Accepted Manuscript

Green concrete partially comprised of farming waste residues: A review

Kim Hung Mo, U. Johnson Alengaram, Mohd Zamin Jumaat, Soon Poh Yap, Siew
Cheng Lee

PII: S0959-6526(16)00048-2
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.01.022
Reference: JCLP 6610

To appear in: Journal of Cleaner Production

Received Date: 16 July 2015

Revised Date: 17 December 2015
Accepted Date: 9 January 2016

Please cite this article as: Mo KH, Johnson Alengaram U, Jumaat MZ, Yap SP, Lee SC, Green concrete
partially comprised of farming waste residues: A review, Journal of Cleaner Production (2016), doi:
10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.01.022.

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Green concrete partially comprised of farming waste residues: A
review
Kim Hung Mo1*, U. Johnson Alengaram1, Mohd Zamin Jumaat1, Soon Poh Yap1, Siew Cheng Lee1
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
*Corresponding author. Email: khmo890815@gmail.com

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Keywords: farming waste; agriculture; aquaculture; concrete

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Abstract
The growing demand of construction around the world has led to the increased usage of concrete.

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However, conventional concrete-making materials are not entirely environmental-friendly and this has
enthused research on seeking greener alternative for concrete production. In the past, extensive
research works had been carried out to utilize farming waste materials such as those from palm oil,
coconut, sugarcane as well as the paddy industry and these findings indicate potential of utilizing such

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materials in concrete. The re-use of the farming waste materials in concrete could reduce the
dependency on conventional concrete-making material as well as minimizing the negative impact on
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the environment besides ensuring waste conservation and reduction in waste disposal from these
sectors. In this paper, a review on the utilization of emerging alternative farming waste materials in
concrete such as from the farming of bamboo, corn, wheat, olive, sisal, seashells and more is carried
out with the aim of examining the benefits and shortcomings of using these materials. This review
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shows the possible usage of farming waste materials in different form in concrete, such as partial
cement and aggregate replacement, as well as fibre reinforcement. The main finding from the paper is
that although usage of farming waste materials resulted in lowering of some concrete properties,
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appropriate treatment methods and selection of the waste materials would enable the production of
concrete with improved performance. The summary and discussion provided in this paper should
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provide new information and knowledge on a greater variety of farming waste materials which are
suitable to be used for the production of a greener and sustainable concrete.
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Abbreviations
BMBLF Bamboo leaf ash
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BNNLA Banana leaf ash

CCA Corn cob ash
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DPF Date palm fibre

EGA Elephant grass ash
GGBS Ground granulated blast furnace slag
LOI Loss on ignition
MOE Modulus of elasticity
MS Mussel shell
OS Oyster shell
OWA Olive waste ash
PS Periwinkle shell
PSA Periwinkle shell ash
SCM Supplementary cementitious material
WSA Wheat straw ash

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1. Introduction
Due to the increasing usage of concrete in the construction industry around the world, there is a
growing demand for producing greener concrete. One of the primary reasons for this is attributed to
the negative environmental impact brought upon by the use of concrete-making materials, such as
aggregates and cement. Excessive usage of aggregates causes depletion of these natural resources, and
inconsiderate quarrying and mining activities to extract these materials could lead to environmental
issues, such as damage to landscape and disruption of eco-system, water, soil and air contamination
(Blakendaal et al., 2014). In addition, the process of cement-manufacturing is an energy-extensive
process, and most importantly, results in the emission of greenhouse gases. According to Gao et al.

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(2015), the cement industry alone was estimated to be responsible for about 1.8 Gt of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emission annually and approximately 5 – 7 % of all anthropogenic CO2 generated. Life cycle
analysis have shown that about 0.8 t of CO2 was emitted in the production of 1 t of cement (Flower

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and Sanajayan, 2007).
In an effort to preserve the environment through the development of green concrete,

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researchers have explored the possibility of utilizing industrial by-products and waste materials in
concrete. Industrial by-products such as bottom ash (Zhang and Poon, 2015; Singh and Siddique,
2015), slag (Mo et al., 2015) and fly ash (Zhao et al., 2015) have been consistently used throughout
the world. While the use of industrial by-products in concrete has been well-established, the

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incorporation of waste material for concrete production is still very much in research stage, and in
particular waste material from the agriculture industry. Wastes from the agriculture industry are
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usually either burnt or land-filled (Karade et al., 2010) and these cause environmental issues such as
pollution and contamination. Realizing the potential environmental conservation which could be
achieved, research works have been conducted over the years to re-use farming waste from the
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agriculture industry to produce concrete. For instance, among the most recognized researched
agriculture waste for concrete production include those from the palm oil industry such as waste oil
palm shell (Shafigh et al., 2014) and palm oil fuel ash (Safiuddin et al., 2013), coconut industry such
as waste coconut shell (Mo et al., 2014) and coconut fibres (Pacheco-Torgal and Jalali, 2011) as well
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as the paddy industry through the use of waste rice husk (Aprianti et al., 2015). These agriculture
waste materials were used in the form of aggregate, fibre reinforcement as well as supplementary
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cementitious material (SCM) in concrete manufacturing.

Recently, there is an emerging trend in utilizing alternative farming waste materials for
concrete, such as those from agriculture (bamboo, banana, corn, wheat, sisal, grass etc.) (Pappu et al.,
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2007; Karade, 2010) as well as aquaculture farming, which include oyster, cockle, clam and
periwinkle (Prusty and Patro, 2015). Commonly, researchers have utilized agricultural farming
residues as partial cement replacement material in concrete. This is because plants obtain various
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minerals and silicates from earth during the growth process; inorganic materials, especially silicates
are found to be high in annually grown plants than in long-lived trees (Biricik et al., 1999) and this
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allows the plants residues to be a potential source of cement replacement material with pozzolanic
reactivity. Another common usage of the farming wastes is as fibre reinforcement to strengthen the
resulting concrete composite. The potential utilization of natural fibres is due to: i) lower cost ii)
require lower degree of industrialization iii) environmental-friendly and most importantly, iv) natural
fibres are as strong as synthetic fibres (Pacheco-Torgal and Jalali, 2011). Besides that, in an effort to
preserve the environment, some of these farming waste materials were utilized as partial aggregate
replacement in concrete to reduce the dependency on conventional aggregates such as granite, gravel
and natural mining sand (Al-Akhras and Abu-Alfoul, 2002; Binici et al., 2008; Al-Akhras and
Abdulwahid, 2010). Therefore, in this review, focus will be given on the compilation and analysis of
the findings obtained previously when farming waste residues (from agriculture and aquaculture
farming) were utilized in concrete. Understanding of the common behaviours of such waste materials,

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such as their benefits and drawbacks in concrete, could provide a basis for future development of an
environmental-friendly concrete which incorporates farming waste materials.

2. Agriculture-farming waste
Agriculture farming is one of the major industry globally as most of the harvested agricultural
products are sources of food of people around the world. Countries such as China, India, United States,
Brazil and Nigeria are among the world’s largest producer of agriculture products, which include

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cereal, vegetable, fruits etc (Simpson, 2015). However, after harvesting and consumption of the
agricultural products, there are abundance of waste materials left-over, such as leaf, straw, stalk and
ash. Most of these agriculture wastes are disposed to the surrounding and there is little effort in re-
using these materials. In recent times, researchers have begun to utilize these wastes as partial

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replacement for conventional concrete-making materials and came up with interesting findings. While
the use of agriculture wastes in concrete such as those from palm oil, coconut, sugarcane and paddy
industry were well-documented in the past, this section deals with the review of emerging research

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works on alternative agriculture residues, such as those from bamboo, wheat, olive and other
agricultural sectors.

