Concrete is a common material that is widely used in construction industry. Cement is the main material component for producing concrete but its production has lead into CO2 emission. This work presents a study on Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) that can be used as pozzolan material which can enhance the quality of concrete. The material can be produced from a by-product of biomass agricultural waste but for this study rice husk has been used. From the chemical analysis, MBS has a chemical composition that is fulfill the standard requirement for becoming pozzolan material. The result of MBS concrete shows that the MBS material can enhance the performance of concrete by increasing the compressive strength development and reducing the water permeability. The drawback of MBS is the workability of fresh concrete but can be rectify by using superplasticizer. By replacing up to 12% of cement, MBS material gives the highest performance in term of strength and permeability of the concrete

Abdul Rahman, I.

Adnan, S.H.

Lee, Y.L.

Yusof, H.

English

International Journal of Integrated Engineering

103International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)Compressive Strength and Water Permeability Performance of Micronised Biomass Silica Concrete S.H. Adnan1*, I. Abdul Rahman2, Y.L. Lee3 and H. Yusof4  1,2,3,4Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia*Corresponding email:suraya@uthm.edu.myAbstractConcrete is a common material that is widely used in construction industry. Cement is the main material component for producing concrete but its production has lead into CO2 emission. This work presents a study on Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) that can be used as pozzolan material which can enhance the quality of concrete. The material can be produced from a by-product of biomass agricultural waste but for this study rice husk has been used. From the chemical analysis, MBS has a chemical composition that is fulfill the standard requirement for becoming pozzolan material. The result of MBS concrete shows that the MBS material can enhance the performance of concrete by increasing the compressive strength development and reducing the water permeability. The drawback of MBS is the workability of fresh concrete but can be rectify by using superplasticizer.  By replacing up to 12% of cement, MBS material gives the highest performance in term of strength and permeability of the concrete. Keywords: cement, Micronised Biomass Silica, strength, water permeability. 104International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)1. INTRODUCTIONGood quality of concrete is normally determined by its ability to withstand compressive strength and water permeability. To achieve a good quality of concrete, various materials have been used by researchers in their studies to produce a good quality of concrete. Pozzolans materials have been used to enhance the quality of the concrete as well as cement replacement material in studies which have been conducted by Basri, Mannan and Zain (1999), Speare et. al. (1999), Nikam and Tambvekar (2003) and Gemma (2006). Most of their findings showed that pozzolan application has produced good quality concrete. Pozzolan material should have properties complying ASTM C 618-93 standard. Pozzolan material should be siliceous or siliceous and aluminous material which in itself possesses little or no cementitious value.  With the presence of moisture the material will chemically react with lime (from hydrated Portland cement) at normal temperature to produce compounds possessing cementitious properties.  Normally, pozzolan material is natural or by-product materials. Fly ash, silica fume, palm oil fuel ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (ggbs), rice husk ash and timber industrial ash are some of pozzolan materials which familiarly known. The materials are either natural or artificial contains silica in a reactive and amorphous form. It had attracted many researchers to study the ability of the pozzolan material for producing good concrete. The application of industrial by-product pozzolan can lower concrete cost and substantial energy saving (Sampaio et.al. (2000)). Thus this application will also conserve our environment. In India, many prestigious projects use pozzolan materials purpose to achieve higher strengths and better in durability (Kumar and Kaushik (2003)). Hence, with this great interest, Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) has been introduced in this study as pozzolanic material. The study is conducted to determine the compressive strength and water permeability performance of MBS concrete compared to control concrete.  