Development of high-strength lightweight concrete by utilizing food waste digestate based biochar aggregate

Liang Chen; Xiaohong Zhu; Yu Zheng; Lei Wang; Chi Sun Poon; Daniel C.W. Tsang

doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.134142

Development of high-strength lightweight concrete by utilizing food waste digestate based biochar aggregate

Liang Chen, Xiaohong Zhu, Yu Zheng, Lei Wang, Chi Sun Poon, Daniel C.W. Tsang

Research output: Journal article publication › Journal article › Academic research › peer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The application of carbon-negative biochar in cement composites can effectively reduce carbon emissions of construction materials. In this study, low-carbon composites were tailored with high volume of food waste digestate (FWD) biochar aggregate. The biochar was customized at different temperatures with the goal of enhancing the properties of cement-based composites. Backscattered electron microscopy (BSEM) images show that FWD biochar with a grey circle shape exhibited strong bonding with the cement matrix. Nano-indentation results indicate that the two statuses of FWD biochar showed visco-elastic and elastic-plastic modes of deformation, respectively. The FWD biochar aggregate prepared at higher pyrolysis temperatures (i.e., 650 °C and 750 °C) has higher elastic modulus (up to 11.4 GPa), which can be applied to make biochar blocks with higher strength and lower density compared to the biochar pyrolyzed at 550 °C. As a result, FWD 750BC blocks could reach 28-d compressive strength of 57.8 MPa and density of 1.77 g cm⁻³, which fulfilled the requirements of high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete. Hence, this study established a foundation to utilize FWD biochar as an aggregate in high-strength biochar construction materials.

Original language	English
Article number	134142
Journal	Construction and Building Materials
Volume	411
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.134142
Publication status	Published - 12 Jan 2024

Keywords

Carbon neutrality
Engineered biochar
Food waste digestate
Microstructure analysis
Sustainable construction materials

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Civil and Structural Engineering
Building and Construction
General Materials Science

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10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.134142

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title = "Development of high-strength lightweight concrete by utilizing food waste digestate based biochar aggregate",

abstract = "The application of carbon-negative biochar in cement composites can effectively reduce carbon emissions of construction materials. In this study, low-carbon composites were tailored with high volume of food waste digestate (FWD) biochar aggregate. The biochar was customized at different temperatures with the goal of enhancing the properties of cement-based composites. Backscattered electron microscopy (BSEM) images show that FWD biochar with a grey circle shape exhibited strong bonding with the cement matrix. Nano-indentation results indicate that the two statuses of FWD biochar showed visco-elastic and elastic-plastic modes of deformation, respectively. The FWD biochar aggregate prepared at higher pyrolysis temperatures (i.e., 650 °C and 750 °C) has higher elastic modulus (up to 11.4 GPa), which can be applied to make biochar blocks with higher strength and lower density compared to the biochar pyrolyzed at 550 °C. As a result, FWD 750BC blocks could reach 28-d compressive strength of 57.8 MPa and density of 1.77 g cm−3, which fulfilled the requirements of high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete. Hence, this study established a foundation to utilize FWD biochar as an aggregate in high-strength biochar construction materials.",

keywords = "Carbon neutrality, Engineered biochar, Food waste digestate, Microstructure analysis, Sustainable construction materials",

author = "Liang Chen and Xiaohong Zhu and Yu Zheng and Lei Wang and Poon, {Chi Sun} and Tsang, {Daniel C.W.}",

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AU - Zhu, Xiaohong

AU - Zheng, Yu

AU - Wang, Lei

AU - Poon, Chi Sun

AU - Tsang, Daniel C.W.

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N2 - The application of carbon-negative biochar in cement composites can effectively reduce carbon emissions of construction materials. In this study, low-carbon composites were tailored with high volume of food waste digestate (FWD) biochar aggregate. The biochar was customized at different temperatures with the goal of enhancing the properties of cement-based composites. Backscattered electron microscopy (BSEM) images show that FWD biochar with a grey circle shape exhibited strong bonding with the cement matrix. Nano-indentation results indicate that the two statuses of FWD biochar showed visco-elastic and elastic-plastic modes of deformation, respectively. The FWD biochar aggregate prepared at higher pyrolysis temperatures (i.e., 650 °C and 750 °C) has higher elastic modulus (up to 11.4 GPa), which can be applied to make biochar blocks with higher strength and lower density compared to the biochar pyrolyzed at 550 °C. As a result, FWD 750BC blocks could reach 28-d compressive strength of 57.8 MPa and density of 1.77 g cm−3, which fulfilled the requirements of high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete. Hence, this study established a foundation to utilize FWD biochar as an aggregate in high-strength biochar construction materials.

AB - The application of carbon-negative biochar in cement composites can effectively reduce carbon emissions of construction materials. In this study, low-carbon composites were tailored with high volume of food waste digestate (FWD) biochar aggregate. The biochar was customized at different temperatures with the goal of enhancing the properties of cement-based composites. Backscattered electron microscopy (BSEM) images show that FWD biochar with a grey circle shape exhibited strong bonding with the cement matrix. Nano-indentation results indicate that the two statuses of FWD biochar showed visco-elastic and elastic-plastic modes of deformation, respectively. The FWD biochar aggregate prepared at higher pyrolysis temperatures (i.e., 650 °C and 750 °C) has higher elastic modulus (up to 11.4 GPa), which can be applied to make biochar blocks with higher strength and lower density compared to the biochar pyrolyzed at 550 °C. As a result, FWD 750BC blocks could reach 28-d compressive strength of 57.8 MPa and density of 1.77 g cm−3, which fulfilled the requirements of high-strength lightweight aggregate concrete. Hence, this study established a foundation to utilize FWD biochar as an aggregate in high-strength biochar construction materials.

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KW - Food waste digestate

KW - Microstructure analysis

KW - Sustainable construction materials

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Development of high-strength lightweight concrete by utilizing food waste digestate based biochar aggregate

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