Construction and Building Materials 38 (2013) 872878

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Construction and Building Materials

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Review

Application of agro-waste for sustainable construction materials: A review

Mangesh V. Madurwar a, Rahul V. Ralegaonkar a,, Sachin A. Mandavgane b
a
Department of Civil Engineering, VNIT, Nagpur, India
b
Department of Chemical Engineering, VNIT, Nagpur, India

h i g h l i g h t s

" Application of agro-waste for sustainable construction material design is reviewed.

" Physico-mechanical properties of sustainable construction materials are reviewed.
" Methods of production and environmental impact of several materials are studied.
" The application provides solution to conservation of natural resource and energy.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The rapid urbanisation is creating a shortfall of conventional building construction materials due to lim-
Received 24 May 2012 ited availability of natural resources. On the other hand energy consumed for the production of conven-
Received in revised form 10 August 2012 tional building construction materials pollutes air, water and land. In order to meet the ever increasing
Accepted 20 September 2012
demand for the energy efcient building construction materials there is a need to adopt cost effective,
Available online 30 October 2012
environmentally appropriate technologies and upgrade traditional techniques with available local mate-
rials. Agro-industrial and other solid waste disposal is another serious issue of concern in developing
Keywords:
countries. The present paper explores the potential application of agro-waste as the ingredient for alter-
Agro-waste
Sustainable construction material
nate sustainable construction materials. Based on the availability of agro-waste materials, sustainable
Physico-mechanical properties construction materials are evaluated for their physico-mechanical properties, methods of production
Environmental impact and environmental impact. The application of agro-waste for sustainable construction materials provides
a solution which offers reduction in natural resource use as well as energy.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
2. Development of construction material from agro-waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
2.1. Particle boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
2.2. Thermal insulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874
2.3. Masonry composites/bricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874
2.4. Cementitious/pozzolana/binder material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874
2.5. Aggregate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
2.6. Fibre reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
2.7. Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
3. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
5. Further work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877

Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 712 2801090.

E-mail address: sanvan28@yahoo.com (R.V. Ralegaonkar).

0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.09.011
 M.V. Madurwar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 38 (2013) 872878 873

1. Introduction
A large demand has been placed on building material industry
especially in the last decade owing to the increasing population
that causes a chronic shortage of building materials. In order to
meet ever increasing housing demand, there is an exponential
need of production of construction materials like bricks, cement,
aggregates, steel, aluminium, wood, cladding and partitioning
materials [1]. The production of conventional building materials
such as cement, bricks and steel consume a lot of thermal and elec-
trical energy and in turn pollute air, water and land. The use of
appropriate building materials has not received adequate atten-
tion. Disposal of solid waste generated from agricultural and indus-
trial production activity is another serious problem in developing
countries like India. The major quantities of wastes generated from
agricultural sources are sugarcane bagasse, rice husk, jute bre,
coconut husk, cotton stalk, etc. Reuse of such wastes as a sustain-
able construction material appears to be viable solution not only to
pollution problem but also to the problem of the land-lling and
high cost of building materials. Growth of population, increasing
urbanization, rising standards of living due to technological inno-
vations have contributed to an increase in the quantity and variety
of solid wastes generated by industrial, mining, domestic and agri-
cultural activities [2]. Annually, Asia alone generates 4.4 billion
tonnes of solid wastes [3]. Fig. 1 indicates the details on status of
agro-industrial waste generation from different sources in India
[2,46]. As can be seen from Fig. 1 that agricultural sources alone
contribute more than 350 MT per year. However, it is reported that
about 600 MT of wastes have been generated in India from agricul-
tural sources alone [7]. The major quantity of wastes generated
from agricultural sources are sugarcane bagasse, paddy and wheat
straw and husk, wastes of vegetables, food products, tea, oil pro-
duction, jute bre, groundnut shell, wooden mill waste, coconut
husk, cotton stalk, etc. The major industrial non-hazardous inor-
ganic solid wastes are coal combustion residues (CCRs), bauxite
red mud, tailings from aluminium, iron, copper and zinc primary
extraction processes [2,5,79]. In the present paper application of
locally available agro-waste materials have reviewed based on
end product construction material (viz. particle boards, thermal
insulators, masonry composites/bricks, cementitious/binder,
aggregates, etc.). The design process and physico-mechanical prop-
erty of the reviewed sustainable construction material is elabo-
rated further.
2. Development of construction material from agro-waste
2.1. Particle boards
Zhou et al. [10] had manufactured environment friendly binder
less cotton stalk breboard (BCSF) made from cotton stalk with no
chemical additives. The result showed that the thermal conductiv-
ity values had a strong linear correlation with the board density.
The internal bonding strength (IBS) of boards was good at the rel-
atively-low density level. As an environment friendly and renew-
able material, the BCSF is particularly suitable for ceiling and
wall application to save energy. Quintana et al. [11] produced the
breboard by performing the pre-treatment on banana bunch
using non synthetic binders. The lignocellulosic material was
steam exploded with thermo-mechanical aqueous vapour process
in a batch reactor. Lertsutthiwong et al. [12] developed composite
particle boards with low thermal conductivity produced from a
mixture of solid waste from tissue paper manufacturing and corn
peel. Khedari et al. [13] developed low thermal conductivity parti-
cleboards with optimized durian peel and coconut coir mixture ra-