2. MICRONISED BIOMASS   SILICAMicronised Biomass Silica (MBS) used in this study was produced by using reactor rotary furnace. Rice husk was taken from Bernas Malaysia rice milling plant and fed into the furnace. The husk contains high silica content and is suitable for biomass agro waste material. It is fed into a furnace in a continuous process through multiple distributed inlets. The furnace temperature regime is controlled at 500 0 to produce the Micronised Biomass Silica. The controlled temperature will turn the husk into amorphous biomass silica ash. The furnace is equipped with a controller for air (oxygen) to enter and assist a complete burning process in order to produce low carbon content of white amorphous biomass silica ash. Perforated trays in furnace rotated to enhance the mixing process, heat distribution and optimizing the burning efficiency. The burning process takes an hour for white biomass silica ash to fall through the perforated trays and to a collecting funnel at the downstream of the furnace via gravity. The weight loss 105International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)during this process is about 77.1%. Figure 1 show the rotary rector furnace that was used to generate the silica for this study. The average diameter size of the biomass silica is about 48 µm. In order increase the fineness of biomass silica, the silica is crushed using Jar Mill. The fineness will employed effective biomass silica as a micro structure filler in concrete. The fineness process of the Jar Mill takes 60 minutes and the Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) produced has a mean particle size diameter of 25 µm. Figure 2 shows the MBS which has been produced for this study.  Physical and chemical properties of MBS are as illustrated in Table 1 and 2, respectively. From the table, MBS has higher surface area compared to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). Its surface area is higher than OPC by 800%.  The higher specific surface of area of MBS indicates that the material can achieve higher hydration process. This property led MBS to contribute better strength development of concrete. MBS size is about 25μm and this size will contribute into better strength and water permeability performance in concrete. Table 2 shows the chemical composition for MBS compared to OPC. From this table, a main oxide for MBS is SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3.  This oxide is 88.54% of the overall chemical composition of MBS. This percentage is greater than the minimum percentage required by ASTM C-618 which is 70%. The content of SO3 for MBS is 0.590% which is lower than OPC and also complies with the standard which is not exceeding 5%. Loss On Ignition (LOI) for MBS also follow the standard which is not exceeding 6%. Fig. 1 Rotary Rector FurnaceTable 1: Physical Property of MBS Physical  Ordinary Portland Micronised  Properties Cement  Biomass Silica   (OPC) (MBS)BET Surface  2.693 24.4039  Area (m2/g) Particle Size – 25 μmTable 2: Chemical Composition of MBS Chemical Ordinary Portland  Micronised Compositions  Cement Biomass    (%) (OPC) Silica (MBS) Silicon dioxide  17.91 87.67 (SiO2) Aluminium oxide 4.69 0.343 (Al2O3) Iron oxide  2.976 0.531 (Fe2O3) Calcium oxide  65.93 1.18 (CaO) Magnesium oxide  1.19 0.872 (MgO) Potassium oxide  0.411 5.078 (K2O) Sulfur trioxide  3.67 0.590 (SO3) Sodium Oxide  0.13 0 (Na2O) LOI 1.46 1.22       deflection from strain reading020040060080010000 5 10 15 20 25deflection LoadexperimentFEA 135140145150155160165170175M0 M4 M8 M12Series of ConcreteSlump Value (mm)106International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)Fig. 2 Micronised Biomass Silica3. CONCRETE MIXESThe coarse aggregate used in this study is a crushed aggregate with maximum size 20mm and comply with BS 812-103.2.1989. DOE method of determining concrete mix was adopted for this study. The mix was designed to have 28 day target strength at 25 MPa and the slump target is between 60 to 180mm. Four concrete mixes designed for this work are as shown in Table 3. In this study, water reducing admixture was used as super plasticizer to enhance the workability of the concrete. For each concrete mix, 6 samples of 100mm cubes were prepared using standard steel moulds. Three cubes were used to measure the compressive strength and water permeability using ISO/DIS 7031 and another three cubes were used to measure water permeability using modified DIN 1048. After 24 hours, the cubes were removed from their moulds and cured in water. The concrete mixes/cubes denoted with M0, M4, M8 and M12 are for 0%, 4%, 8%, 12% of MBS content respectively. All samples tested for compressive strength and water permeability using ISO/DIS 7031 are at 7, 14, 28 and 90 days. Meanwhile, for measuring the water permeability using modified DIN 1048, the samples tested are at 28 and 90 days.Table 3 Mix Proportions for Concrete Mix Cement  MBS Water Aggregate Sand  (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) M0 450 0 225 823 892 M4 432 18 225 823 892 M8 414 36 225 823 892 M12 396 54 225 823 8924.  