Stability of Water Hyacinth and Carbonized Rice hull as Aggregates

for the Preparation of Green Hollow Block

General Objective determine the stability water lily and carbonized rice hull as aggregates in the
preparation of green hollow block

Specifically, it aims to:

1. identify the best proportion of finely chopped dried water lily, carbonized rice hull, sand,
cement, and water
2. compare the strength and stability of green hollow block to the commonly used hollow block
3. determine the profitability analysis of green hollow block and common hollow block

The use of aggregates for construction is one of the most important parts of construction for it will add
strength to the concrete. Finding a substitute for the aggregates used today is a task that is worth
studying because the quarrying of aggregates from rivers and mountains harms the environment. If a
substitute for aggregate can be obtained naturally and the source is abundant and can be regenerated,
obtaining the aggregate would deplete its source

Using agricultural and forest residues for industrial purposes is a much more environment safe and
friendly more than any other method of wastes disposal being commonly adopted nowadays. Research
and development in the construction industry are shifting towards an exploration of cellulose farm
wastes and forest residues processing and production for building materials (Eighmy, 2000). The
tremendous potential of agricultural and forest residues can be a solution to the problem of inadequate
supply and a high cost of conventional timbers and dependence from imported building materials (Poon,
2004). Current research and development efforts in the field of building materials should be supportive
of policies of most governments that are aimed at the promotion of import substitution schemes,
employment generation and self-reliance (Etxeberria, 2007). The enormous amount of residues that
shall be generated from the farm and forest plantation would then make a stable source of alternative
materials for the purpose of building affordable housing units for the majority of the country's
population (Rao, 2007).

Concrete blocks are widely used in construction. Different types are used for different purposes. In
comparison to conventional bricks, hollow blocks have been found to have better uniform quality,
longer durability, faster speed of construction, and lower labor requirements. In view of these
advantages, hollow blocks are increasingly used in different construction activities. These activities
include, but not limited to, load bearing walls, interior walls, panel walls, retaining walls and compound
walls.

The use of recycled materials (aggregate/water) in the construction industry has been an alternative
under investigation for a while (Fisher and Werge 2009, EPA 2008, Dubai Municipality 2013). Numerous
research studies have examined only the effect of using recycled aggregate in manufacturing concrete
building blocks (e.g. Soutsos etal., 2011). In this paper, the suitability of using recycled aggregate and
recycled water to produce blocks of the same physical and mechanical properties as the commercial
blocks was investigated. The combined effects of using recycled aggregate and recycled water on
strength and durability of the blocks are presented and discussed.

Rice husk is an agricultural residue which accounts for 20% of the 649.7 million tons of rice produced
annually worldwide1. The produced partially burnt husk from the milling plants when used as a fuel also
contributes to pollution and efforts are being made to overcome this environmental issue by utilizing
this material as a supplementary cementing material2. The chemical composition of rice husk is found to
vary from one sample to another due to the differences in the type of paddy, crop year, climate and
geographical conditions3.

Burning the husk under controlled temperature below 800 °C can produce ash with silica mainly in
amorphous form3-5. Recently, Nair et al.6 reported an investigation on the pozzolanic activity of RHA by
using various techniques in order to verify the effect of incineration temperature and burning duration.
He stated that the samples burnt at 500 or 700 °C and burned for more than 12 hours produced ashes
with high reactivity with no significant amount of crystalline material. The short burning durations (15 -
360 minutes) resulted in high carbon content for the produced RHA even with high incinerating
temperatures of 500 to 700 °C. A state-of-the-art report on rice husk ash (RHA) was published by
Mehta7 in 1992, and contains a review of physical and chemical properties of RHA, the effect of
incineration conditions on the pozzolanic characteristics of the ash, and a summary of the research
findings from several countries on the use of RHA as a supplementary cementing pozzolanic material.

Carbonized rice hull is made from incomplete or partial burning of rice hull. (Carbonized Rice Hull) is a
very good soil fertilizer and conditioner as it contains Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca),
Magnesium (Mg), and micronutrients vital to growing crops. It makes the clay soil porous because of its
loose composition and improves soil structure by increasing bulk density, water holding capacity, and
aeration. CRH also harbours good bacteria and it serves as houses for microorganisms. With these
benefits, CRH is a very good potting media for seed sowing and seeding propagation

General Objective determine the stability water lily and carbonized rice hull as aggregates in the
preparation of green hollow block
B. Statement of the Problem

\Specifically, it aims to:

4. identify the best proportion of finely chopped dried water lily, carbonized rice hull, sand,
cement, and water
5. compare the strength and stability of green hollow block to the commonly used hollow block
6. determine the profitability analysis of green hollow block and common hollow block