Fig. 1. Status of solid waste generation in India (million tonnes/year).

Table 1
Physico-mechanical properties of particle boards manufactured from various agro-wastes.

Agro-waste Density Thk. (mm) MOE (MPa) MOR Water absorption (%) Thermal conductivity Source
(kg/m3) (MPa) (W/m  K)
Cotton stalk 150450 25 75 0.55 13 0.05850.0815 [10]
Banana bunch 1000 3 3361.95 22.30 N.A. [11]
TPM/corn peel 789 16 3.5 21.3 5.4 5.6 2.2 53.8 3.2 0.1470 0.0082 [12]
Durian peel and coconut coir 311856 10 146.4132239.152 2.93436.161 227.38232.291 0.07640.1254 [13]
Maize husk 310 16 427 5.2 1114 0.000348 [14]
Paddy straw 190 16 930 6.5 1114 0.000229 [14]
Coconut pith 290 16 282 5.8 1114 0.000314 [14]
Groundnut shell 540 16 523 6.3 1114 0.000548 [14]
Kenaf board 150200 0.0510.058 [15]
874 M.V. Madurwar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 38 (2013) 872878
tio. Two parameters were investigated, namely, the mixture ratio
of durian peel and coconut coir and board density. In the results
it was observed that in comparison with either durian or coco-
nut-based particle boards, mixture of them has better thermal
and mechanical properties. Sampathrajan et al. [14] manufactured
particle boards from ve different agro wastes (Maize Husk, Paddy
Straw, Maize Cob, Coconut Coir/Pith and Groundnut Shell) using
urea formaldehyde as the binding material and the mechanical
and thermal properties of the boards were evaluated. Several
researchers had developed various agro-waste based particle
boards, the evaluated physico-mechanical outcome like density,
thickness (Thk.), modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture
(MOR), water absorption and thermal conductivity have been stud-
ied further (Table 1).
2.2. Thermal insulator
Buildings are less able to control the internal environment to
comfortable conditions without mechanical air conditioning [16].
An only technique for reducing the scale of air conditioning is
application of thermal insulation in walls and roofs. Pinto et al.
[17] studied tabique construction (Portuguese traditional building
techniques). An experimental work concluded that there are
signicant similarities between the corns cob and the extruded
polystyrene (XPS) material in terms of microstructure and
chemical composition. Furthermore, the results indicate that the
corns cob may have adequate thermal properties for building
purpose. Korjenic et al. [18] carried out a research to develop a
new insulating material from renewable resources (jute, ax and
hemp) with comparable building physics and mechanical proper-
ties to commonly used insulations materials. The tests results
showed that the correct combination of natural materials is
absolutely comparable with convectional materials. Onsippe
et al. [19] examined the thermal properties of cement composites
reinforced with vegetable bagasse bres. Experimental investiga-
tions revealed that adding ratied bagasse bres reduces thermal
conductivity of composites and yields a weaker specic heat. There
are several possible materials viz. bagasse, rice husk, coconut coir,
corn stalk, durian peel, and palm oil leaves are evaluated on the
basis of physico-mechanical results (Table 2). Among the studied
agro-waste materials bagasse, rice husk and coconut coir have
been observed to have lower thermal conductivity.
2.3. Masonry composites/bricks
Rajput et al. [23] had utilized recycle paper mills waste and cot-
ton waste to manufacture waste-create bricks (WCBs). WCB with
varying content of cotton waste from 1% to 5% by weight
(15 wt.%), recycle paper mills waste from 89% to 85% by weight
(8985 wt.%) and xed content of Portland cement (10 wt.%) were
prepared and tested as per IS 3495 (Part 13): 1992 standards.
Results indicated that bricks are thermally stable and meet the
standard (IS 3495 (Part 13): 1992). Alami [24] investigated the
Table 2
Physico-mechanical properties of particle insulation board made from agro-waste
materials.
Agro-waste Density Thermal conductivity Source
(kg/m3) (W/mK)
Rice husk 150175 0.0460.056 [16,20]
Coconut coir 300350 0.0470.085 [16]
Bagasse 90140 0.0470.050 [16,19,21]
Corn cob 300330 0.0970.098 [16,17]
Durian peel 400875 0.0650.150 [13,16]
