Bagazo de caña, posible componente de

concreto hidráulico
Con este desarrollo se reduciría la emisión de contaminantes al
medio ambiente
AGENCIA ID/DICYT El concreto hidráulico es uno de los materiales de construcción más
utilizados en el mundo, y el cemento Portland es su componente principal para elaborarlo, pero
durante su producción hay un alto consumo energético y grandes volúmenes de emisiones de gases
efecto invernadero como es el caso de dióxido de carbono.

Como una opción, el Instituto Politécnico Nacional propone la reducción del contenido de cemento
en el concreto, y reemplazarlo por subproductos industriales. Tal es el caso de la ceniza volante o
desechos agrícolas y las cenizas del bagazo de caña.

Se trata de una investigación que lleva a cabo el Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el
Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR), Unidad Oaxaca, a cargo del doctor Pedro Montes García,
quien explica que México ocupa el quinto lugar a nivel mundial en producción de caña de azúcar, y
durante la extracción de jugo el 30 por ciento se transforma en bagazo que podría aprovecharse para
este fin.

De acuerdo con el investigador politécnico, trabajos previos efectuados en el CIIDIR indican que el
bagazo ha sido utilizado para sustituir parcialmente al cemento. “En la composición química de la
ceniza de bagazo de caña predomina el óxido de silicio con contenidos de alúmina y óxido de hierro,
que pueden reaccionar con el hidróxido de calcio en la hidratación del cemento y producir materiales
que mejoren las propiedades mecánicas y de durabilidad del concreto”.

Para el estudio, el programa experimental se dividió en tres etapas. En la primera se realizó la

caracterización de los ingredientes y cómo podría trabajar el material; encontraron que la
morfología, tamaño y composición mineralógica de las partículas de ceniza de bagazo de caña
resultan difíciles de procesar en las mezclas de mortero y concreto, aunque esto puede solucionarse
con la ayuda de un aditivo superplastificante.

En la segunda, tras evaluar propiedades microestructurales de los materiales se encontró que el uso
de la ceniza de bagazo de caña no tiene efectos perjudiciales.

La tercera etapa, explica el doctor Montes García, consiste en hacer pruebas de laboratorio y campo
para evaluar las propiedades de durabilidad del concreto. Los resultados de pruebas de difusión de
cloruros y resistividad eléctrica sugieren que el concreto elaborado con ceniza de bagazo de caña
puede ser más durable que aquel que contiene otros materiales suplementarios.

“Se requieren pruebas adicionales en concreto reforzado para corroborar este hecho, por lo que
realizamos en el CIIDIR-Oaxaca el monitoreo de probetas expuestas a un ambiente marino simulado
mediante pruebas electroquímicas de resistencia. Se tiene un avance importante en el monitoreo, el
cual inició hace más de mil 700 días y en breve se darán a conocer los resultados”, detalla el
especialista del IPN.

El material se ha empleado a nivel laboratorio para sustituir de manera parcial al cemento Portland.
Para lanzarlo al mercado se requiere garantizar que sus características cumplan con los requisitos de
normatividad vigente, de manera especial en el rubro de durabilidad y es necesario realizar pruebas
de larga duración.

Por el momento la investigación del CIIDIR-Oaxaca recomienda no rebasar el 15 por ciento de

sustitución de cemento Portland por ceniza de bagazo de caña de azúcar. La razón es que
actualmente no se cuenta con un adecuado control del sistema de calcinación del bagazo; por lo
tanto, la ceniza tiene un alto contenido de materia sin calcinar, la cual puede afectar de manera
negativa las propiedades finales del concreto.

El bagazo de caña tiene diversas aplicaciones, y una de ellas es como base para la elaboración de
materiales compuestos, incluso se le ha llamado en las publicaciones de revistas como el material
compuesto del futuro.

En su uso directo estaría incorporado como sustituto parcial del cemento para la elaboración de
concreto y utilizarse en la construcción de obras en infraestructura.

