New Eco-Cements Made with Marabou Weed Biomass Ash

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Civil Engineering
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Biomass ash is a sustainable alternative to traditional pozzolans in cement.
• Agro-industry waste materials are increasingly explored for cement applications.
• Marabou weed is an invasive plant in Cuba, harvested for bioenergy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize Marabou weed ash (MA) as a supplementary cementitious material.
• To evaluate the pozzolanic reactivity and performance of MA in cementitious systems.
• To assess the physical and mechanical properties of binary cement pastes and mortars containing MA.

Main Methods:

• Full characterization of MA using instrumental techniques.
• Analysis of pozzolanic reactivity in a lime/MA system.
• Testing of binary pastes and mortars with 10% and 20% MA replacement.

Main Results:

• MA exhibits low acid oxide content, high loss on ignition (30%), and high K2O content (6.9%).
• Pozzolanic activity of MA was determined to be medium-low.
• Blended mortars showed increased water absorption and electrical resistivity, with a slight mechanical strength loss.

Conclusions:

• Despite medium-low pozzolanic activity, MA blended cements (10% and 20%) meet regulatory requirements.
• MA is a viable supplementary cementitious material for future sustainable construction.
• Further research can optimize MA utilization in cement production.