Oil palm leaves 8001000 0.1180.240 [16,22]
effect of adding unburnt olive husk to clay bricks on its thermo-
mechanical properties. The amount of husk added was varied,
along with the drying temperature. The specimen scored the lower
thermal conductivity resulted than the conventional clay bricks.
Chiang et al. [25] produced the lightweight bricks from the sinter-
ing mixes of dried water treatment sludge and rice husk. Samples
containing up to 20 wt.% rice husks had been red using a heating
schedule that allowed effective organic burn-out. It was observed
that addition of rice husk below 15 wt.% and sintered at 1100 C
produced the low density and relatively high strength bricks
compliant with relevant Taiwan standards for lightweight bricks.
Ling and Teo [26] had developed the bricks from the waste rice
husk ash (RHA) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads. RHA was
used as partial replacement cement replacement while EPS was
used as partial aggregate replacement in the mixes. The engineer-
ing properties of the bricks were investigated. It was found that the
properties of the bricks were mainly inuenced by the content of
EPS and RHA in the mix and also the curing condition used.
Lertsatitthanakorn et al. [27] had developed rice husk ash based
sandcement block. Its performance was compared with that of a
standard commercial clay brick. It was resulted that the RHA based
sandcement block reduces solar heat transfer by 46 W. Demir [28]
utilized several organic residues having long cellulose bres like
sawdust, tobacco residues in clay bricks. The result indicated that
insulation capacity of brick increases with the increasing porosity
of clay body. It was observed that the brous nature of residue
did not create extrusion problems. As a result, sawdust, tobacco
residue and grass can be utilized in an environmentally safe way
as organic pore-forming agents in clay bricks. Algin and Turgut
[29,30] used combination of cotton wastes (CWs) limestone pow-
der wastes (LPWs) and a combination wood sawdust wastes
(WSWs) and limestone powder wastes (LPWs) for producing low
cost and lightweight composite as a building material. The obtained
compressive strength, exural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity
(UPV), unit weight and water absorption values satisfy the relevant
international standards. It results a sturdy lighter weight composite
having potential to be used for walls, wooden board substitute,
economically alternative to the concrete blocks, ceiling panels,
sound barrier panels, etc. Rahman [31] developed bricks from
claysand mixes with different percentages of rice husk ash. The
effects of rice husk ash contents on workable mixing water content,
atterberg limits, linear shrinkage, density, compressive strength
and water absorption of the bricks were investigated. Test results
indicated that the compressive strength of the bricks was higher
with rice husk ash contents. Performance of various agro-waste
materials evaluated from the common tests of compressive
strength, water absorption and specic weight (Sp. Wt.) are studied
further (Table 3).
2.4. Cementitious/pozzolana/binder material
Amin [32] describes the waste product of sugar industries
(Bagasse ash) as a cement replacement in concrete. The results
indicated that bagasse ash (BA) is an effective mineral admixture
and pozzolana with the original ratio of 20% cement which reduced
the chloride diffusion by more than 50% without any adverse ef-
fects on other properties of the hardened concrete. Suvimol and
Daungruedee [33] reported the ground ash, with percentages re-
tained on sieve no. 325 in the range of 328, were used as cement
replacement in the range of 2040%. According to Jaturapitakkul
et al. [34] the expansion and loss in compressive strength were re-
duced when the palm oil fuel ash (POFA) neness was increased.
The results suggested that ground POFA could be used as a pozzo-
lanic material and could also improve the sulphate resistance of
concrete. Ramasamy and Biswas [35] utilized rice husk ash (RHA)
as a cement replacement material. The test results indicated that
 M.V. Madurwar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 38 (2013) 872878 875