2.1 Bamboo
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Bamboo is the fastest-growing and highest yielding natural resource and construction material
available to mankind. Over the last two decades, researchers have identified bamboo as a viable
alternative for construction material due to its favourable mechanical properties, high flexibility and
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low costs (van der Lugt et al., 2006). It has been shown that bamboo could be utilized in structural
members such as beam, column and slab (Agarwal et al., 2014). The annual production of bamboos
all over the world is about 20 mil t, mainly in Asia and Latin America (Dwivedi et al., 2006; Frias et
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al., 2012) and this results in huge amount of agricultural wastes from the bamboo sector. These
agriculture wastes are often burned in open landfills and thus causes environmental pollution (Villar-
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Cocina et al., 2011). While the use of bamboo as reinforcement is common, the re-use of the waste
generated such as bamboo leaf ash and fibre in concrete is gaining attention in recent times.
Bamboo leaf ash (BMBLF) is obtained by burning and heating dry bamboo leaves at
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calcining temperature of 600˚C for a period of about 2 h (Dwivedi et al., 2006; Singh et al., 2007;
Villar-Cocina et al., 2011). The resulting BMBLF (Fig. 1) is grey in colour and the major constituent
is SiO2 (about 80% of the total oxide composition), indicating great potential as pozzolanic material.
The oxide composition and the physical properties of the BMBLF are presented in Table 1 and Table
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2, respectively. Pozzolanic reactivity studies revealed that the BMBLF had high reactivity at early
ages (Villar-Cocina et al., 2011) with similar pozzolanic behaviour as silica fume (Frias et al., 2012)
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and the pozzolanic reactivity increased with time and temperature (Dwivedi et al., 2006; Singh et al.,
2007). Besides that, based on the kinetic-diffusive model to determine the pozzolanic reaction kinetics,
it was reported that the reactivity of BMBLF was one order magnitude greater than rice husk ash and
two orders greater than sugar cane bagasse ash (Frias et al., 2012). In the rheological study carried out
by Frias et al. (2012), when the BMBLF was used as cement replacement by 10% and 20%, the water
demand was increased by up to 46% while slight delay in the setting time of cement paste was also
noticed in the presence of 20% BMBLF replacement level. The increase in water demand for
BMBLF-blended concrete was also reported by Umoh and Odesola (2015) to achieve similar
consistency as the control concrete. In terms of the compressive strength development of concrete
containing 10% and 20% BMBLF, Frias et al. (2012) reported slight decrease in the compressive
strength at the age of 7 d compared to the reference concrete and due to the pozzolanic reaction, the
increase in the hydration time resulted in similar compressive strength of both types of concrete. On

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the other hand, Umoh and Odesola (2015) observed higher compressive strengths of BMBLF-blended
concrete at the age of 28 d at replacement levels of 5% and 10%. Also, it was reported that the 28-d
water absorption and porosity of the concrete containing BMBLF were higher than the control
concrete.

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Fig. 1: Appearance of bamboo leaf ash used by Villar-Cocina et al. (2011) as SCM.
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Apart from the leaf ash waste, another waste from the bamboo sector which was utilized in
concrete is the bamboo fibres. Properties of the bamboo fibres are summarized in Table 3. Xie et al.
(2015) reported that the use of bamboo fibres contributed to increased water demand of cement paste
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due to the water absorption of the fibre nodules. Researchers agreed that the water absorption and
apparent void were increased at higher bamboo fibre content in cement-bamboo fibre composite
(Correia et al., 2014; Xie et al., 2015) and this was attributed to the hydrophilic of the bamboo fibres
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which promoted the formation of interconnected capillary pores. Apart from that, the void volume and
water absorption values were increased due to the less efficient packing as the fibre volume was
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increased (Correia et al., 2014). However, at later ages, these properties were found to reduce due to
the filling of voids with hydration products and carbonation (Correia et al., 2014; Xie et al., 2015).
Because of the higher voids present at earlier ages and difficulty in fibre distribution, the mechanical
performance such as flexural strength and modulus of elasticity (MOE) were decreased. Nevertheless,
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the toughness of the cement-bamboo fibre composite was found to be significantly increased with
increased bamboo fibres, which was characterized by the strain hardening behaviour after the
occurrence of initial cracking in flexural test specimens (Correia et al., 2014). The improved
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toughness due to the addition of bamboo fibres was attributed to the fibre bridging effect (Xie et al.,
2015). Xie et al. (2015) also observed that excessive addition of fibres would result in fibre balling
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which could significantly reduce the positive effects of toughness improvement. However, it is
interesting to note that at later ages, the toughness of cement-bamboo fibre composite was reduced as
the composite became stiffer and more brittle due to the deposition of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2)
crystals on the fibre surface (Xie et al., 2015). In addition, the impact strength of bamboo-fibre
reinforced concrete was improved by up to 20% while the integrity of the specimen was maintained
compared to the total shattering of plain concrete specimen (Ramaswamy et al., 1983).

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Table 1: Selected oxide composition of agricultural farming waste ashes used

Selected oxide composition (%)

Reference Type of SCM
SiO2 CaO Al2O3 Fe2O3 Na2O MgO K2O LOI

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Dwivedi et al. (2006) Bamboo leaf ash 72.3-80.4 4.2-7.8 1.0-4.1 0.5-2.0 0.1-0.2 1.0-1.9 1.3-5.6 2.9-8.0
Singh et al. (2007)
Villar-Cocina et al. (2011)

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Frias et al. (2012)
Umoh and Odesola (2015)

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Biricik et al. (1999) Wheat straw ash 4.9-87.9 9.4-24.4 0.1-4.6 0.1-1.3 0.1-5.4 0.6-4.6 0.7-24.7 1.1-29.0
Biricik et al. (2000)
Al-Akhras and Abu-Alfoul (2002)

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Binici et al. (2008)

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Al-Akhras (2011)
Al-Akhras (2013)

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Cobreros et al. (2015) Barley straw ash 21.2 10.0 2.8 3.5 4.1 - 38.0 -

Binici et al. (2008) Corn cob ash 37.0-66.4 11.6-13.0 2.4-7.5 1.2-4.4 0.3-0.4 2.1-7.4 4.9-15.0 22.5

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Adesanya and Raheem (2009a)
Adesanya and Raheem (2009b)

Al-Akhras et al. (2009)

Al-Akhras and Abdulwahid (2010)
Olive waste ash
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11.8-25.8 42.4-54.8 2.6-8.5 1.4-5.7 0.2-0.5 3.2-4.4 0.3-9.3 9.5-11.7
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Cuenca et al. (2013)
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Kanning et al. (2014) Banana leaf ash 48.7 - 2.6 1.4 0.2 - - 5.1
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Cordeiro and Sales (2015) Elephant grass ash 56.2-67.8 0-2.6 22.1-23.1 4.0-6.1 - - 2.0-7.4 2.6-4.4

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Table 2: Physical properties of agricultural farming waste ashes used

Physical properties
BET specific Blaine’s specific Pozzolanic Chapelle
Reference Type of SCM Specific

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surface area surface area activity pozzolanic
gravity
(m2/g) (cm2/g) index (%) activity (mg/g)
Umoh and Odesola (2015) Bamboo leaf ash 2.64 - - - -

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Al-Akhras and Abu-Alfoul (2002) Wheat straw ash 1.97-2.89 8.3-168 4300-5520 - -
Binici et al. (2008)

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Al-Akhras (2011)
Ataie and Riding (2013)
Al-Akhras (2013)

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Binici et al. (2008) Corn cob ash 2.97 - - - -

Al-Akhras et al. (2009) Olive waste ash 2.13 - 4100-4200 - -

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Al-Akhras and Abdulwahid (2010)

Kanning et al. (2014) Banana leaf ash 2.44 - 14,000 - 422

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Cordeiro and Sales (2015) Elephant grass ash 2.52-2.63 42.1-72.6 - 95-108 883-998

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2.2 Wheat
Wheat is grown to produce cereal as source of food around the world and wheat plant is commonly
grown on volcanic areas, hill slopes and bare lands at various climates. It is estimated that out of the
world’s annual cereal production of 880 mil t, 550 mil t is wheat straw (Biricik et al., 1999). Wheat
straw waste is one of the major by-product from cereal production and farmers commonly burn it in
open area, resulting in environmental pollution (Binici and Aksogan, 2011). However, when the
wheat straw waste is properly incinerated and ground, a pozzolanic material termed as wheat straw
ash (WSA) could be produced and this material could be utilized as SCM in concrete.