MBS CONCRETE   PERFORMANCEThe performance of MBS concrete for this study is evaluated based on fresh concrete workability, compressive strength of the concrete cubes and finally water permeability and water penetration depth of the concrete. 4.1 WorkabilityFigure 3 shows the slump values for different concrete mixes which containing 0%, 4%, 8% and 12% of MBS. This result revealed that as MBS content in concrete mixes increases, its slump value will decreases. The reason for this would probably because of the high water absorption properties of MBS. Thus high content of MBS in the mix will create less workable fresh concrete.        deflection from strain reading020040060080010000 5 10 15 20 25deflection LoadexperimentFEA 135140145150155160165170175M0 M4 M8 M12Series of ConcreteSlump Value (mm)107International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering) Fig. 3.1 Slump Value for MBS Concrete4.2 Compressive StrengthThe development of MBS concrete compressive strength for various percentages of MBS usage is as in Figure 3.2.  Compressive Machine has been used to determine the compressive strength of the concrete cube and the testing was conducted according to BS 1881: Part 116:1983. The figure shows that concrete containing higher percentage of MBS resulted in higher compressive strength. Furthermore, the figure also illustrates that as MBS content in concrete increases, its compressive strength also increases. It clearly can be seen that at 90 days, the concrete of 12% MBS (M12) obtained the highest compressive strength compared to other MBS concrete. M12 obtained about 43.26%, 30.2% and 15.4% higher in compressive strength than that of M0, M4 and M8, respectively. Higher strength development of MBS concrete occurred because of pozzolanic reaction (between SiO2 of MBS and Ca(OH) 2 of cement). The reaction resulted to the production of CSH gel which will fill up the Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) and micropores. Thus, enhance the compressive strength performance of MBS concrete. Fig. 3.2 Compressive Strength for MBS Concrete4.3 Water PermeabilityWater permeability test on MBS concrete was done according to ISO/DIS 7031 and the test results are as in Figure 3.3(a). The figure shows that MBS concretes possess lower water permeability compared to control concrete (without MBS-M0). It also shows that MBS concrete graph slope is gentler than the control concrete and this indicates that by adding MBS will makes concrete less water permeable even at early age of the concrete. At 90 days of curing, MBS concrete of M4, M8, and M12 attained 28.18%, 36.22% and 55.32% lower in coefficient of water permeability than that of M0 respectively. This incident happens is due to C-S-H gel formation from pozzolanic reaction between SiO2 and Ca(OH)2.  This study also investigated water penetration depth of MBS concrete.  Figure 3.3(b) shows the control concrete - M0        deflection from strain reading020040060080010000 5 10 15 20 25deflection LoadexperimentFEA 135140145150155160165170175M0 M4 M8 M12Series of ConcreteSlump Value (mm)  0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 7 14 28 90 Age of Concrete (days) Compressive Strength (MPa) M0 M4 M8 M12  0.00E+002.00E-114.00E-116.00E-118.00E-111.00E-101.20E-107 days 14 days 28 days 90 daysAge of Concrete (days)Coefficient of Water Permeability (m/s)M0M4M8M12  3035404550556065M0 M4 M8 M12% MBSDepth of water penetration (mm)28 days 90 days  0.25 1.6 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 Percent (%) Sulfate  (SO 4 )  Na +  + K +  + Mg ++  0.03 0.03 0.03 0.05 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 Percent (%)     Step  2  New  cracked  zone  Depositio n zone  cracked  interior  Na 2 SO 4  solution  pH = 6  - 8  Expanding  resultant  compression  Na 2 SO 4  solution  pH = 11 - 12  Gypsum  and  ettrigite  deposition  Step  1  Step  3  Step 5  Cracked  zone and  pores  filled with  gypsum    Disintegrated  surface  Step 6  Step 4  Re sis ting   result ant  tensi on  108International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)obtains the highest water penetration depth compare to other MBS concrete either at the age of 28 or 90 days of the concretes. The figure also indicates that water penetration depth of concrete becomes shorter with respect to the concrete age. At 90 days age, water penetration depth for MBS concrete of M4, M8, M12 reduced for about 5.88%, 4.9% and 15.69% than that of the control (M0) respectively. This shows that pozzolanic reaction which occurred in MBS concrete has an effect that lead into lower water penetration of the concrete. From this analysis, it clearly viewed that when MBS content increases, the water permeability performance of the concrete becomes better at all ages of the concrete.  