Effect of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) fibers to the compressive strength and water absorption of concrete

Growing popularity based on environmentally-friendly, low cost and lightweight building materials in the construction industry has led to a need to examine how these characteristics can be achieved and at the same time giving the benefit to the environment and maintain the material requirements based on the standards required. Recycling of waste generated from industrial and agricultural activities as measures of building materials is not only a viable solution to the problem of pollution but also to produce an economic design of building

Use of waste optical disc in concrete to promote Sustainable development in construction industry

In recent years, happening of few catastrophic natural disasters have raise the awareness of public on environmental issue that the Earth is getting sick. Preservation and conservation of environment started to be given concern by people all over the world. Sustainable development is becoming the trench of construction industry nowadays and many countries start emphasizing on application of green practices in building construction

An evaluation of important criteria for measuring the facade condition of old shophouses in Malaysia

Preserving the facade of the old shop houses is important to reflect the image of an attractive townscape. Be-sides having a unique architectural motif, the facade of an old shop houses also has a high heritage value, particularly in terms of how it was built. Therefore, it is desirable to ensure the facade is always in good condition. However, it is difficult to determine the facade of the old shop houses that whether they are in good condition or not. This is because there are no specific criteria used to classify the condition of the facade. Therefore, this study aims to establish a system of criteria for which the facade of the old shop houses that can be assessed and classified in a comprehensive and sustainable. A total of 74 respondents from various professional fields including industry practitioners and academics have been involved in com-pleting the questionnaire. The results of this study will then be used as a basis for the establishment of the classification model for building facade of old shop houses in Malaysia

The use of cement leftovers from the hollow of spun piles as an additive in self-compacting concrete

Spun piles have been used widely by developing countries, including Malaysia, to construct the foundation of most construction projects. A spun pile is a reinforced precast and prestressed concrete that is compacted in a mould through spinning compaction. The spinning compaction produces cement leftovers in the hollow part of spun piles that can be added to concrete mixtures as an additive. The cement leftovers of spun piles were used as an additive in cement in range of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% (equal percentages). The resulting compressive strength after curing periods of 7 days and 28 days were presented to investigate the properties of self-compacting concrete containing cement leftovers from the spun piles. Other properties investigated include the physical properties of fresh concrete and water absorption. The results indicated that higher compressive strength and lower water absorption were achieved by the concrete samples containing cement leftovers compared to controlled concrete

The efficiency removal of phosphorus by using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as filter

Phosphorus (P) is a main nutrient element plants growth in natural water system. However, excessive P loads to water bodies from industrial, agricultural, household wastes may cause the overgrowth of aquatic plants or algae which accelerate the depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO) in waters, and leading to serious eutrophication problems. In developing countries, approximately 75% of domestic wastewater is released to the environment without treatment (Rozari et al. 2016). Ayaz et al. (2012) reported that eutrophication in receiving water bodies may occur when concentration of phosphorus was 6 mg/L. Therefore, proper treatment to remove phosphorus from domestic wastewater to achieve the admissible level for natural systems is needed. Besides, construction and demolition (C&D) activities shows a growing trend for several years

Mechanical and durability performance of lightweight concrete brick with palm oil fuel ash (POFA)

Lightweight building materials such as precast roof and wall panel has been widely used in the construction industries. This is because lightweight materials could benefits the economy and society in terms of manufacturing, transportation and handling cost. One of the most preferable lightweight material is Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). EPS consist of 98% of air and 2% of polystyrene. Therefore, EPS is very low in density which could contribute in the reduction of building materials mass. Abundance of studies has shown that EPS has significantly contribute to the reduction of brick density. EPS has been used as the aggregates replacement in concrete. However, the existing of EPS in the concrete has reduce the strength performance of the concrete. Due to this, researchers have extend their research in improvising the EPS concrete and brick strength with the addition of pozzolanic materials such as fly ash, rice husk ask, silica fume and etc [1-4]. The ability of these pozzolanic materials in enhancing the strength of brick or concrete has been proven..

THE UTILIZATION OF RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATE FROM CONSTRUCTION WASTE AS VERTICAL FILTER

The eutrophication in surface water is one of the problem cause by the higher amount of phosphorus (P). Nevertheless, the existing conventional wastewater treatment system to remove phosphorus is require a complex process. Hence, a system using environmental friendly should be adept to overcome this problem. Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) used as a filter system issue as an alternative technology for phosphorus removal. This can overcome the problem of construction site waste by converting the waste into something valuable products. Thus, this study aim to investigate the physical and chemical characteristic of RCA that influenced adsorption of P and to determine the percentage of P removal by using two different size of RCA which is (5 mm to 10 mm) and (25 mm to 30 mm). A total of five vertical recycled concrete aggregate filter laboratory scale was design using recycled concrete aggregate and five different concentration of synthetic wastewater which is 10 – 50 mg/L was prepared. Samples were taken from the influent and effluent filters to be tested once a week, and analyzed to determine the amount of pH, the uptake capacity of Phosphorus (q) and the percentage of Phosphorus removal (%).RCA was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX) testing to determine chemical composition. Results shows that RCA is highly contained with Aluminium, Calcium and Magnesium elements that enhanced the Phosphorus adsorption. The RCA with size 5 mm to 10 mm and synthetic wastewater 10 mg/L display high potential in removing P with 99.54% removal at pH 9.77. Furthermore, this RCA also shows the highest uptake capacity (q) of 3.45 at concentration of synthetic wastewater 50 mg/L. The lower concentration of synthetic wastewater, smaller size of RCA and higher pH have slightly better Phosphorus removal efficiency. In conclusion. RCA has a potential in removing P from synthetic wastewater