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Generally, the resultant WSA has high amount of silica as well as higher fineness compared
to cement and therefore the WSA is a potential source of SCM for concrete (Al-Akhras and Abu-
Alfoul, 2002). The general chemical and physical properties of WSA are listed in Table 1 and Table 2,

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respectively. However, depending on the incineration procedure, the obtained WSA could have
varying chemical properties. Biricik et al. (1999) observed that the suitable burning temperature for
WSA was between 570 to 670˚C for a period of 5 h whereby the grey and white colour of the ash

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indicated complete burning of the ash. This range of burning temperature for WSA was also agreed
upon by other researchers (Biricik et al., 2000; Binici et al., 2008; Ataie and Riding, 2013). On the
other hand, Al-Akhras (2013) subjected the WSA to burning at temperature of 900˚C for a period of 6
h and obtained a black-coloured WSA. Ataie and Riding (2013) reported that thermochemical pre-

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treatment on the WSA increased the amorphous silica content and surface area while at the same time
decreased the loss on ignition (LOI) of the ash. Furthermore, pre-treated WSA was found to accelerate
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cement hydration in contrast to non-pre-treated WSA which retarded the cement hydration. This
resulted in a 32% increase in the 28-d compressive strength compared to the corresponding concrete
mortar with non-pre-treated WSA (Ataie and Riding, 2013).
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The potential of WSA as SCM in concrete was reflected in the increased compressive
strength of mortar by about 25% when WSA was utilized at a cement replacement level of 20% (Ataie
and Riding, 2013). On the other hand, Biricik et al. (2000) found that when 8% WSA was used, the
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compressive strength only reached the compressive strength of control concrete without WSA after
180 d and this was attributed to the slow pozzolanic reaction which took place. Conversely, the 28-d
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flexural strength of concrete was found to be improved in the presence of up to 16% WSA (Biricik et
al., 2000). Due to the importance of concrete durability, researchers also focused on the investigation
of the durability properties of concrete incorporating WSA as partial cement replacement. Biricik et al.
(2000) found beneficial effects of WSA replacement up to 24% on the compressive strength of
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concrete when exposed to sodium sulphate solution whereas the WSA replacement level of up to 8%
gave improved performance of concrete exposed to magnesium sulphate solution. Al-Akhras (2011)
reported better freeze-thaw resistance of WSA-blended concrete compared to the control concrete and
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the increased WSA replacement level from 5% to 15% enhanced the freeze-thaw resistance of
concrete. In addition, similarly, the resistance of WSA-blended concrete towards alkali-silica reaction
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deterioration was higher compared to the corresponding control concrete without WSA (Al-Akhras,
2013) and increased WSA content to 15% resulted in greater resistance towards alkali-silica reaction.
The beneficial effect of WSA towards alkali-silica deterioration was found to be more pronounced in
concrete mixture with lower water-to-binder (w/b) ratio (Al-Akhras, 2013). The improved durability
of concrete containing WSA towards freeze-thaw and alkali-silica reaction was attributed to the
pozzolanic reaction and filler effect of WSA which refined the capillary pores within the cement
matrix.
Researchers also explored the possibility of utilizing WSA as partial replacement for fine
aggregate in concrete. When the WSA was used as partial replacement by up to 10.9%, the
workability of the fresh concrete was reduced due to the higher fineness of WSA which increased the
water demand to wet the surface of the WSA particles (Al-Akhras and Abu-Alfoul, 2002). Besides

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that, the setting time of fresh concrete was increased by up to 92% in the presence of WSA at 10.9%
fine aggregate replacement level (Al-Akhras and Abu-Alfoul, 2002). In terms of strength properties,
when mixed with limestone fine aggregate, the use of up to 10.9% WSA enhanced the compressive,
tensile and flexural strengths of autoclaved concrete by up to 87%, 67% and 71%, respectively (Al-
Akhras and Abu-Alfoul, 2002). Similarly, as reported by Binici et al. (2008), the compressive strength
of WSA concrete (up to 6% fine aggregate replacement) was higher than the control concrete after 28
d, even though the 7-d compressive strength was similar. Based on the durability properties of WSA
concrete investigated, Binici et al. (2008) concluded that the inclusion of WSA as partial fine
aggregate replacement of up to 6% resulted in excellent durability of the concrete. It was found that

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the sulphate resistance, resistance towards water penetration and abrasion resistance were enhanced as
the WSA was added in concrete due to the denser pore structure of the concrete as the WSA filled the
pores in the concrete system (Binici et al., 2008). When concrete was subjected to thermal cycling,
the reduction in compressive strength was lower for the WSA concrete compared to control concrete,

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and this indicated better response towards thermal cycling especially when the WSA fine aggregate
replacement level was increased to 15% (Al-Akhras et al., 2008). The cracks caused by thermal
cycling occurred in the concrete much later in the presence of WSA and the higher electrical

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resistivity of the WSA-blended concrete explained the increased resistance of the concrete towards
elevated temperature (Al-Akhras et al., 2008).
Merta and Tschegg (2013) examined the utilization of wheat straw as fibre reinforcement in

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concrete and the performance of the wheat straw fibre was compared to those of hemp fibre. The
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tensile strength of the wheat straw fibre was about 40 MPa (Table 4), as compared to 600-700 MPa
for hemp fibres. Compared to the hemp fibre reinforced concrete, the wheat straw fibre showed
minimal improvement in the fracture energy with about 2% increase was found. This was attributed to
the rough surface of the wheat straw fibre which promoted good bond exist between the fibre and
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cement matrix and in combination with the low tensile strength of the fibre, the failure of the concrete
was characterized by rupture of the fibre rather than pulling-out of fibre (Merta and Tschegg, 2013).
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2.3 Barley
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Similar to wheat, barley is also one of the major cereal products after corn, rice and wheat. Currently,
barley straws are excessively produced compared to their use (Belhadj et al., 2014). Similar to WSA,
barley straw ash (BSA) could also be produced from waste barley straw and the resulting BSA is
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another potential pozzolanic material for concrete. However, there is limited research carried out on
the utilization of BSA as SCM. Generally, BSA has high contents of silica and potassium (Table 1);
however, BSA has slightly lower silica content at 21% compared to WSA (Cobreros et al., 2015).
Due to the presence of potassium chloride (KCl), the pozzolanic activity of BSA could be lower
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compared to conventional pozzolans such as fly ash and this resulted in little difference between its 7-
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d and 28-d compressive strength (Cobreros et al., 2015).

Barley straw fibre (Fig. 2) with tensile strength of about 115 MPa and MOE of about 10 GPa
(Table 4) was used by Belhadj et al. (2014) to substitute wood shavings in lightweight sand concrete.
The findings revealed that the inclusion of barley straw fibre in sand concrete resulted in improved
thermal diffusivity by up to 35% and enhanced toughness as well as compressive strength of the
concrete.

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Table 3: Chemical and morphological characteristics of natural fibres used

Chemical and morphological characteristics

Reference Fibre Lignin Extractives Cellulose Hemicellulose Length Aspect

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Width (mm)
(%) (%) (%) (%) (mm) ratio
Correia et al. (2014) Bamboo 14.4 1.5 76.0 8.8 0.8-2.5 0.020 40.4-190
Xie et al. (2015)

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Jarabo et al. (2013) Corn stalk - - - - 0.7-0.9 0.023-0.029 -

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Merta and Tschegg (2013) Wheat straw - - - - 40 - -

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Belhadj et al. (2014) Barley straw 15.8 - 37.6 34.9 35 - -

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Kriker et al. (2005) Date palm - - - - 2.5-60 - -
Kriker et al. (2008)

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Savastano Jr and Agopyan (1999) Sisal 3.8-20.5 - 33.2-88.0 10.0-26.0 20-25 - -
Filho et al. (2003)

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Ramakrishna and Sundararajan (2005)
Silva et al. (2010)

Merta and Tschegg (2013) Elephant grass

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Table 4: Properties of natural fibres used

Physical properties
Water Water Tensile
Reference Fibre Bulk density Moisture MOE

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absorption after absorption to strength
(kg/m3) content (%) (GPa)
5 min (%) saturation (%) (MPa)
Merta and Tschegg (2013) Wheat straw - - - - 40 -

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Belhadj et al. (2014) Barley straw - - - - 115 9.92

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Kriker et al. (2005) Date palm 900 10.0 74.0 132.5-241.0 170-300 3.25-5.25
Kriker et al. (2008)

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Savastano Jr and Agopyan (1999) Sisal 900 10.4-13.3 82.0-89.3 110.0-240.0 137-577 15.2-34.0

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Filho et al. (2003)
Filho et al. (2005)
Agopyan et al. (2005)

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Silva et al. (2011)
Wei and Meyer (2014)

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Merta and Tschegg (2013) Elephant grass - - - - 40-60 -

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Fig. 2: Appearance of barley straw fibre used in the investigation by Belhadj et al. (2014).

