TY - JOUR
T1 - Valorization of Vetiver Root Biochar in Eco-Friendly Reinforced Concrete
T2 - Mechanical, Economic, and Environmental Performance
AU - Neve, Sameer
AU - Du, Jiang
AU - Barhemat, Rojyar
AU - Meng, Weina
AU - Bao, Yi
AU - Sarkar, Dibyendu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Biochar has shown great promise in producing low-cost low-carbon concrete for civil infrastructure applications. However, there is limited research comparing the use of pristine and contaminated biochar in concrete. This paper presents comprehensive laboratory experiments and three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis on the mechanical, economical, and environmental performance of reinforced concrete beams made using concrete blended with biochar generated from vetiver grass roots after the roots were used in an oil extraction process. Both pristine biochar and biochar that were used to treat wastewater through adsorbing heavy metals (100 mg/L of Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn) were investigated. The biochar was used to replace up to 6% Portland cement in concrete. Laboratory experiments were conducted to characterize the workability, mechanical properties, shrinkage, and leaching potential of the concrete blended with biochar. The results showed that using biochar could increase the compressive strengths and reduce the shrinkage of concrete without causing a leaching problem. The results from finite element analysis of the reinforced concrete beams showed that the use of biochar was able to increase the flexural performance of the beams as well as their economic and environmental performance. This research will promote the development and structural applications of low-cost low-carbon concrete.
AB - Biochar has shown great promise in producing low-cost low-carbon concrete for civil infrastructure applications. However, there is limited research comparing the use of pristine and contaminated biochar in concrete. This paper presents comprehensive laboratory experiments and three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis on the mechanical, economical, and environmental performance of reinforced concrete beams made using concrete blended with biochar generated from vetiver grass roots after the roots were used in an oil extraction process. Both pristine biochar and biochar that were used to treat wastewater through adsorbing heavy metals (100 mg/L of Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn) were investigated. The biochar was used to replace up to 6% Portland cement in concrete. Laboratory experiments were conducted to characterize the workability, mechanical properties, shrinkage, and leaching potential of the concrete blended with biochar. The results showed that using biochar could increase the compressive strengths and reduce the shrinkage of concrete without causing a leaching problem. The results from finite element analysis of the reinforced concrete beams showed that the use of biochar was able to increase the flexural performance of the beams as well as their economic and environmental performance. This research will promote the development and structural applications of low-cost low-carbon concrete.
KW - biochar
KW - circular economy
KW - finite element analysis
KW - green concrete
KW - leaching of heavy metals
KW - reinforced concrete
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U2 - 10.3390/ma16062522
DO - 10.3390/ma16062522
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85151562781
VL - 16
JO - Materials
JF - Materials
IS - 6
M1 - 2522
ER -