Fig. 3.3 (a) Coefficient of water permeability of MBS concrete Fig. 3.3 (b) Depth of water penetration of MBS Concrete5. CONCLUSIONThe conclusions from this investigation work on Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) material and MBS concrete (MBS) are as follow:1. MBS material possesses 88.54% by mass of SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 with a surface area of  24.40 m2/g and its size particle of 25μm.2. Fresh MBS concretes have a lower workability compared to control concrete.3. MBS as pozzolan material can increase the concrete compressive strength. As the MBS content increases, higher compressive strength of concrete can be achieved.4. Lower water permeability is attained by MBS concrete compared to control concrete. When MBS content in concrete is increased, its water permeability will decrease. MBS can be used to reduce water permeability of concrete that is exposed to wet and moist environment.5. MBS is a potential pozzolan material that has the ability to improve the quality of concrete. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports from Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) Malaysia, and Public Service Department of Malaysia Scholarship for PhD programme.  0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 7 14 28 90 Age of Concrete (days) Compressive Strength (MPa) M0 M4 M8 M12  0.00E+002.00E-114.00E-116.00E-118.00E-111.00E-101.20E-107 days 14 days 28 days 90 daysAge of Concrete (days)Coefficient of Water Permeability (m/s)M0M4M8M12  3035404550556065M0 M4 M8 M12% MBSDepth of water penetration (mm)28 days 90 days  0.25 1.6 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 Percent (%) Sulfate  (SO 4 )  Na +  + K +  + Mg ++  0.03 0.03 0.03 0.05 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 Percent (%)     Step  2  New  cracked  zone  Depositio n zone  cracked  interior  Na 2 SO 4  solution  pH = 6  - 8  Expanding  resultant  compression  Na 2 SO 4  solution  pH = 11 - 12  Gypsum  and  ettrigite  deposition  Step  1  Step  3  Step 5  Cracked  zone and  pores  filled with  gypsum    Disintegrated  surface  Step 6  Step 4  Re sis ting   result ant  tensi on    0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 7 14 28 90 Age of Concrete (days) Compressive Strength (MPa) M0 M4 M8 M12  0.00E+002.00E-114.00E-116.00E-118.00E-111.00E-101.20E-107 days 14 days 28 days 90 daysAge of Concrete (days)Coefficient of Water Permeability (m/s)M0M4M8M12  3035404550556065M0 M4 M8 M12% MBSDepth of water penetration (mm)28 days 90 days  0.25 1.6 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 Percent (%) Sulfate  (SO 4 )  Na +  + K +  + Mg ++  0.03 0.03 0.03 0.05 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 Percent (%)     Step  2  New  cracked  zone  Depositio n zone  cracked  interior  Na 2 SO 4  solution  pH = 6  - 8  Expanding  resultant  compression  Na 2 SO 4  solution  pH = 11 - 12  Gypsum  and  ettrigite  deposition  Step  1  Step  3  Step 5  Cracked  zone and  pores  filled with  gypsum    Disintegrated  surface  Step 6  Step 4  Re sis ting   result ant  tensi on  109International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)REFERENCES[1] Basri, H.B., Mannan, M.A., Zain, M.F.M., “ Concrete Using Waste Oil Palm Shells as Aggregate”. Cement and Concrete Research (29), 1999, pp. 619-622.[2] Speare, P.R.S., Eleftheriou, K., Siludom, S., “Durability of Concrete Containing Rice Husk Ash As An Additive”. Proceedings of the International Seminar on Exploiting Wastes in Concrete held at the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK on 7 September 1999, pp.283-290.[3] Nikam,V.S., Tambvekar,V.Y., “Effect of Different Supplementary Cementitious Material on the Microstructure and its Resistance Against Chloride Penetration of Concrete”. ECI Conference on Advanced Materials for Construction of Bridges, Buildings and Other Structures III, Switzerland, Sept.7-12, 2003,Volume P5, Article 13.[4] Gemma, R.S., “Strength Development of Concrete with Rice-Husk Ash”. Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol 28, 2006, pp. 158-160.[5]  Kumar,P.,Kaushik,S.K., “Some Trends in The Use of Concrete: Indian scenario”. The Indian Concrete Journal, Dec. 2003, pp.1503-1508.[6] Sampaio, J., Coutinho, J.S., Sampaiao, M.N., “Portuguese rice husk ash as a partial cement replacement”. Proceedings, International Conference: Sustainable Construction into the next Millennium: Environmentally friendly and innovative cement based materials, Ed. N.P. Barbosa, R.N. Swamy and C. Lynsdale, , João Pessoa, Brasil, 2-5 Nov. 2000, pp. 125-137.110International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)