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2.4 Corn
Corn is the most produced cereal worldwide, surpassing wheat and rice (Jarabo et al., 2013). Corn cob

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is an agricultural waste product from waize or corn and is known to contain considerable amount of
silica (Binici and Aksogan, 2011). Once the corn cob waste is burned, it produces corn cob ash (CCA)
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which is pozzolanic in character. Temperature of lower than 700˚C is required in order to obtain
reactive amorphous silica of the CCA (Binici et al., 2008). According to some studies, the amount of
silica contained in CCA was about 37 – 66% (Binici et al., 2008; Adesanya and Raheem, 2009a)
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(Table 1). When up to 25% CCA was blended with cement, Adesanya and Raheem (2009b) found
that the LOI of the blended cement increased due to the increase in organic content, which had
negative effect on the binding properties of cement. Apart from that, while the consistency of the
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blended cement was decreased, the soundness and setting times of the blended cement were increased.
The increased setting time was attributed to the CCA which reduced the surface area of cement and
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hence delayed the hydration process (Adesanya and Raheem, 2009b). Similarly, the workability
(slump and compacting factor) was reduced when the CCA content was increased and this was due to
the increased water demand in the fresh concrete. In terms of the compressive strength development,
generally the concrete blended with CCA behaved similarly with conventional SCM, whereby the
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early strength was low but exhibited increased strength gain at later ages due to the pozzolanic
reaction of the CCA (Adesanya and Raheem, 2009a).
Besides using corn cob as cement replacing material, researchers have explored the possibility
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of using corn cob as aggregate. In the study by Binici et al. (2008), CCA was utilized as fine
aggregate replacement by up to 6% and similar to the use of WSA as fine aggregate replacement, the
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compressive strength of concrete containing CCA was improved by up to 40% at the age of 365 d. In
fact, the performance of CCA as partial fine aggregate replacement was found to be better than that of
WSA. Similarly, Binici et al. (2008) observed better durability performance of CCA concrete than
control and WSA concrete in terms of sulphate resistance, abrasion resistance and water penetration
resistance. The improvement of the durability properties of CCA concrete was attributed to the denser
pore structure and more homogeneous form of the resulting concrete (Binici et al., 2008). Pinto et al.
(2012) utilized granulated corn cob (Fig. 3) as aggregate to produce lightweight concrete and
compared the performance with lightweight concrete made from expanded clay aggregate. It was
found that although the compressive strength of corn cob concrete (120 kN/m2) was lower than that
for expanded clay concrete (1360 kN/m2), the density and thermal performance were in accordance
and therefore it was suggested that corn cob lightweight concrete could be utilized for non-structural
applications.

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Fig. 3: Appearance of granulated corn cob (right) from corn cob waste (left) used by Pinto et al.
(2012).

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Jarabo et al. (2013) explored the possibility of utilizing waste corn stalk to produce fibres as

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reinforcement for cement composite. In the pioneering study, two methods of preparing the fibres
were investigated, namely sodium hydroxide (NaOH)-anthraquinone and organosolv process. It was
found that the NaOH-anthraquinone process by cooking the corn stalk in 10% NaOH at temperature

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of 140˚C for 30 min gave optimal performance to cement composite, even though it was noted that
the flexural strength of the cement composite reinforced with corn stalk fibres was lower compared to
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that reinforced with common cellulose fibres made from refined pine pulp.

2.5 Olive
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Olive crops produce significant amount of residual biomass. Approximately 3 t of pruning residues
were generated each year from one hectare of olive trees, most of which are disposed inconsiderately
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(Cuenca et al., 2013). Solid and liquid olive mill wastes are dark-coloured wastes and contains high
amount of organic materials which composed of many complex substances that do not easily degrade,
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and hence cause environmental problems (Al-Akhras and Abdulwahid, 2010). In order to treat these
wastes, the olive mill wastes (olive pulp, husk and residual oil) were incinerated at high temperature
and ground to obtain olive waste ash (OWA), which has pozzolanic properties. Commonly, olive mill
wastes contain 12% OWA (Al-Akhras et al., 2009). The silica content of OWA is generally about 11
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– 25% (Cuenca et al., 2013; Al-Akhras et al., 2009) which has potential to be used as SCM in
concrete. The chemical and physical properties of OWA are presented in Table 1 and Table 2,
respectively.
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In the past, several research works dealt with the utilization of the OWA as partial cement
replacement in concrete. While Eisa (2014) found that the replacing cement with 30% OWA resulted
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in improved workability by 2-folds, Al-Akhras and Abdulwahid (201) found that the workability of
fresh concrete was reduced when OWA was used as cement replacement and attributed this to the
larger surface area and fineness of OWA compared to ordinary cement. Cuenca et al. (2013) also
observed reduced workability when OWA was used as filler in self-compacting concrete due to the
increased water demand as a result of the irregular particle shape (Fig. 4), higher porosity and LOI of
the OWA. On the other hand, it was reported that the setting time of the fresh concrete was decreased
in the presence of OWA due to the significant amount of alumina in the OWA which accelerated the
hydration process (Al-Akhras and Abdulwahid, 2010).

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Fig. 4: SEM image showing irregular particle shape of OWA by Al-Akhras et al. (2009).

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Generally, the strength properties of concrete was reduced when OWA was incorporated as
partial cement replacement and this was reported in several research work (Al-Akhras and
Abdulwahid, 2010; Eisa, 2014). This was attributed to the increase capillary pores in the mortar

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containing OWA. However, at elevated temperatures of up to 600˚C, the residual compressive
strength of concrete with up to 22% OWA was improved compared to the concrete without OWA.
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This was supplemented by the lower electrical charge passed through the OWA-blended concrete
which indicated less cracks and damage when the concrete was subjected to elevated temperature (Al-
Akhras et al., 2009). The authors attributed the improved performance of concrete blended with OWA
under elevated temperature to the pozzolanic reaction and filler action of the OWA. However, the
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presence of greater number of pores in the OWA concrete could also contribute to improved fire
resistance performance due to the lower vapour pressure built up in the concrete. When OWA was
used as filler instead of conventional filler in self-compacting concrete, it was found that the
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compressive strength obtained for the former was marginally higher (Cuenca et al., 2013).
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When OWA was used as partial fine aggregate replacement, Al-Akhras and Abdulwahid
(2010) reported that the compressive and flexural strength of concrete mortar was improved as the
OWA was incorporated. The compressive and flexural strengths were improved by up to 21% and 40%
respectively when the OWA was used as partial fine aggregate replacement of up to 15% and this was
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due to the filler action of the OWA. Barreca and Fichera (2013) trialled with the use of olive stone
(Fig. 5) as aggregate in cement lime mortar and found reduced density which would make the use of
olive stone attractive to produce lightweight insulating materials. However, due to the higher water
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absorption, it was recommended that the material to be coated with suitable water proofing, which
would limit the water absorption and hence thermal conductivity (Barreca and Fichera, 2013).
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Fig. 5: Appearance of olive stone used by Barreca and Fichera (2013).

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2.6 Banana
In 2012, approximately 10 mil t of banana leaf ash (BNNLA) and residues were produced from
banana plant. BNNLA was obtained after burning at temperature of 900˚C for 24 h in air based on the
grayscale or near-white tone of the BNNLA to maintain higher percentage of amorphous reactive
phases (Kanning et al., 2014). The percentage of BNNLA obtained (about 10.6%) from the burning of
the dried material was similar to that of gray leaf of wheat and leaf stalk of sunflower (Kanning et al.,
2011). According to Kanning et al. (2014), the BNNLA consisted mainly of silica, which was about
49% and the LOI was about 5%. The Blaine’s specific surface area and specific gravity of the
BNNLA was about 14,000 cm2/g and 2.44, respectively. The oxide composition and physical

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properties of the BNNLA are compared with other types of agro-waste ashes and presented in Table 1
and Table 2, respectively. Based on the findings by Kanning et al. (2011), the BNNLA had
pozzolanic activity but the pozzolanic reactivity was not significantly affected by the grinding time

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and therefore it was established that the optimum grinding time to be 30 min.
Due to the higher fineness of the BNNLA compared to cement, Kanning et al. (2014)

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observed that the BNNLA had filler effect which contributed to the lower amount of entrained air in
mortar specimens with up to 10% BNNLA cement replacement level. Similarly, the compressive and
tensile strength of concrete specimens containing up to 20% BNNLA were approximately 12% and 20%
higher respectively than the corresponding control concrete. In addition, the incorporation of BNNLA

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reduced the tendency of concrete specimens towards corrosion (Kanning et al., 2014).
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2.7 Sisal
In tropical countries, natural fibres are available in abundance as waste material. For instance, for 1 t
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of commercially used sisal fibres, 3 t of residual fibres have been dumped which could cause
environmental hazard (Agopyan et al., 2005). A sisal plant (Fig. 6) produces about 200 – 250 leaves
before flowering, and each leaf contains 700 – 1400 fibre bundles. Approximately 4.5 mil t of sisal
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fibre are produced annually around the world. Since there are huge amount of sisal fibre, the fibre has
advantage in terms of sustainability as the fibre is renewable and is also considerably less costly
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compared to synthetic fibre (Wei and Meyer, 2014). Typically, sisal fibres have tensile strength of
about 400 – 575 MPa and MOE of 15 – 19 GPa (Filho et al., 2005; Agopyan et al., 2005; Silva et al.,
2011). The properties of sisal fibre are compared with other types of agro fibres in Table 3 and Table
4.
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Fig. 6: Example of the appearance of a sisal plant (Li et al., 2000).