Montes García señala que otra aplicación exitosa en el CIIDIR-Oaxaca ha sido para la estabilización
de bloques de suelo compactado, ya que la adición de ceniza mejora significativamente las
propiedades de resistencia y durabilidad de los bloques.

Y concluye que la ceniza de bagazo de caña parece ser una opción factible para la elaboración de
una gran variedad de materiales que se utilizan en la industria de la construcción. Por ello se requiere
continuar con investigaciones tendientes a dilucidar su potencial como sustituto parcial o total del
cemento Portland.

“En este sentido, y en colaboración con el doctor Iván Escalante del CINVESTAV Saltillo del IPN,
hemos abierto otra línea de investigación sobre el estudio de cementos activados alcalinamente que
contengan solamente ceniza de bagazo de caña”.

Waste Manag. 2010 Jun;30(6):1114-22. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2010.01.026. Epub 2010 Feb

18.

Use of Brazilian sugarcane bagasse ash in concrete

as sand replacement.
Sales A1, Lima SA.
Author information
1

Department of Civil Engineering, UFSCar, Via Washington Luis, km 235, Monjolinho,

13565-905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil. almir@ufscar.br

Abstract
Sugarcane today plays a major role in the worldwide economy, and Brazil is the leading
producer of sugar and alcohol, which are important international commodities. The
production process generates bagasse as a waste, which is used as fuel to stoke boilers
that produce steam for electricity cogeneration. The final product of this burning is residual
sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA), which is normally used as fertilizer in sugarcane
plantations. Ash stands out among agroindustrial wastes because it results from energy
generating processes. Many types of ash do not have hydraulic or pozzolanic reactivity, but
can be used in civil construction as inert materials. The present study used ash collected
from four sugar mills in the region of São Carlos, SP, Brazil, which is one of the world's
largest producers of sugarcane. The ash samples were subjected to chemical
characterization, sieve analysis, determination of specific gravity, X-ray diffraction,
scanning electron microscopy, and solubilization and leaching tests. Mortars and concretes
with SBA as sand replacement were produced and tests were carried out: compressive
strength, tensile strength and elastic modulus. The results indicated that the SBA samples
presented physical properties similar to those of natural sand. Several heavy metals were
found in the SBA samples, indicating the need to restrict its use as a fertilizer. The mortars
produced with SBA in place of sand showed better mechanical results than the reference
samples. SBA can be used as a partial substitute of sand in concretes made with cement
slag-modified Portland cement.

PMID:

SUGARCANE BAGASSE ASH AS A PARTIAL-PORTLAND-

CEMENT-REPLACEMENT MATERIAL

CENIZA DE BAGAZO DE CAÑA DE AZÚCAR COMO MATERIAL DE

SUSTITUCIÓN PARCIAL DEL CEMENTO PORTLAND

MARCOS OLIVEIRA DE PAULA

Civil Engineer, M.Sc., Dept. of Agricultural Engineering,University Federal of
Viçosa, modep@vicosa.ufv.br

ILDA DE FÁTIMA FERREIRA TINÔCO

Agricultural Engineer, Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Agricultural
Engineering,University Federal of Viçosa, iftinoco@ufv.br

CONRADO DE SOUZA RODRIGUES

Civil Engineer, Professor CEFET-MG,Belo Horizonte-MG,crodrigues@civil.cefetmg.br

JAIRO ALEXANDER OSORIO SARAZ

Agricultural Engineer, Professor Dept. of Agricultural EngineeringUniversity
National- Medellín, aosorio@unal.edu.co

Received for review August 6th, 2008, accepted March 19th, 2009, final
version March, 20th, 2009

ABSTRACT: This investigation is focused on the evaluation of the effects of the

partial replacement of Portland cement by sugar cane bagasse ash (CBC) in
mortars. The main objective wasto find a suitable destination for an agricultural
residue generated in an increasing amount in Brazil, as the use of CBC as a mineral
admixture in mortars and concretes, contributes to decrease the environmental
impact of these materials related to cement production. Experimental techniques
were applied both for the CBC characterization and for the evaluation of its use as a
mineral admixture in mortars, based on mechanical and physical tests. The results
from tests with mortars indicated the viability of the partial substitution of cement
by up to 20% of the CBC considered.