Compressive Strength and Water Permeability Performance of Micronised Biomass Silica Concrete

Journals of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)

103
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Compressive Strength and Water 
Permeability Performance of 
Micronised Biomass Silica Concrete 
S.H. Adnan1*, I. Abdul Rahman2, Y.L. Lee3 and H. Yusof4  
1,2,3,4Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn 
Malaysia, Malaysia
*Corresponding email:suraya@uthm.edu.my
Abstract
Concrete is a common material that is widely used in construction industry. Cement is 
the main material component for producing concrete but its production has lead into CO2 
emission. This work presents a study on Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) that can be 
used as pozzolan material which can enhance the quality of concrete. The material can 
be produced from a by-product of biomass agricultural waste but for this study rice husk 
has been used. From the chemical analysis, MBS has a chemical composition that is fulfill 
the standard requirement for becoming pozzolan material. The result of MBS concrete 
shows that the MBS material can enhance the performance of concrete by increasing the 
compressive strength development and reducing the water permeability. The drawback of 
MBS is the workability of fresh concrete but can be rectify by using superplasticizer.  By 
replacing up to 12% of cement, MBS material gives the highest performance in term of 
strength and permeability of the concrete. 
Keywords: cement, Micronised Biomass Silica, strength, water permeability. 
104
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)
1. INTRODUCTION
Good quality of concrete is normally 
determined by its ability to withstand 
compressive strength and water 
permeability. To achieve a good quality of 
concrete, various materials have been used 
by researchers in their studies to produce 
a good quality of concrete. Pozzolans 
materials have been used to enhance the 
quality of the concrete as well as cement 
replacement material in studies which 
have been conducted by Basri, Mannan 
and Zain (1999), Speare et. al. (1999), 
Nikam and Tambvekar (2003) and Gemma 
(2006). Most of their findings showed that 
pozzolan application has produced good 
quality concrete.
 Pozzolan material should have 
properties complying ASTM C 618-
93 standard. Pozzolan material should 
be siliceous or siliceous and aluminous 
material which in itself possesses little or 
no cementitious value.  With the presence 
of moisture the material will chemically 
react with lime (from hydrated Portland 
cement) at normal temperature to produce 
compounds possessing cementitious 
properties. 
 Normally, pozzolan material is natural 
or by-product materials. Fly ash, silica 
fume, palm oil fuel ash, ground granulated 
blast furnace slag (ggbs), rice husk ash 
and timber industrial ash are some of 
pozzolan materials which familiarly 
known. The materials are either natural 
or artificial contains silica in a reactive 
and amorphous form. It had attracted 
many researchers to study the ability of 
the pozzolan material for producing good 
concrete. The application of industrial by-
product pozzolan can lower concrete cost 
and substantial energy saving (Sampaio 
et.al. (2000)). Thus this application will 
also conserve our environment. In India, 
many prestigious projects use pozzolan 
materials purpose to achieve higher 
strengths and better in durability (Kumar 
and Kaushik (2003)). Hence, with this 
great interest, Micronised Biomass Silica 
(MBS) has been introduced in this study 
as pozzolanic material. The study is 
conducted to determine the compressive 
strength and water permeability 
performance of MBS concrete compared to 
control concrete.  
2. MICRONISED BIOMASS  
 SILICA
Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) used in 
this study was produced by using reactor 
rotary furnace. Rice husk was taken from 
Bernas Malaysia rice milling plant and fed 
into the furnace. The husk contains high 
silica content and is suitable for biomass 
agro waste material. It is fed into a furnace 
in a continuous process through multiple 
distributed inlets. The furnace temperature 
regime is controlled at 500 0 to produce 
the Micronised Biomass Silica. The 
controlled temperature will turn the husk 
into amorphous biomass silica ash. The 
furnace is equipped with a controller for 
air (oxygen) to enter and assist a complete 
burning process in order to produce 
low carbon content of white amorphous 
biomass silica ash. Perforated trays in 
furnace rotated to enhance the mixing 
process, heat distribution and optimizing 
the burning efficiency. The burning process 
takes an hour for white biomass silica ash 
to fall through the perforated trays and to 
a collecting funnel at the downstream of 
the furnace via gravity. The weight loss 
105
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)
during this process is about 77.1%. Figure 
1 show the rotary rector furnace that was 
used to generate the silica for this study. 
The average diameter size of the biomass 
silica is about 48 µm. In order increase 
the fineness of biomass silica, the silica is 
crushed using Jar Mill. The fineness will 
employed effective biomass silica as a 
micro structure filler in concrete. The 
fineness process of the Jar Mill takes 
60 minutes and the Micronised Biomass 
Silica (MBS) produced has a mean particle 
size diameter of 25 µm. Figure 2 shows 
the MBS which has been produced for this 
study. 
 Physical and chemical properties of 
MBS are as illustrated in Table 1 and 2, 
respectively. From the table, MBS has 
higher surface area compared to Ordinary 
Portland Cement (OPC). Its surface area 
is higher than OPC by 800%.  The higher 
specific surface of area of MBS indicates 
that the material can achieve higher 
hydration process. This property led MBS 
to contribute better strength development 
of concrete. MBS size is about 25μm and 
this size will contribute into better strength 
and water permeability performance in 
concrete.
 Table 2 shows the chemical 
composition for MBS compared to OPC. 
From this table, a main oxide for MBS 
is SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3.  This oxide 
is 88.54% of the overall chemical 
composition of MBS. This percentage 
is greater than the minimum percentage 
required by ASTM C-618 which is 70%. 
The content of SO3 for MBS is 0.590% 
which is lower than OPC and also complies 
with the standard which is not exceeding 
5%. Loss On Ignition (LOI) for MBS 
also follow the standard which is not 
exceeding 6%. 
Fig. 1 Rotary Rector Furnace
Table 1: Physical Property of MBS
 Physical  Ordinary Portland Micronised 
 Properties Cement  Biomass Silica 
  (OPC) (MBS)
BET Surface  2.693 24.4039 
 Area (m2/g) 
Particle Size – 25 μm
Table 2: Chemical Composition of MBS
 Chemical Ordinary Portland  Micronised
 Compositions  Cement Biomass   
 (%) (OPC) Silica (MBS)
 Silicon dioxide  17.91 87.67
 (SiO2)
 Aluminium oxide 4.69 0.343
 (Al2O3)
 Iron oxide  2.976 0.531
 (Fe2O3)
 Calcium oxide  65.93 1.18
 (CaO)
 Magnesium oxide  1.19 0.872
 (MgO)
 Potassium oxide  0.411 5.078
 (K2O)
 Sulfur trioxide  3.67 0.590
 (SO3)
 Sodium Oxide  0.13 0
 (Na2O)
 LOI 1.46 1.22
     