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Similar to conventional fibre reinforced concretes, the inclusion of sisal fibres was also found
to give higher flexural strength as well as imparting toughness and ductility to concrete. When sisal
fibres were used at 10% volume fraction in cement composite, the composite exhibited strain
hardening behaviour and multiple crack formation under tensile loading (Silva et al., 2010; Silva et al.,
2011). Due to the ductility and toughness imparted in concrete due to the addition of the sisal fibres,
the performance of the concrete when subjected to impact force was also improved, such as impact
energy, crack resistance and failure pattern (Ramakrishna and Sundararajan, 2005a). According to the
findings by Ramakrishna and Sundararajan (2005a), the impact energy and ultimate crack resistance

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of the concrete with sisal fibres could be improved by up to 6 and 5 times, respectively compared to
the concrete without fibres.

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Besides the improvement in the ductility of mortar through the use of the sisal fibre, it was
also found that the sisal fibre was beneficial in reducing the plastic and restrained shrinkage, in
particular at increased volume fractions. The beneficial effect of fibres on the restrained shrinkage

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behaviour of the mortar was attributed to the fibre bridging effect which reduced the cracking
tendency and the higher MOE of the fibres compared to the mortar matrix (Filho et al., 2005). In
addition, the sisal fibre acted as porous bridging elements across the crack surfaces which increased
the flow path and permitted the deposition of new hydration products, thus leading to closure of

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cracks. However, the addition of sisal fibre was found to increase the drying shrinkage of mortar
(Filho et al., 2005; Silva et al., 2010) as the matrix porosity was increased. Savastano Jr and Agopyan
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(1999) opined that because of the high water absorption rate of the sisal fibres, there was a wall effect
which attracted the flow of water in the direction of water, inducing an increase in the local water-to-
cement (w/c) ratio and hence causing high porosity in the transition zone. Also, due to the porous
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nature of the sisal fibre, more moisture paths into the cement matrix were created which led to
increase in the drying shrinkage (Silva et al., 2010). Compared to coconut fibres, the drying
shrinkage of sisal fibre mortar was higher due to the smoother surface and higher water absorption
(Filho et al., 2005).
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Despite the beneficial effects of utilizing sisal fibres, one of the major limitation with the use
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of this fibre is the durability in cement-based concrete. It was reported that untreated sisal fibres,
when bonded in cement matrix, would gradually degrade and become increasingly brittle over time
due to alkaline attack and fibre mineralisation as explained by Filho et al. (2003). Consequently, this
would result in durability issues of the resulting cement composite. For example, in the investigation
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carried out by Ramakrishna and Sundararajan (2005b), using corroded sisal fibres which were
exposed to various mediums, there were clear reductions in the compressive and tensile strengths of
the resulting cement composite. Recognizing this, researchers have attempted to improve the
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durability of such fibre through two methods: i) by pre-treating the fibres with coating and ii)
reducing the alkalinity of cement mortar through the use of SCM (Agopyan et al., 2005; Claramunt et
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al., 2011).
Wei and Meyer (2014) explored thermal treatment and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) treatment
methods on the sisal fibres and found improved durability of the resulting sisal fibre reinforced
concretes. For the thermal treatment, the improved durability was due to the improved crystallinity of
the treated sisal fibres, which ensured higher mechanical strength of the sisal fibres. When sisal fibres
were soaked in Na2CO3, the calcium carbonate sediments filled in the pits and cavities of the surface
of the sisal fibres and hence protected the internal of the fibre from alkaline attack from the cement
hydration process, contributing to the enhanced durability of the concrete (Wei and Meyer, 2014). In
another investigation on treatment of sisal fibres, Filho et al. (2003) noted that the fibre composite
containing pre-treated sisal fibre with silica fume slurry behaved similarly as the control fibre
composite containing untreated sisal fibre.

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While the durability of the sisal fibre mortar could be improved through the addition of silica
fume, the use of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as partial cement replacement could not
reduce the brittleness of the composite (Filho et al., 2003). Also, at later ages, the drying shrinkage of
sisal fibre mortar was lower when silica fume was used as partial cement replacement while use of
GGBS led to 9% higher in the drying shrinkage value (Filho et al., 2005). Silva et al. (2010) found
significant improvement in the flexural strength (about 4 times) and toughness (about 40 times) of
sisal fibre composite subjected to hot-water immersion when the combination of metakaolin and
calcined waste crushed clay brick was used as partial cement replacement. The beneficial effect of
cement replacement material to improve the durability of sisal fibre composite was mainly due to the

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reduction in fibre mineralization as the alkalinity in the cement matrix was reduced, as indicated by
Silva et al. (2010).

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2.8 Date palm
Date palm is one of the most cultivated palms around the world, particularly in the North Africa and

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Middle East region. Date palm have a fibrous structure with four types of fibres, namely leaf fibre in
the peduncle, baste fibre in the stem, wood fibre in the trunk and surface fibre around the trunk
(Kriker et al., 2005). After annual trimming of date palm trees, large amount of palm fibre wastes

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were disposed, and this has enthused researchers into utilizing these date palm fibres (DPF) (Fig. 7) as
fibre reinforcement in concrete. In the investigation by Kriker et al. (2005), male date palm surface
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fibre was found to have the highest tensile strength among the different species of DPF, in the range
of 170 – 300 MPa (Table 4). Kriker et al. (2008) reported that the DPF had poor resistance towards
alkaline solution attack, particularly when the fibres were immersed in Ca(OH)2 solution compared to
NaOH solution whereby the fibres became increasingly brittle. This was attributed to the alkaline
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attack mechanism of the Ca(OH)2 which was by diffusion, as compared to local attack in NaOH
solution.
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Fig. 7: DPF which were used in different sizes by Benmansour et al. (2014).

When DPF was used as fibre reinforcement in concrete, the compressive strength was found
to decrease with the increase in the fibre content since the fibres introduced more pores in the concrete
whereas lower fibre content and shorter fibre length ensured more uniform distribution of the fibres in
the concrete, minimizing the flaws in the concrete. The plain concrete had 28-d compressive strength
of about 30 MPa while addition of up to 3% DPF could result in the reduction of the compressive
strength to about 17 MPa (Kriker et al., 2005). When DPF reinforced concrete was air-cured, the

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compressive strength was lower compared to water-curing due to the evaporation of water and
development of drying cracks at later ages (Kriker et al., 2005). In terms of the flexural properties of
DPF reinforced concrete, it was reported that there was decrease in the first crack strength of the fibre
reinforced concrete compared to the control concrete, although the ductility behaviour was improved.
However, further increase in the fibre percentage of more than 2% would detrimentally affect the first
crack strength and ductility of the resulting fibre reinforced concrete (Kriker et al., 2005).
Furthermore, in the same research, it was found that dry-hot environment had negative effect on the
flexural performance of the DPF reinforced concrete, and this was attributed to the rapid evaporation
of water which induced development of voids and micro-cracks (Kriker et al., 2005).

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Due to the nature of the DPF with low MOE whereby the fibre had little role of resistance but
rather role in thermal protection, Benmansour et al. (2014) investigated the usage of DPF for thermal
insulating purpose in concrete. As the DPF had porous structure (Fig. 8), the water absorption of the

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fibre was high, which was similar to sisal fibre. Because of this, the incorporation of DPF reduced the
density of concrete mortar, as well as decreased its thermal conductivity. Although the increase in
DPF content reduced the mechanical strength of the mortar, the thermal conductivity could be reduced

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for better thermal insulating capacity (Benmansour et al., 2014), which would improve the energy
efficiency in buildings.

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Fig. 8: SEM image showing porous nature of DPF in the investigation carried out by Kriker et al.
(2008).
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2.9 Elephant grass

Elephant grass is one of the major source of biomass in Brazil and during the process of burning of
the elephant grass to produce renewable energy source, large quantities of ash have been generated.
This ash is termed as elephant grass ash (EGA) and similar to other research works on agriculture
waste ashes, different methods of pre-treatment of the EGA prior to burning was investigated to
produce suitable pozzolan (Cordeiro and Sales, 2015). Three types of pre-treatment methods were
adopted, namely i) oven-drying (at 110˚C for 2 h); ii) oven-drying, followed by washing with hot de-
ionized water at 100˚C for 2 h, filtration and further drying at 110˚C for 12 h; iii) oven-drying,
followed by leaching for 2 h in hydrochloric acid solution at 90˚C, filtration during four washings
with de-ionized water and further drying at 110˚C for 12 h. It was found that when the EGA was
subjected to hydrochloric acid leaching procedure, the specific surface area of the EGA as well as the

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silica content were increased. The chemical and physical properties of EGA are presented in Table 1
and Table 2, respectively. Pozzolanicity test indicated that pre-treated EGA had good pozzolanic
reactivity and was similar to that of sugar cane bagasse ash. Cordeiro and Sales (2015) examined the
possibility of utilizing 20% non-pre-treated EGA as cement replacement and found that the concrete
exhibited similar concrete compressive strength, MOE and water absorption as the concrete without
any EGA.
The possibility of utilizing the outer core of the elephant grass stem as fibre reinforcement for
concrete was examined by Merta and Tschegg (2013). The elephant grass fibre had tensile strength of
about 40 – 60 MPa (Table 4), which was in the similar range as wheat straw fibre. It was observed

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that due to the low surface roughness of the fibre, the elephant grass fibre failed by pulling-out with
almost no transfer of stress, resulting in only a minimal 5% increase in the fracture energy of the
fibre-reinforced concrete compared to the unreinforced concrete (Merta and Tschegg, 2013).

