Cement, Energy and Environment

~ ... I waste, including slag, residues from incinerated municipal waste, chemical and allied industries and hospital waste. Courtesy: Down to Earth, May 16-31, 2010. P30. COMPATIBILITY STUDIES ON THE COCONUT SHELL CEMENT COMPOSITES K. Gunasekaran•, P.S. Kumar**and M. Lakshmipathy*** *Department of Civil Engineering, SRM University, Kattankulathur-603 203, Tamil Nadu Abstract The coconut shell (CS) is fast gaining importance in the coconut industry in the Asian– Pacific region . It is one of the most promising agro wastes with its possible uses as coarse aggregate in concrete. However, the compatibility of CS particles with cement used as an inorganic binder during manufacture directly influences the physical and mechanical properties of concrete. This paper presents the details to establish the compatibility between coconut shell cement composite and cement. The compatibility of CS particles with cement was assessed using the parameters of maximum hydration temperature, time to maximum hydration temperature, ratio of the setting times and inhibitory index. Hydration temperature was monitored on-line over a period of 24 h. It was found that the final setting time ratio of CS particles cement to the neat cement composite was 1.37 and lies in the range of 1.00 to 1.50. Therefore, the coconut shell– cement composite is compatible and no pre-treatment is required. The inhibitory index (I) for coconut shell fines-cement Fig.l. Coconut shell collections composites is 2.59% and can be classified as low inhibitory. The findings showed that particles of coconut shell can offer to use an aggregate in concrete production. Introduction Concrete is the premier construction material around the world and most widely used in all types of civil engineering works and it is a man-made product, essentially consisting of cement, aggregates, water and admixture(s). Among these , aggregates i.e. inert granular materials such as sand, crushed stone or gravel form the major part. Traditionally, aggregates have been readily available at economic prices and of qualities to suit for all concrete composites purposes. However, in recent years the wisdom of our continued extensive extraction and use of aggregates from natural resources has been questioned. This is mainly because of the depletion of quality aggregates and greater awareness of environmental protection. In the light of this, the availability of natural resources to future generations has also been realized 51