Sustainable development through biochar-added concrete
Background
The concrete industry is one of the primary contributors to global warming, and biochar can be utilized to decrease carbon emissions resulting from cement consumption seen in Figure 1, biochar, derived from the thermal decomposition of biomass, is a black and porous material and significantly boosts concrete's fire resistance. Its integration into concrete enhances thermal stability and reduces heat conductivity, essential for fire-resilient building materials. Biochar's porous structure is key, absorbing heat and decelerating its transfer within the concrete during fire incidents. This characteristic, coupled with biochar's thermal resistance, ensures the concrete's structural integrity is maintained under high temperatures. The use of biochar in concrete not only elevates its fire resistance but also aligns with sustainable construction practices by repurposing waste biomass. This eco-friendly innovation in construction materials offers improved safety and durability, making biochar-added concrete a valuable choice for buildings requiring superior fire resistance.
Aim and objectives
Purpose of this research is to contribute to a sustainable built environment by reducing the carbon footprint of concrete in the construction and mining industries. This project aims to address issues related to sustainability and fire-safety of concrete structures by adding innately strong and non-combustible biochar (made from waste biomass) and determining the optimum replacement amount, with respect to concrete strength/modulus, for both cement and aggregates. The resulting changes in the structural behaviour of these biochar-added concretes will be analyzed by measuring the bond strength of concrete and steel rebar both at ambient and high (i.e. fire exposure) temperatures. Three factors of rebars i.e. diameter, surface profile and embedment location will be investigated to assess the bond behaviour. The sustainability and economic performance of the concretes will be determined by Life Cycle Assessment (LC A) and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), respectively. Thus, the project has four main objectives, namely, a) use biochar as much as possible, to replace cement and aggregates creating concretes with a low carbon footprint, without negatively affecting the workability and mechanical properties of the concrete; b) determination of the structural properties of these biochar-added reinforced concretes, RC (i.e. composite material comprised of concrete and embedded steel rebars) by measuring steel rebar bond slip resistance (i.e. the interaction between the hardened concrete and the embedded rebars that guarantees the adequate transfer of stresses) at ambient temperature, as seen in Figure 2; c) determination of the aforementioned bond strength of biochar-added RC after being exposed to fire; and d) to demonstrate the environmental and cost benefits of biochar-added concrete using LCA and LCCA.
Facts
Financer: Oisik Das.
Timeline: Project start in 01-23 and Project end (planned) in 12-26
Principal Investigator: Oisik Das
Team members: Dong Wang, Gabriel Sas.
Contact
Oisik Das
- Associate Professor
- 0920-492193
- oisik.das@ltu.se
- Oisik Das
Gabriel Sas
- Professor and Head of Subject
- 0920-493835
- gabriel.sas@ltu.se
- Gabriel Sas
Rhoda Afriyie Mensah
Dong Wang
- Doctoral Student
- 0920-493446
- dong.wang@ltu.se
- Dong Wang
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