Investigation of bentonite as a partial replacement in the production of Portland pozzolana cement in concrete containing sisal and waste nylon fibers
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Date
2025-07
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NM-AIST
Abstract
Concrete is the most widely used construction material globally, resulting in the extensive consumption of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and frequent use of steel or virgin plastic fibers to enhance ductility. However, the production of OPC particularly clinker and steel or plastic fibers associated with significant environmental impacts, energy consumptive and high cost. Also, in some adverse environments OPC does not meet the strength and durability demands of modern construction. The present study addresses these challenges by utilizing bentonite to produce high strength and durable cement by optimizing the activation of bentonite that can substitute part of the clinker using response surface method- central composite design. Also, this study used waste mosquito net and treated sisal fibers through novel treatment of sisal fiber by calcined bentonite slurry that optimized sisal fiber breaking load, degradation resistance, and lower water absorption for its effective use in the cement composite materials. A comprehensive evaluation of mineralogical, microstructural, durability, physical, and mechanical properties was conducted on the optimized Portland Pozzolana Cement (OPPC) produced with activated bentonite and treated sisal fiber. Furthermore, concrete mixes incorporating OPPC and various dosages of waste mosquito net fiber, both with and without treated sisal fiber, were analyzed for their performance. The results demonstrated that the optimized activated bentonite successfully produced a Portland pozzolana cement type CEM II/B-P 42.5M that improved 28days compressive strength by 24.94% and reduced free lime content by 3.08% compared to the control OPC. OPPC also exhibited significantly enhanced durability under adverse conditions, including acidic, salt, and high-temperature environments. Besides these, bentonite treated sisal fiber increased the breaking load by 33.37%, enhanced degradation resistance by 98%, and reduced water absorption by 60.95%. It also reduced mass loss at elevated temperatures by 28.18% at 367°C and 29.08% at 600 °C compared to raw sisal fiber. Moreover, concrete incorporating OPPC and waste mosquito net fiber with treated sisal fiber demonstrated significant improvements in crack resistance, compressive and splitting tensile strength, durability against acidic attack, and performance at elevated temperatures up to 300 °C, compared to concrete made with OPPC and waste mosquito net fiber without treated sisal fiber.
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SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13: Climate Action