 
 deflection from strain reading
0
200
400
600
800
1000
0 5 10 15 20 25
deflection 
L
o
a
d
experiment
FEA
 
135
140
145
150
155
160
165
170
175
M0 M4 M8 M12
Series of Concrete
S
lu
m
p
 V
a
lu
e
 (
m
m
)
106
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Fig. 2 Micronised Biomass Silica
3. CONCRETE MIXES
The coarse aggregate used in this study 
is a crushed aggregate with maximum 
size 20mm and comply with BS 812-
103.2.1989. DOE method of determining 
concrete mix was adopted for this study. 
The mix was designed to have 28 day 
target strength at 25 MPa and the slump 
target is between 60 to 180mm. Four 
concrete mixes designed for this work are 
as shown in Table 3. In this study, water 
reducing admixture was used as super 
plasticizer to enhance the workability of 
the concrete. For each concrete mix, 6 
samples of 100mm cubes were prepared 
using standard steel moulds. Three cubes 
were used to measure the compressive 
strength and water permeability using 
ISO/DIS 7031 and another three cubes 
were used to measure water permeability 
using modified DIN 1048. After 24 
hours, the cubes were removed from their 
moulds and cured in water. The concrete 
mixes/cubes denoted with M0, M4, M8 
and M12 are for 0%, 4%, 8%, 12% of 
MBS content respectively. All samples 
tested for compressive strength and water 
permeability using ISO/DIS 7031 are 
at 7, 14, 28 and 90 days. Meanwhile, for 
measuring the water permeability using 
modified DIN 1048, the samples tested are 
at 28 and 90 days.
Table 3 Mix Proportions for Concrete
 Mix Cement  MBS Water Aggregate Sand
  (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
 M0 450 0 225 823 892
 M4 432 18 225 823 892
 M8 414 36 225 823 892
 M12 396 54 225 823 892
4.  MBS CONCRETE  
 PERFORMANCE
The performance of MBS concrete for 
this study is evaluated based on fresh 
concrete workability, compressive strength 
of the concrete cubes and finally water 
permeability and water penetration depth 
of the concrete. 
4.1 Workability
Figure 3 shows the slump values for different 
concrete mixes which containing 0%, 4%, 
8% and 12% of MBS. This result revealed 
that as MBS content in concrete mixes 
increases, its slump value will decreases. 
The reason for this would probably 
because of the high water absorption 
properties of MBS. Thus high content of 
MBS in the mix will create less workable 
fresh concrete. 
     
 
 deflection from strain reading
0
200
400
600
800
1000
0 5 10 15 20 25
deflection 
L
o
a
d
experiment
FEA
 
