ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF LIGHTWEIGHT GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE USING PALM OIL CLINKER AGGREGATE

The palm oil industry generates a significant amount of wastes which their managing has been a major environmental concern in producing countries. The utilization of these wastes as an aggregate source for concrete production will help to sanitize the environment and provides a cheaper and renewable aggregates source for construction industries. This paper presents the results of the experimental program conducted on fly-ash based geopolymer concrete containing Palm Oil Clinker Aggregate (POCA). Several geopolymer concrete mixes were prepared in which POC was used as a replacement to both fine and coarse aggregates at different percentages starting from 25% to 100%. Mix proportioning was done in accordance with ACI 211.1-91. Geopolymer concrete specimens were cast, cured at ambient conditions and tested for the slump, density, water absorption and compressive, shear and flexural strengths. Overall, the use of fly ashbased geopolymer binder and POCA can enhance the sustainability aspects in concrete production as well as produce a high strength concrete. A concrete mixture containing 100% POCA can produce a structural lightweight concrete having a compressive strength of more than 30 MPa and a density of 1821 kg/m3. The use of a geopolymer binder promotes the workability and strength of POCA concrete and reduces its water absorbability. Incorporation of POCA up to 75% did not much change the structural efficiency of the produced concrete, while it was reduced by 32% when the POCA fully replaced the natural aggregate. Nevertheless, the benefits in terms of cost, energy, and environmental savings cannot be overlooked.