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3. Aquaculture-farming waste

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The farming of molluscs is a part of the aquaculture industry. Molluscs such as oyster, cockle,
periwinkle and mussel are usually farmed to provide source of supply of food and the post-consumer
shell residues are usually disposed to surrounding areas. In the past, a variety of seashells (Richardson

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and Fuller, 2013) such as oyster, mussel, clam (Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012), cockle (Othman et al.,
2013) and periwinkle (Falade, 1995) were utilized as partial replacement materials in concrete in view
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to reduce these waste materials. This review, however, only covers the previous investigation
regarding the use of waste oyster, periwinkle and mussel shells due to the greater availability of
findings such that conclusions could be drawn.
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3.1 Oyster
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Oyster farming in South Korea and Taiwan is the major income of the local fisherman to meet the
domestic demand for oyster (Yang et al., 2010; Kuo et al., 2013). However, there are large quantity of
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oyster shell left-over after the consumption of oyster; for about 1 kg of oysters consumed, there are
about 370 – 700 g of waste shells residues (de Alvarenga et al., 2012). Globally, the waste oyster shell
(OS) could amount to about 200,000 t a year (Wang et al., 2013). Most of these shells are discarded
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and if left untreated for long period of time, would result in sewage, foul odours and breeding of
mosquitoes and flies, which would negatively impact the local health and living environment (Li et al.,
2015). On the other hand, according to the life cycle assessment carried out by de Alvarenga et al.
(2012), the recycle usage of waste OS could bring upon environmental benefits by making them in
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powdered form. The main benefit of recycling OS waste (Scenario B in Fig. 9) is primarily due to the
elimination of the disposal of the shell residues in landfill and this caused huge reduction in the eco-
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indicator point (Pt), in which 1 Pt represent one thousandth of the yearly environmental load of one
average European inhabitant. In cement-based concrete, researchers have carried out investigation to
use waste OS as partial cement, fine and coarse aggregate replacements (Fig. 10). The physical and
chemical properties of waste OS aggregate and powder are shown in Table 5 – 7. OS is primarily
composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and small quantity of mineral and organic materials.

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Fig. 9: Life cycle assessment by de Alvarenga et al. (2012).

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Fig. 10: Appearance of crushed OS used as coarse aggregate (left) and fine aggregate (right) used in
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the experimental investigation by Eo and Yi (2015).

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Table 5: Oxide composition of seashells (Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012)

Oxide composition (%) Oyster shell ash Mussel shell ash

SiO2 1.01 0.73
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Al2O3 0.14 0.13

Fe2O3 0.07 0.05
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CaO 53.59 53.38

MgO 0.46 0.03
K 2O 0.02 0.02
Na2O 0.23 0.44
SO3 0.75 0.34
Cl 0.01 0.02
SO4 0.43 0.11
CaCO3 96.8 95.6
LOI 42.83 42.22

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Table 6: Physical properties of seashell ash

Oyster shell ash Mussel shell ash Periwinkle shell ash

Physical properties
(Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012) (Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012) (Umoh and Olusola,2013)
Specific gravity 2.65 2.86 2.13
Moisture content (%) 0.36 0.47 1.50
Blaine’s specific
14,280 6186 -
surface area (cm2/g)

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Table 7: Physical properties of seashell aggregate

Oyster shell (fine)

Periwinkle shell (coarse)
(Yoon et al., 2004; Oyster shell (coarse)
Physical properties (Falade, 1995; Adewuyi

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Yang et al., 2005; (Eo and Yi, 2015)
and Adegoke, 2008)
Yang et al., 2010)
Specific gravity 2.10-2.48 1.85 1.44-2.05

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Fineness modulus 2.00-2.80 4.8-6.5 -
Absorption rate (%) 2.90-7.66 9.2 12.99
Moisture content (%) - - 8.32
Bulk density (kg/m3) 1051 - 517-1243

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Uniformity coefficient 4.67 - >4.0
Size (mm) 0.074-4.75 10-25 10-20
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Yang et al. (2005) noted that when OS is mixed with cement paste, no significant reaction
took place and therefore the OS had only filler effect. As agreed by researchers, the workability
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decreased as the OS was used as partial fine aggregate replacement by up to 30% replacement level
(Yang et al., 2005; Kuo et al., 2013). Kuo et al. (2013) opined that the decrease in the slump was due
to the increasing water adsorption in the presence of OS, resulting in a more viscous concrete. Wang
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et al. (2013) attributed the reduced workability to the irregularly flat particle of OS and increase in
mixture friction. However, as reported by Eo and Yi (2015), when the aggregate replacement level
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was increased to 50%, the slump increased and this was attributed to the lack of coherence between
cement paste and the OS. Due to the porous nature and rough grading of OS, the air content was also
found to increase in the concrete containing the OS (Eo and Yi, 2015). In terms of the compressive
strength, most researchers reported decrease in the 28-d compressive strength of concrete as the fine
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aggregate replacement level with OS was increased (Yoon et al., 2004; Kuo et al., 2013; Eo and Yi,
2015) while Yang et al. (2010) found very similar 28-d compressive strength between concrete with
and without OS. Nevertheless, in the study by Yang et al. (2010) as the age of concrete increased, the
strength development of the concrete containing OS was lower, ultimately resulting in a lower
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compressive strength of OS concrete compared to the control concrete beyond 56 d. The lower
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strength development in the OS concrete was attributed to the stress concentration occurring in the
weaker OS aggregate (Yang et al., 2010). Yoon et al. (2004) added that larger OS aggregate size (2.0
– 4.75 mm) gave lower compressive strength compared to smaller OS aggregate size (0.074 – 2.0 mm)
when used as fine aggregate replacement in concrete and this was due to the comparatively larger
pore volume of the former. When OS concrete was tested for splitting and flexural tensile strengths,
Yang et al. (2005) and Eo and Yi (2015) reported lower values compared to the control concrete at 28
d, respectively while reduction in MOE by up to 15% was also found when 20% OS was used as
partial fine aggregate replacement (Yang et al., 2005; Yang et al., 2010). The lower stiffness of OS
was said to be the reason for reduction in the MOE of the OS concrete and similar reason was also put
forward in explaining the increase in the drying shrinkage of concrete in the presence of OS (Yang et
al., 2010; Kuo et al., 2013). The increase drying shrinkage strains in OS concrete was also attributed
to the high water absorption rate of the OS (Kuo et al., 2013). In terms of the durability properties of

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OS concrete, in general, Yang et al. (2010) found improved resistance towards freeze-thaw,
carbonation and permeability and these improvements were attributed to the finer grain of OS used
which had pore refinement effect. On the contrary, Kuo et al. (2013) reported increased porosity and
water absorption as well as reduced sulphate attack resistance in the OS concrete. The difference
exists between the findings by Yang et al. (2010) and Kuo et al. (2013) could be attributed to the
coarser as well as the significantly higher water absorption of OS used in the investigation by the
latter. As the water absorption of OS was high, Kuo et al. (2013) opined that the OS is more likely to
be corroded by strong acid due to the high content of CaCO3.
Eo and Yi (2015) also carried out investigation on partially replacing coarse aggregate with

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OS. It was found that the increase in replacement level with OS caused decrease in slump values, and
in particular at 50% replacement level, zero slump was recorded. Similar to the use of OS as partial
fine aggregate replacement, the compressive and flexural strengths decreased with the use of OS as

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partial coarse aggregate substitute. However, Eo and Yi (2015) noted that the use of OS with grain
diameters of 10 – 13 mm was more favourable compared to the grain diameters of 19 – 25 mm with
respect to the strength and workability considerations.

