GUIDELINES AND POSSIBILITIES FOR THE APPLICATION OF BIOMASS MATERIALS FOR CONCRETE BLOCK PRODUCTION

Abstract

This paper aims to present the possibilities for using biomass materials to concrete block production. The guidelines and knowledge have been proposed by many researchers. It has been found that the biomass materials acted as a cementitious material which could be used for partially replacing cement amount in mix proportions. The use of renewable cementitious materials needed intensive consideration of materials amount mix proportions. Because compressive strength of concrete block significantly decreased due to the increase in amount of biomass materials which result in low quality products. In addition to the use of bound material from biomass ash replace the cement, the use of fiber from crushed natural materials as a mixing in concrete block production also contributes to the thermal resistance of the building as a result of the increased amount of fiber. However, the increase of the fiber volume resulted in lower compressive strength of the concrete block which was not satisfied the industrial standard. Therefore, it is possible to use biomass materials as a mixing in the concrete block production but the mix proportions have to be carefully considered. It is in order to obtain the quality standard materials, developed commercially and add value to waste materials. It leads to the innovation of new materials for construction.