Green concrete composites production comprising metalized plastic waste fibers and palm oil fuel ash

Abstract

Amongst the potential solutions to a cleaner environment is to minimize the consumption of non-biodegradable materials and to reduce wastes. The generation and disposal of waste plastics cause severe impacts on the environment. The utilization of solid waste in the sustainable constructions has concerned much attention due to the lower cost of wastes along with saving a necessary place of landfills. In this paper, the feasibility of metalized plastic waste (MPW) fibers and palm oil fuel ash (POFA) in the production of concrete composites was investigated by assessing the mechanical properties and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Six concrete mixes containing MPW fibers varying from 0 to 1.25% with a length of 20 mm were made of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). A different six concrete mixtures with the same fiber content were made, where 20% POFA substituted OPC. The results show that MPW fibers, together with POFA reduced the workability of concretes. It has also been found that by adding MPW fibers to the concrete mixtures, the compressive strength decreased for both OPC and POFA mixes at the early ages. Though at the curing period of 91 days, the mixes contain POFA attained compressive strength higher than those of OPC mixes. The mixture of MPW fibers and POFA subsequently enhanced the tensile and flexural strengths, thereby increasing the ductility. The study revealed that the MPW fibers are potential to be used in sustainable concrete by improving the mechanical properties.