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There has also been attempts to utilized ground OS to produce partial cement replacement
materials for concrete. One of the most distinct property of ground OS is the high LOI of about 40%
as the CaCO3 undergoes thermal decomposition into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide at burning

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temperatures exceeding 550˚C (Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012). Compared to other types of seashells
such as mussel and cockle shells, the ground OS was found to be finer, and this is an indication for
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better strength development. In general, the ground OS was used at up to 20% replacement level. As
OS replacement level increased, there was decrease in the fresh concrete properties i.e. reduction in
water demand and increase in setting time (Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012). Similar to the effect as fine
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and coarse aggregate replacement, the inclusion of OS as partial cement replacement was also found
to reduce the compressive strength of concrete. However, in this case, the drying shrinkage of
concrete was decreased in the presence of OS due to the segmentation of pores by the fine OS
particles which contributed to a denser structure and reduction in internal voids (Lertwattanaruk et al.,
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2012). In the same study, the thermal conductivity of concrete was found to reduce as the replacement
level of OS was increased.
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3.2 Periwinkle
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Periwinkles are a type of small marine snails, found commonly in riverine and coastal regions in
Nigeria where they are used for food (Orangun, 1974). When the periwinkle is big enough, the edible
part is removed after boiling in water, and the shell is dumped as waste (Umoh and Olusola, 2013),
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which results in environmental pollution if not disposed properly. Similar to oyster shell, periwinkle
shell (PS) consists primarily of calcium carbonate, which is about 96% (Orangun, 1974). Most of the
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research have been devoted into utilizing PS waste as coarse aggregate replacement in concrete
(Orangun, 1974; Falade, 1995; Adewuyi and Adegoke, 2008; Osarenmwinda and Awaro, 2009).
Researchers established that as the coarse aggregate replacement level with PS, the workability of the
fresh concrete was reduced. This was attributed to the increased specific surface area of the PS
(Adewuyi and Adegoke, 2008) as well as the possibility of the mixing water escaping into the surface
pores of the PS (Falade, 1995) which reduced the effective amount of mixing water. In terms of the
hardened concrete, since the specific gravity of PS aggregate is lower than conventional granite and
generally around 2.05 (Osarenmwinda and Awaro, 2009), the resulting density of concrete could be
reduced to the range of 1480 – 2160 kg/m3 (Adewuyi and Adegoke, 2008; Osarenmwinda and Awaro,
2009), depending on the mix design and aggregate replacement ratio and this indicates the potential of
PS concrete to be produced as lightweight concrete. Researchers also reported that the inclusion of PS
resulted in decrease in the compressive strength of concrete, and this was possibly due to the poor

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bond between PS and cement matrix (Falade, 1995), insufficient cement paste for bonding (Adewuyi
and Adegoke, 2008) as well as the limited crushing strength of PS aggregate (Orangun, 1974).
Nevertheless, with full coarse aggregate replacement with PS, concrete with compressive strength of
up to 25 MPa could be achieved (Orangun, 1974). Orangun (1974) also found that when reinforced
concrete beams were prepared with PS as aggregate, the deflection of the beams under flexural
loading was about 20% higher compared to conventional concrete and this was due to the lower MOE
of PS concrete observed. Nevertheless, based on the investigation, Orangun (1974) concluded that the
design of the reinforced PS concrete beam for strength and serviceability could be similar to normal
concrete, subject to modifications proposed for lightweight concrete.

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Umoh and Olusola (2013) utilized PS ash (PSA) as partial cement replacement in concrete
and in general, there was a decrease in the workability as the replacement level was increased due to
the increase in surface area to be wetted and lubricated. In terms of compressive strength, under

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normal condition, the compressive strength decreased as replacement level of PSA was increased;
however, when exposed to magnesium sulphate, the concrete blended with PSA exhibited lower
strength reductions compared to the control concrete and the optimum performance was found to be at

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10% PSA replacement level (Umoh and Olusola, 2013).

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3.3 Mussel
Similar to OS and PS, mussel shell (MS) (Fig. 11) is a post-consumer residue and composed mainly
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of CaCO3. However, as the crystal structure of MS are largely composed of aragonite and calcite, the
MS reportedly had higher strengths and densities than limestone powder (Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012).
Besides that, as ground MS had slender needle-like shapes, when mixed in mortar, the MS had a
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structured mesh and smaller pores, which could result in higher compressive and flexural strengths
(Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012) compared to limestone. Because of this, limestone powder derived from
MS was found to be particularly effective in enhancing the strength of mortar when used as partial
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cement replacement (Ballester et al., 2007). In the investigation by Lertwattanaruk et al. (2012),
similar to OS, the MS resulted in reduced water demand and increase in workability of cement mortar.
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However, the compressive strength of the mortar obtained when mixed with MS was lower compared
to that of OS while the drying shrinkage was also higher and these could be due to the lower fineness
of MS used in the study compared to that for OS (Lertwattanaruk et al., 2012). In separate
investigation, Chin-Peow et al. (2015) utilized ground MS as partial sand replacement in mortar and
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found decrease in the compressive strength which was attributed to the poor bonding due to the flaky
and smooth surface of MS.
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Fig. 11: Appearance of mussel shell which was used by Chin-Peow et al. (2015).

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4. Discussion
Based on the review undertaken, it was found that generally farming waste could be utilized in three
forms in concrete, namely aggregate replacement, cement replacement and fibre reinforcement. Table
8 shows the summary of types of agriculture- and aquaculture-farming waste materials which were
incorporated into concrete in previous research works. The comparison of the properties of the
resulting concrete with plain control concrete is also shown in Table 8.

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Table 8: Summary of usage of waste material in concrete

Farming
Usage Amount used Effect of usage of waste materials in concrete Reference
waste

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Bamboo CR 10%, 20% • Water demand increased Frias et al. (2012)
• Setting time increased
• Decrease in 7 d compressive strength

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• Similar strength as control concrete at 28 and 90 d

CR 5-25% • Water demand increased Umoh and Odesola

• Final setting time increased (2015)

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• Higher compressive strength at 5-10% replacement
levels
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• Porosity increased
• Bulk density decreased

FA-CC 2-16% • Water demand increased Xie et al. (2014)

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• Porosity and water absorption increased

• Bulk density decreased
• Flexural strength decreased with up to 2% fibre;
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increased between 2-8% and decreased beyond 8%

• Fracture toughness increased
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• Deflection increased

FA-CC 6-12% • Porosity and water absorption decreased with 6-8% Correia et al.
fibre; increased at 10-12% (2014)
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• Flexural strength highest for 8% fibre

• Modulus of elasticity highest for 6% fibre

•
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FA-CO 0.5-1.5% Compressive strength increased with 0.5% fibre Ramaswamy et al.
• Impact energy increased with 1.0% fibre (1983)
•
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Improved ductility

Wheat CR 8, 16, 24% • 28 d compressive strength decreased; similar 180 d Biricik et al. (2000)
strength as control for 8% replacement level
• Flexural strength increased
• Improved resistance to sulfate attack in terms of
compressive strength

SR 3.6, 7.3, 11% • Flow decreased Al-Akhras and

• Initial setting time increased Abu-Alfoul (2002)
• Compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths
increased

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SR 5, 10, 15% • Thermal cycling resistance improved Al-Akhras et al.
(2008)
SR 2, 4, 6% • Compressive strength increased Binici et al. (2008)
• Sulfate resistance improved
• Abrasion resistance improved
• Water penetration depth reduced

CR 5, 10, 15% • Durability towards freeze-thaw damage improved Al-Akhras (2011)

CR 5, 10, 15% • Al-Akhras (2013)

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Alkali-silica reaction durability improved

CR 20% • Pre-treated WSA increased compressive strength Ataie and Riding

(2013)

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FA-CO 0.19% • Minimal increase in fracture energy Merta and Tschegg
(2013)

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Barley FA-CO 5,10% Shrinkage reduced Belhadj et al.
• Porosity increased (2014)
• Thermal diffusivity reduced
• Ductility improved

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• Compressive strength increased
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Corn CR 2-25% • Workability reduced Adesanya and
• Early strength decreased Raheem (2009a)
• Strength gain increased
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CR 2-25% • Initial and final setting times increased Adesanya and

Raheem (2009b)
SR 2, 4, 6% • Compressive strength increased Binici et al. (2008)
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• Sulfate resistance improved

• Abrasion resistance improved
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• Water penetration depth reduced

CAR 100% • Comparable thermal properties with expanded clay Pinto et al. (2012)
lightweight concrete
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Olive CR 7, 15, 21% • Residual strength upon exposure to heat increased Al-Akhras et al.
(2009)
CR 5, 10, 15% • Al-Akhras and
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Workability reduced
• Setting time decreased Abdulwahid (2010)
•
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Compressive strength decreased

• Flexural strength decreased

CR 5-30% • Workability increased Eisa (2014)

• Compressive strength reduced
• Tensile strength reduced

SR 5, 10, 15% • Workability reduced Al-Akhras and

• Compressive strength increased Abdulwahid (2010)
• Flexural strength increased

F 10% • Water demand increased compared to conventional Cuenca et al.

filler (2013)

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• Compressive strength increased compared to
conventional filler

Banana CR 10, 20% • Compressive strength increased Kanning et al.