Table 3 Chindaprasirt [43] utilized bagasse ash (BA) as a pozzolanic mate-

Physico-mechanical properties of bricks made from various agro-waste materials. rial for producing high-strength concrete. The concrete mixtures,
Agro-waste Compressive Water Sp. wt. Source in part, were replaced with 10%, 20% and 30% of BA respectively.
strength (MPa) absorption (gm/cm3) The compressive strength, porosity, the coefcient of water
(%) absorption, the rapid chloride penetration and chloride diffusion
Papercotton 22.27 0.5 100 0.56 0.02 23 of concrete were determined. The test results indicated that the
wastecement incorporation of BA up to 30% replacement level not only increases
Tobacco residue 11.55 21.85 1.53 28
Grass 12.35 21.65 1.55 28
the resistance to chloride penetration but also increases the
Cotton waste 7.0 0.3 17.4 1.4 1.51 29 compressive strength reasonably. Nair et al. [44] examined the
cement long-term strength of different rice husk ashes as a pozzolana with
Sawdust 13.60 21.40 1.56 28,30 lime or cement to suggest a sustainable affordable option for rural
RHA 12.65 20.20 1.42 31
housing in India. According to Akram et al. [45] the compressive
strengths developed by the self compacting concrete mixes with
bagasse ash at 28 days were compared to the control concrete. Cost
optimum quantity of RHA increases the mechanical properties of analysis showed that the cost of ingredients of specic self com-
concrete. Xu et al. [36] studied the microstructure of RHA from pacting concrete mix was 35.63% less than that of control concrete,
the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and compressive strength test both having compressive strength above 34 MPa. Memon et al. [46]
results. It was observed that the optimum combustion temperature utilized rice husk ash as viscosity modifying agent in self compact-
for obtaining highly reactive RHA is 600 C. Thus, RHA can partially ing concrete (SCC). Based on the experimental results it was
replace cement as a mineral admixture for construction purpose. observed that the possibility of developing low cost SCC using
Tashima et al. [37] in their research reported that the addition of RHA is feasible. Fairbairn et al. [47] in their study carried out the
RHA enhances the strength and reduces the water absorption of simulation to estimate the potential of CO2 emission reductions
concrete. Adesanya and Raheem [38] utilized corn cob ash (CCA) and the viability to issue certied emission reduction (CER) credits.
as a pozzolanic material for cement production. Factory production The simulation was developed within the framework of the
of the CCA blended cement was carried out by replacing ordinary methodology established by the United Nations Framework
portland cement clinker with CCA. The developed blended cement Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the Clean Develop-
satises both the NIS 439:2000 and ASTM C 150 requirements. ment Mechanism. The results indicated that sugarcane bagasse
Ganesan et al. [39] in their study investigated the effects of BA con- ash (SCBA) blended cement reduces CO2 emissions and generally
tent as partial replacement of cement on physical and mechanical improves the behaviour of the cementitious construction
properties of hardened concrete. The properties of concrete inves- materials. Several researchers had utilized various agro-waste
tigated include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, by-products as pozzolanic/cementitious material in various
water absorption, permeability characteristic, chloride diffusion classications of concretes (i.e. ordinary concrete Table 4 and high
and resistance to chloride ion penetration. The test results indicate strength concrete Table 5), to evaluated physico-mechanical
that BA is an effective mineral admixture, with 20% as optimal properties like compressive strength and water absorption.
replacement ratio of cement. Chusilp et al. [40] investigated the
physical properties of concrete containing ground BA including
compressive strength, water permeability, and heat evolution.
Bagasse ash from a sugar factory was ground using a ball mill until Table 4
the particles retained on a no. 325 sieve were less than 5 wt.%. They Cement replacement, water to binder ratio (w/b) and compressive strength of various
were then used as a replacement for Type I Portland cement at 10, agro-wastes for ordinary concrete.
20 and 30 wt.% of binder. The water to binder (W/B) ratio and bin- Agro- Cement w/b Compressive strength, Source
der content of the concrete were held constant at 0.50 and 350 kg/ waste replacement ratio (%) 28 days (MPa)
m3, respectively. The results showed that, at the age at 28 days, the (%)
concrete samples containing 1030% ground bagasse ash by Bagasse 30 0.53 32.00 32
