolin: Experimental analysis of strength, toughness and durability characteristics,” Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 24, No. 2010, (2010), 1404-1411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.01.017
  32. Parande, A. K., Babu, B. R., Karthik, M. A., Kumaar, K. D. and Palaniswamy, N. “Study on strength and corrosion performance for steel embedded in metakaolin blended concrete/mortar.” Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 22, No. 3, (2008), 127-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.10.003
  33. Thavasumony, D., Subash, T. and Sheeba, D. “High Strength Concrete using Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS).” International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Vol. 5, No. 7, (2014), 1050-1054.
  34. Gao, J. M., Qian, C. X., Liu, H. F., Wang, B. and Li, L. “ITZ microstructure of concrete containing GGBS,” Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 35, No. 7, (2005), 1299-1304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.06.042
  35. Lee, Y. J., Kim, H. G., and Kim, K. H. “Effect of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag Replacement Ratio on Structural Performance of Precast Concrete Beams.” Materials, Vol. 14, No. 23, (2021), 7159. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14237159
  36. Duży, P., Sitarz, M., Adamczyk, M., Choińska, M. and Hager, I. “Chloride ions’ penetration of fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slags-based alkali-activated mortars.” Materials, Vol. 14, No. 21, (2021), 6583. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14216583
  37. Ikpeseni, S. C., Owebor, K. and Owamah, H. I. “Developing the Nigerian Steel Sector: The Economic and Industrial Implications,” NIPES Journal of Science and Technology Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, (2021), 202-211.
  38. Alberici, S., de Beer, J. G., van der Hoorn, I. and Staats, M. “Fly ash and blast furnace slag for cement manufacturing.” BEIS Research Paper, 2017.
  39. Jhatial, A. A., Goh, W. I., Mo, K. H., Sohu, S. and Bhatti, I. A. “Green and sustainable concrete–the potential utilization of rice husk ash and egg shells.” Civil Engineering Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1, (2019), 74-81.
  40. Hadipramana, J., Riza, F. V., Rahman, A., Loon, L. Y., Adnan, S. H. and Zaidi, A. M. A. “Pozzolanic characterization of waste Rice husk ash (RHA) from Muar, Malaysia,” in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 160, (2016), 012066.
  41. Sivakumar, G. and Ravibaskar, R. “Investigation on the hydration properties of the rice husk ash cement using FTIR and SEM.” Applied Physics Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, (2009), 71-77.
  42. Krishna, N. K., Sandeep, S. and Mini, K. M. “Study on concrete with partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash,” IOP Conference. Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 149, No. 2016, (2016), 1-11.
  43. Oyejobi, D. O., Abdulkadir, T. S. and Ahmed, A. T. “A Study of Partial Replacement of Cement with Palm Oil Fuel Ash in Concrete Production.” Journal of Agricultural Technology, Vol. 12, No. 4, (2016), 619-631.
  44. Rajesh, Ch., Sameer, G. N., Reddy, M. S. M., Jagarapu, D. C. K. and Jogi, P. K. “Consumption of palm oil fuel ash in producing lightweight concrete.” Materials Today: Proceedings, Vol. 33, No. 2020, (2020) 1073-1078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.07.096
  45. Salam, M. A., Safiuddin, M. and Jumaat, M. Z. “Durability Indicators for Sustainable Self-Consolidating High-Strength Concrete Incorporating Palm Oil Fuel Ash.” Sustainability, Vol. 2018, No. 10, (2018), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072345
  46. Singh, N. B., Das, S. S., Singh, N. P. and Dwivedi, V. N. “Hydration of bamboo leaf ash blended Portland cement,” Indian Journal of Engineering & Materials Sciences, Vol. 14, (2007), 69-76.
  47. Asha, P., Salman, A. and Kumar, R. A. “Experimental Study on Concrete with Bamboo Leaf Ash.” International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Vol. 3, No. 6, (2014), 46-51.
  48. Dhinakaran, G. and Chandana, G. H. “Compressive Strength and Durability of Bamboo Leaf Ash Concrete.” Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 10, No. 3, (2016), 279-289.
  49. Umoh, A. A. and Ujene, A. O. “Empirical Study on Effect of Bamboo Leaf Ash in Concrete,” Journal of Engineering and Technology, Vol. 5, No. 2, (2014), 71-82.
  50. Botchway, E. A. and Masoperh, A. “Investigating the Low Utilization of Pozzolana Cement in the Ghanian Construction Industry.” International Journal of Advance Research in Engineering and Technology, Vol. 10, No. 4, (2019), 55-62.
  51. Anigbogu, N. A. “Framework for efficient development and application of pozzolan cement in Nigeria,” in Proceedings of NBRRI stakeholders’ forum, Abuja, 24th–25th (2011).
  52. Tavakol, M. and Dennick, R. “Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha,” International Journal of Medical Education, Vol. 2, (2011), 53-55. doi: 5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd
  53. Glen, S. “Cronbach’s Alpha: Definition, Interpretation, SPSS,” com: Elementary Statistics for the rest of us!, 2022. https://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/statistics-definitions/cronbachs-alpha-spss/ (accessed Jun. 09, 2022).
  54. Hole, G. “The Kruskal-Wallis test.” Research methods 1 Handouts, (2000).
  55. Kothari, C. R. and Garg, G. Research methodology: Methods and techniques, Third. India: New Age International, (2014).
International Journal of Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 10
TRANSACTIONS A: Basics
October 2022
Pages 1929-1940

Files

Cited by

Share

How to cite

Statistics