Utilization of palm oil fuel ash in aerated concrete

Abstract

This study examined experimentally the use of POFA (Palm Oil Fuel Ash) as cementitious material in aerated concrete. The POFA used indifferent cement replacement amounts. The effect of POFA was studied in terms of compressive strength, overall weight (density). The POFA adopted as cement replacement during this study was ranging from 0-50% with an increment of 10%. The influence of curing period on compressive strength and density of the selected mix with 20% of POFA was also investigated. Microstructure and XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) analysis was also performed. The study was conducted by adopting standard size and test procedures specified by the standards. The results of the study reveals that a cement replacement with POFA of the order of 30% produces the lightweight aerated concrete of greater strength than OPC aerated concrete and POFA may be a potential cementitious material to produce lightweight aerated concrete.