• Tensile strength increased (2014)

Sisal FA-CC 0.1, 0.2, • Plastic and restrained shrinkage reduced Filho et al. (2005)
0.5% • Drying shrinkage increased

FA-CC 0.5-2% • Ramakrishna and

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Impact resistance improved
Sundararajan
(2005)
FA-CC 10% • Toughness improved Silva et al. (2010)

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• Drying shrinkage increased

Date palm FA-CO 2, 3% • Compressive strength decreased Kriker et al. (2005)

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• Ductility improved

FA-CC 5-30% • Density decreased Benmansour et al.

• Compressive strength decreased (2014)

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• Thermal conductivity reduced
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Elephant CR 20% • No effect on compressive strength Cordeiro and Sales
grass • No effect on MOE (2015)
• No effect on water absorption
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FA-CO 0.19% • Minimal increase in fracture energy Merta and Tschegg

(2013)
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Oyster CR 5-20% • Setting time increased Lertwattanaruk et

• Compressive strength reduced al. (2012)
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• Drying shrinkage reduced

• Thermal conductivity reduced

SR 100% • Similar compressive strength using small particle Yoon et al. (2004)
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size OS
• Compressive strength decreased using large particle
size OS
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SR 5, 10, 20% • Workability reduced Yang et al. (2005)

•
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No effect on setting time

• Early strength increased
• 28 d tensile strength decreased
• 28 d MOE decreased

SR 10, 20% • No effect on 28 d compressive strength Yang et al. (2010)

• 28 d MOE decreased
• Drying shrinkage increased
• Freeze-thaw resistance improved
• No effect on carbonation
• No effect on chemical resistance
• Water permeability resistance improved

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SR 5-20% • Workability reduced Kuo et al. (2013)
• Compressive strength increased at 5% replacement
level; strength reduced at higher replacement level
• Shrinkage increased
• Sulfate resistance reduced

SR 10, 30, 50% • No effect on drying shrinkage Eo and Yi (2015)

• Compressive strength decreased
• Tensile strength decreased

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CAR 10-100% • Workability reduced Eo and Yi (2015)
• Drying shrinkage increased
• Compressive strength decreased

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• Tensile strength decreased

Periwinkle CR 10-40% • Compressive strength decreased Umoh and Olusola

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• Improved resistance towards magnesium sulfate (2013)
attack

CAR 100% • MOE decreased Orangun (1974)

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• Flexural strength decreased
• Load capacity of reinforced concrete beam
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unaffected
• Deflection of reinforced concrete beam increased

•
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CAR 10-100% Workability reduced Falade (1995)

• Compressive strength decreased
• Flexural strength decreased
• Density decreased
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CAR 25-100% • Workability reduced Adewuyi and

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• Compressive strength decreased Adegoke (2009)

• Density decreased

Mussel CR 5-20% •
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Setting time increased Lertwattanaruk et

• Compressive strength reduced al. (2012)
• Drying shrinkage reduced
• Thermal conductivity reduced
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SR 25-100% • Compressive strength increased Chin-Peow et al.

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(2015)
*CR: Cement replacement; SR: Sand replacement; CAR: Coarse aggregate replacement; FA-CC:
Fibre addition in cement composite; FA-CO: Fibre addition in concrete
Most farming waste materials are utilized in the form of SCM, particularly those from the
agriculture sector, such as banana leaf ash, bamboo leaf ash, wheat straw ash, elephant grass ash and
corn cob ash, since these materials possess high amount of silica content after burning at high
temperatures. The high amount of silica content contained within these ashes enables the materials to
exhibit pozzolanic reactivity, which is beneficial to the later age strength development of concrete.
Moreover, the selection of optimal burning temperature and grinding of the farming agriculture waste
ensures a higher quality pozzolanic material with higher silica content. The burning temperatures used

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in previous researches are summarized in Table 9 and it is shown that generally burning temperature
of above 600˚C is recommended.
Table 9: Comparison of burning temperatures and duration of waste materials

Reference Farming waste Burning temperature (˚C) Duration (h)

Dwivedi et al. (2006) Bamboo leaf 600 2
Singh et al. (2007) 600 2
Villar-Cocina et al. (2011) 600 2
Frias et al. (2012) 600 1.2

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Umoh and Olusola (2015) 500 2

Biricik et al. (1999) Wheat straw 570, 670 5

Biricik et al. (2000) 670 5

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Al-Akhras and Abu-Alfoul (2002) 650 20
Al-Akhras et al. (2008) 800 2
Binici et al. (2008) 600 3

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Al-Akhras (2011) 900 -
Al-Akhras (2013) 900 6
Ataie and Riding (2013) 500, 650, 700, 800 1, 2

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Binici et al. (2008) Corn cob 600 3
Adesanya and Raheem (2009b) 650 8
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Al-Akhras et al. (2009) Olive 800 8
Al-Akhras and Abdulwahid
900 8
(2010)
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Kanning et al. (2014) Banana leaf 900 24

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Cordeiro and Sales (2015) Elephant grass 350; 600 3; 3

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As reflected in the summary in Table 8, in general, the use of these agriculture farming waste
as SCM would reduce the workability of concrete due to porous nature and fineness of the SCM; the
strength of the concrete at early age would also be lower, if not similar to the control concrete.
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However, due to the pozzolanic reaction of these SCM, conversion of Ca(OH)2 to additional calcium
silicate hydrate (CSH) could take place, and hence the later age compressive strength of the resulting
concrete would exceed those of the control concrete. The pore refinement effect due to the pozzolanic
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reaction of the agriculture farming waste as SCM also contributed to the improved durability
properties observed in previous investigations. On the other hand, when aquaculture farming waste
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such as seashells was used as partial cement replacement, little improvement could be found as the
majority of the ash consisted of CaCO3, and unlike the agriculture farming wastes, the seashells do
not possess pozzolanic behaviour.
In contrast to using agriculture farming waste as partial cement replacement, when used in the
powder form as fine aggregate replacement, the farming wastes such as olive waste, corn cob and
wheat straw ashes could improve the strength and durability properties of concrete since the materials
could act as filler due to its high fineness, as well as exhibiting pozzolanic reaction in the concrete for
pore refinement. Owing to the fineness of the material, the use of such materials commonly resulted
in reduced workability due to the increase in water demand. On the contrary, as shown in Table 8,
aquaculture farming waste such as OS, when used as partial fine aggregate replacement in its
aggregate form, resulted in lowering of the strength properties. This was mainly attributed to the

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weaker aggregate strength as well as the shape of the waste aggregates. However, there are also
contrasting reports on the effect of the durability behaviour due to the significantly different nature of
the OS used in separate investigations. In terms of coarse aggregate replacement, several farming
wastes such as corn cob, OS and PS were trialled and in general, the concrete properties were all
reduced in the presence of these materials, primarily because of the lower inherent strength of the
materials as aggregate.
The use of natural fibres (bamboo, sisal, wheat straw, date palm and elephant grass fibres)
from agricultural farming wastes as reinforcement, generally brought upon beneficial effects on the
ductility of concrete. However, one of the major shortcomings is the durability of the fibres in cement

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matrix, since the fibres could be susceptible towards alkali attack, which is formed as part of cement
hydration process and would lead to increased brittleness and degradation of the fibres over prolonged
period. Nevertheless, with appropriate pre-treatment of the natural fibres such as thermal treatment

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and the use of SCM to partially replace cement, the long term durability of the fibres in concrete could
be improved.

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5. Conclusion

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In short, this paper summarized the potential usage of a variety of alternative farming wastes from
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both agriculture and aquaculture in concrete, such as in the form of cement replacement, aggregate
replacement as well as fibre reinforcement. Although the use of farming waste materials could result
in reduction in some of the properties of concrete (such as workability and strength properties), the
dosage could be limited based on the summarized findings in this review to achieved adequate
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concrete performance. Besides that, if proper treatment (such as pre-treatment and burning) and
selection of materials are carried out, these materials could be incorporated in concrete for improved
mechanical and durability performance. Consequently, the production of a more sustainable and green
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concrete could be realized, whereby waste conservation and reduced negative impact on the
environment could be achieved. This would ultimately lead to a more sustainable construction for the
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construction industry and at the same time a cleaner environment for the society to live in.
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Acknowledgement
This research work was funded by the University of Malaya under the High Impact Research Grant
(HIRG) No. UM.C/HIR/MOHE/ENG/02/D000002-16001.
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Research Highlight

• Alternative farming wastes from agriculture and aquaculture industries for concrete.
• Pozzolanic materials as SCM using burned ashes from agriculture waste materials.
• Possible usage of farming wastes as partial aggregate replacement in concrete.
• Natural fibres from farming wastes as a form of fibre reinforcement for concrete.

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