Demand for particleboards keeps increasing and as such more trees are fell for its production, engendering deforestation. For the purpose of reducing falling of trees, this study, focused on recycling of waste paper in the development of paperboard as alternative to particleboards used for furniture and interior household applications. Kenaf fiber (KF) was blended at varying proportions of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt.% with 20 wt.% constant cement and 20 wt.% constant coconut shell powder while the remaining was paper pulp. Board specimen developed were cured for 14, 28, and 90 days and mechanical properties were examined. Results obtained showed that fiber dosage improved bond strength and screw holding strengths as compared with the control mix. Similarly, modulus of rupture was enhanced with KF loading as compared with control mix while 1 to 3 wt.% KF spawned enhancement of modulus of elasticity. However, 4 and 5 wt.% KF led to a reduction in the modulus. Infusion of the fiber enhanced tensile strength from 1 to 3 wt.% content. 14-day and 28-day curing periods were observed to improve properties while the 90-day curing period is detrimental to all properties. Optimization via signal-to-noise ratio revealed an optimum mix of 2 wt.% obtained for fiber and an optimum curing duration of 28 days.

Concrete is one of the most important materials that are used in the construction industry all around the world. A larger part of the capacity in concrete is generally employed by the coarse aggregate. Due to the tremendous use of coarse aggregate in the construction industry, the material is getting degraded. In order to preserve the natural material, we are in search of an alternate material that can be used in concrete instead of the original one. So in this research work, it has been attempted to study the mechanical behaviour of lightweight concrete when we use waste coconut shell as coarse aggregate inside concrete. To improve the strength of the concrete, we also use the sisal fibres in various proportions ranging between 1 and 5% in accordance to the binder weight. After the mechanical property tests such as the compression test, spilt tensile strength, flexural test, modulus of elasticity test, and impact resistant test were conducted, finally it was concluded that there was increment in the compression strength up to 5%, and tensile strength was increased to 17% and elastic modulus to 7% when the fibre content used was 3%. Thus, with the use of these waste materials, it was found that the concrete’s strength gets increased and it leads to the formation of sustainable concrete thus reducing the pollution in the environment.

Zinc tailing waste is a type of mine waste generated during the extraction of zinc metal. Disposal of a huge amount of mine tailing waste is an open area and tailing dam causing a negative impact on the natural ecosystem and human health. In this research study, the mechanical properties and durability performance of concrete containing zinc mine tailing waste was investigated through an experimental and statistical analysis. The mechanically treated and untreated zinc tailing waste was used as a cement substitute in concrete production. Concrete specimens were fabricated by replacing cement (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) with the mechanically treated and untreated zinc mine tailing waste. The effect of the zinc mine tailing waste was investigated by conducting the various mechanical (compressive strength and elastic modulus) tests, durability (ultrasonic pulse velocity, water absorption, chloride penetration, carbonation, sulfate attack) tests. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on concrete samples were also conducted for microstructure analysis. According to the various tests conducted, all concrete properties showed comparable results at the 5% cement substitution in concrete by mechanically treated zinc tailing waste. However, the zinc tailing waste concrete was shown to be more sulphate resistance than the control concrete. Test findings suggest that it is feasible to use 10% mechanically treated and 5% untreated zinc tailing waste as a substitute for cement in concrete to reduce the adverse effect on the environment.

The quest for eco-sustainable binders like agro-wastes in concrete to reduce the carbon footprint caused by cement production has been ongoing among researchers recently. The application of agro-waste-based cementitious materials in binary concrete has been said to improve concrete performance lately. Coconut and groundnut shells are available in abundant quantities and disposed of as waste in many world regions. Therefore, the use of coconut shell ash (CSA) and groundnut shell ash (GSA) in a ternary blend provides synergistic benefits with Portland cement (PC) and may be sustainably utilized in concrete as ternary cementitious material (TCM). Therefore, this study presents concrete performance with CSA and GSA in a grade 30 ternary concrete. Two hundred ten numbers of standard concrete samples were cast for checking the fresh and mechanical properties of concrete at curing ages of 7, 28, and 90 days. After 28-day curing, the experimental results show an increment in compressive, tensile, and flexural strength by 11.62%, 8.39%, and 9.46% at 10% TCM cement replacement, respectively. The concrete density and permeability coefficient reduce as TCM’s content increases. The modulus of elasticity after 90 days improved with the addition of TCM. The concrete’s sustainability assessment indicated that the emitted carbon for concrete decreased by around 16% using 20% TCM in concrete. However, the workability of fresh concrete declines as TCM content increases.