weight of binder had greater compressive strengths than the con- ash
trol concrete (concrete without ground bagasse ash), while the Palm oil 30 0.71 30.10 34
fuel ash
water permeability was lower than the control concrete. Concrete
Rice husk 30 0.504 49.74 44
containing 20% ground bagasse ash had the highest compressive ash
strength at 113% of the control concrete. The water permeability
of concrete decreased as the fractional replacement of ground ba-
gasse ash was increased. For the heat evolution, the maximum
temperature rise of concrete containing ground bagasse ash was Table 5
lower than the control concrete. It was also found that the maxi- Cement replacement, water to cement ratio (w/c) and compressive strength of
mum temperature rise of the concrete was reduced 13%, 23%, various agro-wastes for high strength concrete.
and 33% as compared with the control concrete when the cement Agro- Cement w/c Compressive Design Source
was replaced by ground bagasse ash at 10, 20, and 30 wt.% of bin- waste replacement ratio strength, 28 days strength
der, respectively. According to Cordeiro et al. [41] incorporation of (%) (%) (MPa) (MPa)
an ultra nely-ground ash in a high-performance concrete for par- Rice 10 0.28 86 78 42
tial replacement of Portland cement resulted in no measurable husk 20 0.28 88
change in mechanical behaviour, but improved rheology and resis- barak 30 0.28 85
ash
tance to penetration of chloride ions. Sata et al. [42] investigated
Palm oil 10 0.28 81 78 42
the effects of agro-industrial by-product pozzolana on mechanical fuel 20 0.28 86
properties of high-strength concrete. The results suggested that ash 30 0.28 80
the agro-wastes and its by-products can be utilized as a substitute Bagasse 10 0.30 65 65 43
to portland cement to produce high-strength concrete without ash 20 0.30 67
30 0.30 68
alteration the mechanical properties of concrete. Rukzon and
876 M.V. Madurwar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 38 (2013) 872878
2.5. Aggregate
Mannan and Ganapathy [48] utilized Oil Palm Shell (OPS) as a
coarse aggregate for a structural concrete. The results indicated
that the bulk density of OPS concrete is about 1850 kg/m3 and
the compressive strength was in between 20 and 24 N/mm2 for
28 days; that satises the strength requirement of structural
lightweight concrete. Sales and Lima [49] prepared mortars and
concretes with sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) as sand replacement
and performance tests were carried out. The results indicate
that the SCBA samples presented physical properties similar to
those of natural sand. The mortars produced with SCBA in place
of sand showed better mechanical results than the conventional
mortar.
2.6. Fibre reinforcement
As reported by Coutts [50], vegetable bres contain cellulose, a
natural polymer, as the main reinforcement material. The chains of
cellulose form micro-brils, which are held together by amorphous
hemicelluloses and lignin that form brils. The brils are assem-
bled in various layers to build up the structure of the bre. Fibres
or cells are cemented together in the plant by lignin, which can
be dissolved by the alkalinity of the cement matrix [51]. According
to Ghavami [52] vegetable bres can be used either alone or as
reinforcement in different types of matrices such as soil and ce-
ment composites. Li et al. [53] recommended use of sisal bre as
a promising reinforcement for use in composites on account of
its low cost, low density, high specic strength and modulus, no
health risk, easy availability in some countries and renewability.
Ramakrishna and Sundararajan [54] studied the variation in chem-
ical composition and tensile strength of coir, sisal, jute and hibiscus
bres, when they are subjected to alternate wetting and drying and
continuous immersion for 60 days in three different medium of
water, saturated lime and sodium hydroxide respectively. From
the results it was observed that theres a substantial reduction in
the salient chemical composition of all four bres, after exposure
in the various mediums. Coir bres are found to retain higher per-
centages of their initial strength than all other bres, after the
specied period of exposure in the various mediums. The compres-
sive and exural strengths of all natural bre reinforced mortar
specimens using corroded bres (i.e. the bres subjected to contin-
uous immersion/alternate wetting and drying in the above medi-
ums) are less than the strength of the reference mortar (i.e.
without bres) and bre reinforced mortar specimen reinforced
with dry natural bres. Ashour et al. [55] utilised straw as a rein-
forcement bre in plaster material for wall plaster. Three types
of straw were used such as wheat straw, barley straw and wood