KEYWORDS: solid waste management, building materials, sugar cane bagasse,

Portland cement, sustainable development

RESUMEN: Esta investigación se centra en la evaluación de los efectos de la

sustitución parcial del cemento Portland por cenizas de bagazo de caña de azúcar
(CBC) en morteros. El objetivo principal fue encontrar un uso adecuado para este
residuo agrícola que es generado en una cantidad cada vez mayor en Brasil, ya que
el uso de CBC como un mineral mezclado en morteros y concretos, contribuye a
disminuir el impacto ambiental de estos materiales relacionados con la producción
de cemento. Técnicas experimentales fueron aplicadas tanto para la caracterización
del CBC, como para la evaluación de su uso como una mezcla de minerales en los
morteros, basados en pruebas físicas y mecánicas. Los resultados de las pruebas
con morteros indicaron la viabilidad de la sustitución parcial del cemento por CBC,
hasta en un 20%.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Manejo de residuos sólidos, materiales de construcción,

bagazo de caña de azúcar, cemento Pórtland, desarrollo sostenible.

1. INTRODUCTION

Initiatives are emerging worldwide to control and regulate the management of

subproducts, residuals, and industrial waste in order to preserve the environment
from the point of view of environmental contamination as well as the preservation
and care of natural areas [11].

A good solution for the problem of recycling agroindustrial residues would be to

burn them in a controlled environment, and use the ashes for more noble means
[6]. The use of residues such as biomass in the co-generation of electric energy is
an interesting point, since when it is burned, the CO2 that is let out into the
atmosphere returns to the carbon cycle of the biosphere, able to be absorbed by
plants in the process of photosynthesis [12].

It is observed that a wide variety of residues are being used in the construction
industry as mineral additives such as sugarcane bagasse ash [7], sugarcane chaff
ash, swine waste ash and ash from swine bedding with a base of rice shells [5].

Beyond the economic and environmental aspects, one cannot overlook the technical
advantages that come from the incorporation of mineral additives to cement.
Various researches indicate benefits of reology, on the mechanical properties, and
on the durability commensurated by the employment of mineral additives in mortar
and concrete [9].

However, in the construction sector the incorrect characterization of these industrial

residues can bring about the fault or loss of performance. For this reason, rigorous
studies of the aspects related to the characterization, evaluation, and use of the
residues is so important [10]. Thus variations in temperature and duration of burn,
size of the particles, composition (chemical, morphological and mineralogical, and
cristalinity among others); result in ash of completely different chemical
constituents, which influences the way in which the material behaves like pozzolan
when mixed with the cement [8].

In view of this, the aim of this research was to evaluate the potential of sugarcane
bagasse ash as a partial substitution material of Portland cement.

2. METHODOLOGY

The experiment was conducted in the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the

Federal University of Viçosa, in Viçosa State of Minas Gerais Brazil. The work was
divided into two phases:

Phase 1
The CBC was obtained from sugarcane bagasse (BC), from the Usina Jatiboca
(Urucânia, City State of Minas Gerais). The BC was collected and burned for 6 hours
at 600ºC using a stove. After the burn, a layer of light colored ash was observed on
the surface and then an ash of black color and heterogeneous composition was
observed, consisting of leftovers of the sugarcane bagasse that was not burned as
well as charcoal particles, making another burn necessary for the homogenization
of the sample. The second burn of CBC lasted for 3 hours at 700ºC. After this
reburn, the CBC was cooled naturally determining the C level of the ash using a ball
mill for the grinding. Six samples of ash were collected and dried in the oven for 24
hours at 70ºC. The chemical characterization of the CBC was made using tests from
an X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The physical
characterization was made using tests of granulometric distribution and specific
surface area using 9 samples at different grind times (0; 30; 60; 120; 180; 300;
420; 540 and 660 min).