Steelmaking slag is one of the most massive industrial by-products generated during steelmaking processes. This paper presents the current steelmaking slag production status and its potential to use as mineral aggregates in base/sub-base layer of road pavement. The mechanical properties of steelmaking slag were confirmed by the test method specified in Vietnam specification. The volume stability test of the slag was conducted based on JIS A 5015-2018 (Japanese Industrial Standard: Iron and steel slag for road construction). From the results, it was confirmed that steelmaking slag can satisfy all the mechanical requirements specified in Vietnam specification and the requirements regarding stability specified in JIS A 5015-2018. In addition, it was found that the elastic modulus of steelmaking slag applied as a base or sub-base layer in pavement was higher than that of the conventional graded aggregate made from mineral aggregate. Therefore, the thickness of pavement can be reduced by using steelmaking slag, and the construction cost can be lower.

The use of tailings, waste rock, fly ash, and slag to prepare geopolymer concrete can effectively solve the problems of land resources occupied by tailings and waste rock, low utilization rate, and environmental pollution. Using a dry–wet circulation method, fly ash for a different corrosion solution to geopolymer concrete (referred to as TWGPC) was analyzed. Through an appearance change, the corrosion resistance coefficient of the compressive strength, relative dynamic elastic modulus, tensile splitting strength, relative mass, and durability were investigated, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the microstructure, The life of TWGPC was predicted based on the GM(1,1) prediction model of grey system theory. The test results show that with an increase in the number of dry–wet cycles, the surface of the specimen crystallizes, cracks, spalls, and exhibits other phenomena. The compressive strength corrosion coefficient, relative dynamic elastic modulus, crack tensile strength, and relative mass show a trend of increasing first and then decreasing, finally reaching the peak value after 40 cycles. The erosion products generated by the early reaction fill the slurry aggregate pores and improve the strength of TWGPC. In a later stage, a large number of erosion products absorb water and expand; the internal pores of TWGPC are connected, leading to a decrease in strength. Cl⁻ inhibits the corrosion of SO₄²⁻ in concrete and improves the durability of concrete.

Rice husk ash concrete (RHAC) is a new type of concrete that has been rapidly gaining acceptance in recent years. In this paper, the improvement effect of rice husk ash (RHA) on the sulfate erosion performance of concrete was confirmed. The ratio of rice husk ash concrete (RHAC) was optimized and compared with ordinary concrete (OC). The performance degradation of 9%RHAC (rice husk ash at 9% by weight of cement) and OC within 135 times erosion dry–wet cycles solution with Na₂SO₄ at 5% by weight of solution were studied, including the change of apparent phenomena, compressive strength, tensile strength, effective porosity, and dynamic elastic modulus. The microstructure changes of samples before and after sulfate dry–wet cycle were observed by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that with the increase of sulfate dry–wet cycle times, the concrete specimen gradually peels off and expands in volume. The compressive strength and tensile strength increase first and then drop sharply, the effective porosity decreases first and then increases, and the relative dynamic elastic modulus increases and then decreases. The reason is that the ettringite and gypsum are formed by the reaction of sulfate intrusion and hydration products under wetting treatment. After drying treatment, ettringite and free water combine to form sodium sulfate. In the early of circulation, ettringite, gypsum, and sodium sulfate fill the internal pores of the concrete and improve the density. As the number of sulfate dry–wet cycles increases, expansion products accumulate, causing structural expansion damage and deterioration of mechanical performance. However, the hydrated calcium silicate hydrate gel was produced by mixing rice husk ash with concrete to improve the material strength and corrosion resistance. The deterioration degree of the 9%RHAC is better than that of OC at all stages. Finally, the damage constitutive models were established, and the accuracy is higher compared with the measured value.

Calcium carbide residue (CCR) is generated from acetylene gas production, and it is highly alkaline and contains a very high amount of calcium. Nano silica (NS), on the other hand, is mostly used in combination with other pozzolanic materials in concrete to ignite the reactivity of the material and to improve the properties of the concrete. This study investigated the effect of CCR incorporated in concrete mixtures to partially replace cement content at 0 to 30% (interval of 7.5%). NS was used as an additive by weight of binder at levels 0 to 4% in increment of 1%. Thus, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to investigate the effects of CCR and NS on the properties of the concrete, including compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity (MoE), and water absorption. The RSM was used for model development predicted concrete’s properties and carried out mixture multi-objective optimization by maximizing strengths, MoE, and minimizing water absorption. The results showed that using up to 15% CCR improved the strengths, MoE, and water absorption of the concrete. Adding up to 3% NS further enhanced the strengths, MoE, and water absorption significantly. The developed models for predicting the properties of the concrete using RSM were highly efficient with high degree of correlation. The optimization solutions indicated that the best optimum or best mix combination based on maximum strengths and MoE with minimum water absorption was achieved by replacing 10.6% cement with CCR and adding 1.95% NS by the weight of cementitious materials.