African Journal of Physics ISSN 9821-5213 Vol. 10 (1), pp. 001-006, January, 2023. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

A new pozzolanic material for cement industry: Bamboo leaf ash

V.N. Dwivedi¹ , N.P. Singh² , S.S. Das¹  and N.B. Singh^1*

¹Department of Chemistry, DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India.

²Department of Chemistry, U P Autonomous College, Varanasi, India.

Accepted 2 November, 2022

Abstract

Bamboo leaf fired in an open atmosphere and then heated at 600^oC for 2 h in a furnace was found to be an amorphous material containing amorphous silica. The ash was characterized by chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and SEM techniques. Reactions of the ash with calcium hydroxide showed it to be pozzolanic in nature. The pozzolanic reactivity increased with time and temperature. When 20 wt% bamboo leaf ash was mixed with Portland cement, the compressive strength at 28 days of hydration was comparable to that without ash. This was due to pozzolanic reactions. The mechanism of pozzolanic reactivity has been discussed.

Keywords: Bamboo leaf ash, Pozzolana, Portland cement, Hydration, Calcium hydroxide