Effect of agricultural olive, rice husk and sugarcane leaf waste ashes on sustainable ultra-high-performance concrete

The accumulation of agricultural waste is a growing environmental problem in many countries. Therefore, this study focuses on the assimilation of large quantities of agricultural waste ash as a partial substitute for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) to produce Sustainable Ultra HighPerformance Concrete (SUHPC). Local agricultural residue ash from rice husk (RHA), sugarcane leaf ash (SLA), and olive waste ash (OWA) were used to replace 50% of the weight of the OPC. Sixteen mixtures were prepared by replacing the OPC with agricultural residue ash of RHA, SLA, and OWA at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% by weight. The effect of using RHA, SLA, and OWA on the properties of UHPC in terms of slump flow, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity was evaluated. As well as water sorptivity and permeability, and chloride penetration of SUHPC were also evaluated. The results indicated that SUHPC could be prepared when replacing 50% of the OPC weight with (SLA 25% + RHA25%) with a compressive, tensile, and flexural strength of more than 155, 19, and 27 MPa, respectively. Moreover, substituting 50 wt% OPC with (RHA) reduced the water permeability and chloride penetration to 1.45 x 10-6 cm/s and 220 Coulombs, respectively.

Automated summary

The study focuses on using agricultural waste ash as a partial substitute for OPC to produce sustainable ultra-high-performance concrete (SUHPC). Different agricultural residue ashes (RHA, SLA, and OWA) were used to replace 50% of the OPC weight. The effects on the properties of UHPC were evaluated, including slump flow, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, water sorptivity, permeability, and chloride penetration. The results showed that SUHPC can be prepared with a compressive strength of more than 155 MPa when 50% of the OPC is replaced with (SLA 25% + RHA 25%).