135
140
145
150
155
160
165
170
175
M0 M4 M8 M12
Series of Concrete
S
lu
m
p
 V
a
lu
e
 (
m
m
)
107
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)
 Fig. 3.1 Slump Value for MBS Concrete
4.2 Compressive Strength
The development of MBS concrete 
compressive strength for various 
percentages of MBS usage is as in Figure 
3.2.  Compressive Machine has been used 
to determine the compressive strength 
of the concrete cube and the testing was 
conducted according to BS 1881: Part 
116:1983. The figure shows that concrete 
containing higher percentage of MBS 
resulted in higher compressive strength. 
Furthermore, the figure also illustrates 
that as MBS content in concrete increases, 
its compressive strength also increases. 
It clearly can be seen that at 90 days, the 
concrete of 12% MBS (M12) obtained the 
highest compressive strength compared 
to other MBS concrete. M12 obtained 
about 43.26%, 30.2% and 15.4% higher 
in compressive strength than that of M0, 
M4 and M8, respectively. Higher strength 
development of MBS concrete occurred 
because of pozzolanic reaction (between 
SiO2 of MBS and Ca(OH) 2 of cement). 
The reaction resulted to the production of 
CSH gel which will fill up the Interfacial 
Transition Zone (ITZ) and micropores. 
Thus, enhance the compressive strength 
performance of MBS concrete. 
Fig. 3.2 Compressive Strength for MBS 
Concrete
4.3 Water Permeability
Water permeability test on MBS concrete 
was done according to ISO/DIS 7031 and 
the test results are as in Figure 3.3(a). The 
figure shows that MBS concretes possess 
lower water permeability compared to 
control concrete (without MBS-M0). It 
also shows that MBS concrete graph slope 
is gentler than the control concrete and 
this indicates that by adding MBS will 
makes concrete less water permeable even 
at early age of the concrete. At 90 days 
of curing, MBS concrete of M4, M8, and 
M12 attained 28.18%, 36.22% and 55.32% 
lower in coefficient of water permeability 
than that of M0 respectively. This incident 
happens is due to C-S-H gel formation 
from pozzolanic reaction between SiO2 and 
Ca(OH)2. 
 This study also investigated water 
penetration depth of MBS concrete.  Figure 
3.3(b) shows the control concrete - M0 
     
 
 deflection from strain reading
0
200
400
600
800
1000
0 5 10 15 20 25
deflection 
Lo
ad
experiment
FEA
 
135
140
145
150
155
160
165
170
175
M0 M4 M8 M12
Series of Concrete
S
lu
m
p
 V
a
lu
e
 (
m
m
)
  
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
40 
45 
50 
7 14 28 90 
Age of Concrete (days) 
C
o
m
p
re
s
s
iv
e
 S
tr
e
n
g
th
 (
M
P
a
) 
M0 
M4 
M8 
M12 
 
0.00E+00
2.00E-11
4.00E-11
6.00E-11
8.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.20E-10
7 days 14 days 28 days 90 days
Age of Concrete (days)
C
o
e
ff
ic
ie
n
t 
o
f 
W
a
te
r 
P
e
rm
e
a
b
il
it
y
 
(m
/s
)
M0
M4
M8
M12
  
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
M0 M4 M8 M12
% MBS
D
e
p
th
 o
f 
w
at
e
r 
p
e
n
e
tr
at
io
n
 (
m
m
)
28 days 90 days
  
0.25 
1.6 
0 
0.5 
1 
1.5 
2 
P
er
ce
nt
 (%
) 
Sulfate  
(SO 4 )  
Na +  + K +  
+ Mg ++  
0.03 0.03 0.03 
0.05 
0 
0.01 
0.02 
0.03 
0.04 
0.05 
0.06 
P
er
ce
nt
 (%
) 
  
  
Step  
2  
New  
cracked  
zone  
Depositio 
n zone  
cracked  
interior  
Na 2 SO 4  solution  
pH = 6  - 8  
Expanding  
resultant  
compression  
Na 2 SO 4  solution  
pH = 11 - 12  
Gypsum  
and  
ettrigite  
deposition  
Step  
1  
Step  3  
Step 5  
Cracked  
zone and  
pores  
filled with  
gypsum  
  
Disintegrated  
surface  
Step 6  
Step 4  
Re sis 
ting   
result 
ant  
tensi 
on  
108
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)
obtains the highest water penetration depth 
compare to other MBS concrete either at the 
age of 28 or 90 days of the concretes. The 
figure also indicates that water penetration 
depth of concrete becomes shorter with 
respect to the concrete age. At 90 days 
age, water penetration depth for MBS 
concrete of M4, M8, M12 reduced for 
about 5.88%, 4.9% and 15.69% than that of 
the control (M0) respectively. This shows 
that pozzolanic reaction which occurred in 
MBS concrete has an effect that lead into 
lower water penetration of the concrete. 
From this analysis, it clearly viewed that 
when MBS content increases, the water 
permeability performance of the concrete 
becomes better at all ages of the concrete. 
 