The characterization of recycled concrete aggregate as filter in removal of phosphorus

Phosphorus (P) is one of the key nutrients that lead to eutrophication problem in surface water. However, the existing conventional wastewater treatment system to remove phosphorus is expensive and require a complex process. Therefore, a system using low cost and environmental friendly should be practiced to overcome this problem. Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) used as a filter system emerged as an alternative technology for phosphorus removal. This can overcome the problem of construction site waste by converting the waste into something valuable products. Thus, this study aim to investigate the physical and chemical characteristic of RCA that influenced adsorption of P. RCA was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) testing to determine chemical composition. Results shows that RCA is highly contained with Aluminium, Calcium and Magnesium elements that enhanced the Phosphorus adsorption

Potential of using palm oil fuel ash and expanded polystyrene as an alternative concrete substance

Recently, the use of recyclable materials as concrete materials has become increasingly popular. Many researchers have interested on the use of different materials such as fibre, pozzolanic materials, plastic, polystyrene, food waste and so on for the replacement of cement, fine and coarse aggregates, as well as sand. This is because the disposal of industrial waste and non-biodegradable materials such as plastic or polystyrene has increased drastically in recent years, thereby causing many problems to the environment. In addition, the palm oil industry has also been contributing to the increasing amount of industrial waste. Previous studies have identified the potential of palm oil fly ash (POFA) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) as concrete substances. The purpose of this study was to determine the compressive strength, density and thermal conductivity of concrete made using partial percentages of POFA and EPS as cement and fine aggregate replacement, respectively. The proportions of POFA used as a cement replacement were 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by weight. Meanwhile, the proportions of EPS used as fine aggregate replacement were 10%, 20% and 30% by volume. The mechanical properties between concrete containing POFA and EPS and that of normal concrete were compared. The concrete samples were designed to achieve the target strength of 25 MPa at the age of 28 days. Through this study, the higher proportions of POFA and EPS used showed the lower compressive strength and density of concrete. The optimum percentages for cement and fine aggregate replacement were determined as 20% of EPS and 20% of POFA, respectively. The concrete compressive strength containing 20% of EPS and 20% of POFA closely achieved the strength of 20 MPa which is the highest compressive strength at 28 days compared to other percentages of replacement and fulfilled the requirements strength of structural concrete. Through this study also, showed the decrease in thermal conductivity was mainly contributed by the volume of EPS used. The lower thermal conductivity occurred due to EPS particles characteristic which is lower thermal capacity

Potential of Using Palm Oil Fuel Ash and Expanded Polystyrene as an alternative Concrete Substance

Recently, the use of recyclable materials as concrete materials has become increasingly popular. Many researchers have interested on the use of different materials such as fibre, pozzolanic materials, plastic, polystyrene, food waste and so on for the replacement of cement, fine and coarse aggregates, as well as sand. This is because the disposal of industrial waste and non-biodegradable materials such as plastic or polystyrene has increased drastically in recent years, thereby causing many problems to the environment. In addition, the palm oil industry has also been contributing to the increasing amount of industrial waste. Previous studies have identified the potential of palm oil fly ash (POFA) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) as concrete substances. The purpose of this study was to determine the compressive strength, density and thermal conductivity of concrete made using partial percentages of POFA and EPS as cement and fine aggregate replacement, respectively. The proportions of POFA used as a cement replacement were 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by weight. Meanwhile, the proportions of EPS used as fine aggregate replacement were 10%, 20% and 30% by volume. The mechanical properties between concrete containing POFA and EPS and that of normal concrete were compared. The concrete samples were designed to achieve the target strength of 25 MPa at the age of 28 days. Through this study, the higher proportions of POFA and EPS used showed the lower compressive strength and density of concrete. The optimum percentages for cement and fine aggregate replacement were determined as 20% of EPS and 20% of POFA, respectively. The concrete compressive strength containing 20% of EPS and 20% of POFA closely achieved the strength of 20 MPa which is the highest compressive strength at 28 days compared to other percentages of replacement and fulfilled the requirements strength of structural concrete. Through this study also, showed the decrease in thermal conductivity was mainly contributed by the volume of EPS used. The lower thermal conductivity occurred due to EPS particles characteristic which is lower thermal capacity