Phase 2
The following combinations of Portland cement (type CVC ARI PLUS made by
Barroso) and sugarcane bagasse ash were used: 100-0(C1), 90-10(C2), 80-20(C3),
70-30(C4) (% of cement - % of ash), in mortar proportion 1:3, using normal
Brazilian sand. To evaluate the influence of the addition of CBC on the mortar, tests
were done to figure out initial and final set time, compressive strength, pozzolanic
activity, specific mass, water absorption by immersion, and index of porous. The
experiment was developed experimental an experimental design entirely
randomized, being: 3 levels of CBC addition and a control (100% cement) with 3
repetitions. The best levels of CBC addition were evaluated using Tukey´s test for
all the combinations at 7 and 28 days.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results show that the sugarcane bagasse presents an output of 10% CBC. The
chemical compositions are given in Figure 1. The CBC consisted 5% carbon and was
light gray in color.
 Figure 1. Chemical composition of the CBC, conducted by fluorescence
spectrometry X-ray

According to reference [5], the presence of up to 20% carbon in the ash does not
significantly affect the compressive strength. The diffraction spectrum of CBC is
shown in Figure 2, where the intensity of the phases, in countings a second (CPS) is
given in function of the angle of diffraction, 2q.

Figure 2. Analysis of X-Ray diffraction of CBC

Analyzing to Figure 2, a halo can be observed between 2q = 06 and 18º and

another one between 24 and 40º, which characterizes the amorphous phase. The
peaks (2q = 21º and 2q = 27º) indicate that the structure of CBS presents the
crystalline phases of silica, cristobalite (C) and quartz (Q), as well as muscovite
crystals (M). The presence of SiO2 in the quartz phase could have occured because
of the following factors [8]:

a) Contamination of the bagasse by sand once it was cleared off the patio of the
industry. In this case, the presence of quartz can be avoided by washing the
bagasse or with a layout in an appropriate place; or with.
b) inadequate burn time; The parameters can be adequate (from an empirical
standpoint) when a predominantly amorphous ash is obtained.

The results found for the granulometric composition and surface area show that the
ash being studied is composed by particles with size between 1 and 14mm and with
surface area of the order of 24m2/g.

The additions of 10%, 20%, and 30% of CBC did not either speed up or slow down
the initial set time, which was expected, being that the pozzolanic reaction occurs
in a more advanced stage of the hydration of cement (between 7 and 15 days after
the mixture). Thus, the set time would not detect an influence in the pozzolanic
activity. It was observed that the material does not interfere with the setting (which
could occur in materials with high level of carbon). The additions of 10%, 20%, and
30% of CBC had delays of 10 minutes in the time period between the set times.
This delay is due to the reduction of the proportion of cement in the combinations.
The tests of the compressive strength of the mortar were conducted according to
reference [2] of the ABNT NBR 7215 (1991).

The resistance of the mortar was determined at 7 and 28 days, with 3 test
specimens of each of the different combinations of cement-ash being broken, in
order to find out: C1 (100-0), C2 (90-10), C3 (80-20), C4 (70-30) [% of cement -
% of ash, in weight]. It was noticed that the addition of CBC in the test specimens
resulted in a gradual darkening of color. The Figure 3 illustrates the results of
compressive strength conducted in the test specimens, in function of the interaction
between the proportion of the substitution of cement for CBC ash at 7 and 28 days.

