COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH PERFORMANCE OF LOW-CARBON GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE ENHANCED WITH CALCIUM CARBIDE WASTE

Micah I. Uba, Olumide W. Oseni, Shamsudeen A. Agboola

Abstract


Geopolymer concrete (GPC) offers a low-carbon alternative to Portland cement concrete by enabling the use of industrial and agricultural by-products as reactive binders. This study examined the compressive strength performance of GPC produced with Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SBA) as the primary aluminosilicate source and Calcium Carbide Waste (CCW) as a calcium-rich partial replacement at 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%. The alkaline activator system consisted of 16M NaOH and sodium silicate in a fixed ratio of 2.5. Compressive strength was measured at 7, 14, 28, and 56 days. Results show that strength increased with both curing age and CCW incorporation. The control mix (0% CCW) increased from 24.4 MPa at 7 days to 34.0 MPa at 56 days, while the 15% CCW mix increased from 27.7 MPa to 38.0 MPa over the same period. These improvements indicate that the additional calcium promotes faster geopolymerization and contributes to a denser, stronger binder structure. Overall, SBA–CCW geopolymer concrete demonstrated promising mechanical performance and represents a viable low-carbon construction material utilizing locally available waste.  

 

KEYWORDS: Geopolymer concrete (GPC); Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SBA); Calcium Carbide Waste (CCW); Compressive strength; Low-carbon binders; Alkali activation; geoplymerization.

 


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