shavings. The result indicated that the thermal conductivity of
materials decreased with increasing straw bre content and de-
creased with increasing sand content. The straw bres have greater
effect on the change of thermal conductivity than the effect of
sand. The result also revealed that plaster reinforced by barley
straw bres has the highest values of thermal insulation. The var-
ious physico-chemical characteristics of the natural bres are pre-
sented in Table 6.
Table 6
Physico-chemical properties of natural bres.
Fibre type Fibre length (mm) Fibre diameter (mm) Tensile strength (N/mm2)
Coir 60250 0.400.10 15327
Sisal 180600 0.100.50 31221
Jute 1281525 0.040.35 29312
Hibiscus 1631527 0.040.16 18180
2.7. Reinforcement
Ghavami [56] studied the ultimate load behaviour of bamboo
reinforced lightweight concrete beams and the results indicated
that the tensile strength of bamboo is relatively high and can reach
370 MPa that makes bamboo an attractive alternative to steel in
tensile loading applications. This is due to the fact that the ratio
of tensile strength to specic weight of bamboo is six times greater
than that of steel. Rahman et al. [57] carried out the performance
evaluation of bamboo reinforced concrete beam and from stress
strain curves of bamboo. It was observed that bamboo possesses
low modulus of elasticity compared to steel and it cannot prevent
cracking of concrete under ultimate load. But, from the exural test
of bamboo reinforced beam, it was observed that using bamboo as
reinforcement in concrete can increase the load carrying capacity
of beam having the same dimensions. For singly bamboo rein-
forced concrete beam, the load carrying capacity increased about
2 times and that for doubly bamboo reinforced concrete beam
about 2.5 times than that of plain concrete beam having same
dimensions. The maximum deection of singly reinforced beam
and doubly reinforced beam are about 4.5 and 8 times respectively
than that of plain concrete. Mahzuz et al. [58] studied the strength
properties of composite members made up of bamboo. It deter-
mined the compressive strength of bamboo, the strength of com-
posite column made up of bamboo and mortar in its hollow area,
and the strength of composite column of bamboo and concrete.
Different mixing ratios and cross-sectional areas were used for
conducting the study. From the results of study it was observed
that samples constructed as aid of bamboo can offer respectable
amount of strength that can be safely used for low-cost housing.
Mark and Russell [59] carried out a comparative study of bamboo
reinforced concrete beams with shear links made of different
materials. The different stirrup materials considered were bamboo,
rattan cane and steel. From the results it was recommended that
bamboo reinforced concrete beams were reinforced with steel stir-
rups to improve on its load carrying behaviour.
3. Discussion
It is observed from the review (Tables 15) that researchers
have used various agro-wastes materials in different proportions
and also adopted various methodologies to produce different
building materials and composites viz. particle boards, thermal
insulated wall and ceiling panels, bricks, cementitious pozzolana
for concretes. Several thermo-mechanical tests were conducted
on different materials and composites as per the various available
standards. The common parameters calculated for the particle and
insulating boards were density, MOE, MOR and thermal conductiv-
ity. It is observed that densities of particle boards manufactured
from incorporating agro-wastes are meeting the minimum
requirement of standards (S-20 grade of JIS A 5905-1994) [60].
Thermal conductivity values of these materials and composites lies
in the standard range 0.0540.143 W/mK and satises the require-
ment of insulation materials as per BS874-2 [61]. The common test
parameters calculated by the various researchers for the brick or
masonry is water absorption and compressive strength. Minimum
Elongation (%) Hemi-cellulose (%) Cellulose (%) Lignin (%) Source
75.0 31.1 33.2 20.5 54
14.8 26 38.2 26.0 54
19.0 22.7 33.4 28.0 54
12.4 25 28 22.7 54
 M.V. Madurwar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 38 (2013) 872878
range recommended for characteristic compressive strength for
non load bearing and load bearing solid red clay brick are 3
5 MPa and 510 MPa respectively. IS code also species the water
absorption of brick to be not more than 20% by weight. It is ob-
served that all the brick incorporating agro-wastes satisfy the cri-
terion of compressive strength whereas the water absorption
value slightly exceeds the requirement of IS 1077:1992 [62] and
needs the further investigations. The common parameter required