Figure 3. Resistance to compression at 7 and 28 days in mortar with different

concentrations of cement and sugarcane bagasse ash: 100-0(C1), 90-10(C2), 80-
20(C3), 70-30(C4) (% of cement - % of ash)

The analysis of the variance applied to the compressive strength data showed, at a
level of 5% of probability by Tukey´s test, a high degree of significance for
combinations at 7 and 28 days. Applied to the data of compressive strength at 7
and 28 days in the cement mortar with an addition of CBC, Tukey´s test showed
that at 7 days, independent of the addition of the considered CBC, treatment C1
presented itself statistically different with respect to the other ones. Combinations
C2 and C3 showed no differences between themselves, and neither did
combinations C3 and C4. It was observed that the compressive strength of the
mortar at 7 days is inversely proportional to the proportion of ash added.
Considered at 28 days, the statistical analysis showed that the greatest values of
resistance were reached by combinations C2, C1, and C3, which were all
statistically equal, show in the Table 1. This similarity of resistance at 28 days
proves that the pozzolanic reaction has its start between 7 and 15 days after the
mixture, when the hydration of the cement is at an advanced state, also observed
by reference [8]. Such results indicate the possibility of substituting up to 20% of
Portland cement with sugarcane bagasse ash, without hurting the compressive
strength.

Table 1. Average compression resistance in Mpa of mortar at 28 days and

respective indices of pozzolanic activity (IAP) for the different mixtures of cement
 and sugarcane bagasse ash

The results found for the indices of pozzolanic activity (IAP) ( Table 1).

The activity of CBC, since all the combinations resulted with IAP values greater than
the minimum value of 75% established by NBR 5752 (1992) [1]. From the
exposure to CBC it can be classified as pozzolanic.

The absorption tests by immersion, index of emptiness, and specific mass of the
mortar test were conducted using reference [3] of the ABNT (1987) as a base. The
results are presented in Figures 4, 5, and 6, as function of the substitution level at
28 days of age, in function of the proportion of substitution of cement for CBC ash
at 28 days.

Figure 4. Water absorption by immersion at 28 days in the mortar made with

different concentrations of cement and sugarcane bagasse ash
 Figure 5. Index of Flow in the mortar at 28 days made with different
concentrations of cement and sugarcane bagasse

Figure 6. Specific mass in mortar at 28 days made with different concentrations of

cement and sugarcane bagasse ash

It was observed that for both the absorption of water by immersion and the index
of emptiness, the graphs resulted in a growing function, where it was concluded
that the mortar with the greatest proportions of ash tended to be more porous,
which justifies the greater values of absorption.

According to reference [4], this fact can be settled controlling the water/cement
factor of each of the studied combinations. With respect to specific mass, it was
observed that there was a small increase with the addition of CBC (0.5%). The
partial substitution of Portlant cement for up to 30% of ash in the mixture does. not
bring about any significant modification to the values of specific mass.

4. CONCLUSION
Based on the conducted experiment and according to the results obtained, it can be
concluded that: The sugarcane bagasse used presented a yield of sugarcane
bagasse ash (CBC) of 10% with a proportion of 84% SiO2 and 5% carbon; the
silica in CBC is present both in the amorphous phase as well as the crystalline
phases of Cristobalite and Quartz; the ash that was studied is composed of particles
with sizes between 1 and 14mm and with a surface area of the order of 24m 2/g;
the additions of 10%, 20%, and 30% of CBC resulted in a delay of 10 minutes in
the time period between the set times; the indexes of pozzolanic activity prove the
pozzolanicity of CBC; the mortar with the greatest proportions of ash tended to be
more porous, which justifies the greater values of absorption found; the partial
substitution of Portland cement by up to 30% of ash in the mixture did not bring
about any significant modification in the specific mass of the mortar; the mortar
with proportions of CBC in substitution with cement between 0 and 30%, at 7 and
28 days, indicate the possibility to substitute up to 20% of cement by CBC without
hurting its resistance; the addition of 30% of cement by CBC is viable, as long as a
resistance of the material equal to that found in the test specimens of 100%
cement is not demanded; and it is important to highlight that the obtained results
are specific for the sugarcane bagasse ash obtained. Different burn procedures can
be employed to obtain ash without crystalline phases. That being said, a pre-
treatment of the sugarcane bagasse would prevent possible contamination by
quartz.

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

To the Federal University of Viçosa, especially to the Department of Agricultural and

Environmental Engineering. To FAPEMIG for financing the project and to CAPES for
awarding the Master´s studies scholarship.

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