Fig. 3.3 (a) Coefficient of water permeability 
of MBS concrete 
Fig. 3.3 (b) Depth of water penetration of MBS 
Concrete
5. CONCLUSION
The conclusions from this investigation 
work on Micronised Biomass Silica (MBS) 
material and MBS concrete (MBS) are as 
follow:
1. MBS material possesses 88.54% by 
mass of SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 with a 
surface area of  24.40 m2/g and its size 
particle of 25μm.
2. Fresh MBS concretes have a lower 
workability compared to control 
concrete.
3. MBS as pozzolan material can increase 
the concrete compressive strength. As 
the MBS content increases, higher 
compressive strength of concrete can 
be achieved.
4. Lower water permeability is attained 
by MBS concrete compared to 
control concrete. When MBS content 
in concrete is increased, its water 
permeability will decrease. MBS can 
be used to reduce water permeability 
of concrete that is exposed to wet and 
moist environment.
5. MBS is a potential pozzolan material 
that has the ability to improve the 
quality of concrete. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
 
The authors gratefully acknowledge the 
financial supports from Fundamental 
Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) 
Malaysia, and Public Service Department 
of Malaysia Scholarship for PhD 
programme.
  
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
40 
45 
50 
7 14 28 90 
Age of Concrete (days) 
C
o
m
p
re
s
s
iv
e
 S
tr
e
n
g
th
 (
M
P
a
) 
M0 
M4 
M8 
M12 
 
0.00E+00
2.00E-11
4.00E-11
6.00E-11
8.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.20E-10
7 days 14 days 28 days 90 days
Age of Concrete (days)
C
o
e
ff
ic
ie
n
t 
o
f 
W
a
te
r 
P
e
rm
e
a
b
il
it
y
 
(m
/s
)
M0
M4
M8
M12
  
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
M0 M4 M8 M12
% MBS
D
e
p
th
 o
f 
w
at
e
r 
p
e
n
e
tr
at
io
n
 (
m
m
)
28 days 90 days
  
0.25 
1.6 
0 
0.5 
1 
1.5 
2 
P
er
ce
nt
 (%
) 
Sulfate  
(SO 4 )  
Na +  + K +  
+ Mg ++  
0.03 0.03 0.03 
0.05 
0 
0.01 
0.02 
0.03 
0.04 
0.05 
0.06 
P
er
ce
nt
 (%
) 
  
  
Step  
2  
New  
cracked  
zone  
Depositio 
n zone  
cracked  
interior  
Na 2 SO 4  solution  
pH = 6  - 8  
Expanding  
resultant  
compression  
Na 2 SO 4  solution  
pH = 11 - 12  
Gypsum  
and  
ettrigite  
deposition  
Step  
1  
Step  3  
Step 5  
Cracked  
zone and  
pores  
filled with  
gypsum  
  
Disintegrated  
surface  
Step 6  
Step 4  
Re sis 
ting   
result 
ant  
tensi 
on  
  
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
40 
45 
50 
7 14 28 90 
Age of Concrete (days) 
C
o
m
p
re
s
s
iv
e
 S
tr
e
n
g
th
 (
M
P
a
) 
M0 
M4 
M8 
M12 
 
0.00E+00
2.00E-11
4.00E-11
6.00E-11
8.00E-11
1.00E-10
1.20E-10
7 days 14 days 28 days 90 days
Age of Concrete (days)
C
o
e
ff
ic
ie
n
t 
o
f 
W
a
te
r 
P
e
rm
e
a
b
il
it
y
 
(m
/s
)
M0
M4
M8
M12
  
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
M0 M4 M8 M12
% MBS
D
e
p
th
 o
f 
w
at
e
r 
p
e
n
e
tr
at
io
n
 (
m
m
)
28 days 90 days
  
0.25 
1.6 
0 
0.5 
1 
1.5 
2 
P
er
ce
nt
 (%
) 
Sulfate  
(SO 4 )  
Na +  + K +  
+ Mg ++  
0.03 0.03 0.03 
0.05 
0 
0.01 
0.02 
0.03 
0.04 
0.05 
0.06 
P
er
ce
nt
 (%
) 
  
  
Step  
2  
New  
cracked  
zone  
Depositio 
n zone  
cracked  
interior  
Na 2 SO 4  solution  
pH = 6  - 8  
Expanding  
resultant  
compression  
Na 2 SO 4  solution  
pH = 11 - 12  
Gypsum  
and  
ettrigite  
deposition  
Step  
1  
Step  3  
Step 5  
Cracked  
zone and  
pores  
filled with  
gypsum  
  
Disintegrated  
surface  
Step 6  
Step 4  
Re sis 
ting   
result 
ant  
tensi 
on  
109
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)
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110
International Journal of Integrated Engineering (Issue on Civil and Environmental Engineering)


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Compressive Strength and Water Permeability Performance of Micronised Biomass Silica Concrete

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