for utilising any material as mineral admixture or pozzolana de-
pends on the proportion of silica in its by-product. Burnt residue
by-product of quality conforming IS 456:2000 can be used as poz-
zolana in the manufacturing of concrete provided that there are
satisfactory data on their suitability such as performance test on
concrete containing that residue [63]. The performance test con-
ducted on concretes containing various proportions of different
agro-waste residues indicated that the characteristic compressive
strength of concrete is enhanced whereas effect of chemical attacks
like chloride and sulphate are diminished. The overall performance
and durability of the concrete is enhanced with the addition of
agro-waste burnt residue. The purpose of bre reinforcement is
to improve the properties of a building material but the main
drawback to the use the natural bres is the durability of these -
bres in a cementitious matrix. The alkaline media weaken the most
natural bres, especially the vegetable ones which are actually
strands of individual laments liable to separated from each other.
The severe degradation of exposed composites can also be attrib-
uted to interfacial damages due to continuous volume changes of
the porous vegetable bres inside the cement matrix. There are
two approaches to improve the durability of vegetable bres.
One is based on the protection of the bres by coating them or
sealing the dry composite to avoid the effect of water, mainly alka-
linity. The other approach is reduction of free alkalis in the matrix
by developing low alkaline binders based on industrial and agricul-
tural by-products. The consumption of building components made
of bre reinforced cement is increasing rapidly specially in devel-
oping countries because with this type of material it is possible
to produce light weight building components, with good mechan-
ical performance, suitable thermal-acoustic insulation and its eco-
nomic viability. Traditionally steel is used as reinforcement in
concrete. But because of cost and availability, replacement of steel
with some other suitable materials as reinforcement is now a ma-
jor concern. Bamboo is natural, cheap, widely available and most
importantly strong in both tension and compression. Maximum
tensile strength of bamboo is up to 370 MPa whereas compression
test of bamboo gives an average stress of 41.02 MPa these are the
good value to resist moderate loads especially of low cost
buildings.
4. Conclusion
Accumulation of unmanaged agro-waste especially from the
developing counties has an increased environmental concern.
Recycling of such wastes into sustainable, energy efcient con-
struction materials is a viable solution for the problem of pollution
and natural resource conservation for future generation. The vari-
ous methodologies to design the construction building materials
have been reviewed. Various physical, mechanical properties of
the construction building materials are studied in accordance with
reviewed literature and relevant standards. Agro-wastes have
shown the potential to develop energy efcient and cost effective
sustainable construction materials along with enhanced thermo-
mechanical behaviour. From the various literatures it is observed
that construction products/composites produced from various
agro-waste materials are comparatively cheaper, have lower ther-
mal conductivity and are durable, lightweight and environmental
877
friendly than the conventional one. The application of agro-wastes
and its by-product as a raw material is of practical signicance for
developing material components as substitutes for traditional con-
struction materials and are environmental friendly.
5. Further work
The reviewed literature broadly signies the application of var-
ious solid agro-wastes for innovative construction materials. The
reviewed physical, chemical and mechanical properties of these
innovative materials signify broad variation in the behaviour. An
international benchmarking can further be done for better applica-
tion of these innovative construction materials. Water absorption
is a serious concern for most of the reviewed products which needs
further investigations. The demonstrative model houses can be de-
signed and developed over the specic study area to evaluate the
environmental performance. The techno-economic feasibility of
the developed product will be carried out for potential commercial
application. A national level database can be prepared based on
production of agro-waste materials along with its potential appli-
cation in construction industry. The generated database will even-
tually be benecial to the manufacturers to develop innovative
construction materials.
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