Effect of medium-density fiberboard wastes ash on calcium silicate hydrate crystal of concrete

ABSTRACT

Due to the high consumption of Medium-density fiberboard (MDF), waste products of this material are growing worldwide. In this research, the feasibility of using Medium-density fiberboard waste ash (MDFWA) as part of cement in concrete was investigated. For this purpose, 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% of the cement in concrete was substituted with MDFWA. For all design mixes, the water/blind ratio and the volume of aggregates were same. The slump, compressive strengths, SEM, EDX, TGA, DSC, and FTIR tests were conducted on the samples. At 28 days, the results demonstrated that the compressive strength of the sample containing 20% MDFWA increased by 13.6% compared to the control sample. Furthermore, the microstructure of the concrete show that the voids of the sample containing 20% MDFWA reduced compared to the control sample and also more calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) crystal formed.

Implications: The significance of the present paper is to solve the environmental issue caused by large amount of Medium-density fiberboard waste ash (MDFWA) and produce also sustainable concrete. In addition, the replacement of cement with MDFWA increases the compressive strength and enhancement of the microstructure of concrete due to extra C-S-H products. Therefore, the findings confirm that by using 20% MDFWA, a more eco-friendly production, denser, sustainable, economical, and stronger concrete would be achieved.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no external funding.