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Evaluation of Water Hyacinth Ash, Extract, and Fiber in Concrete: A Literature

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-8024-4_5

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Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

Elham Maghsoudi Nia

Lloyd Ling
Mokhtar Awang
Seyed Sattar Emamian Editors

Advances in Civil
Engineering
Materials
Selected Articles from the
6th International Conference
on Architecture and Civil Engineering
(ICACE 2022), August 2022, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

Volume 310

Series Editors
Marco di Prisco, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
Sheng-Hong Chen, School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering,
Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Ioannis Vayas, Institute of Steel Structures, National Technical University of
Athens, Athens, Greece
Sanjay Kumar Shukla, School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup,
WA, Australia
Anuj Sharma, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
Nagesh Kumar, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
Bangalore, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Chien Ming Wang, School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland,
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Contents

Damping Design Approach Based on the Damping Performance

Curve of Structural Additional Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Fangqian He, Ting Zhang, Jun Zhang, Li Tao, and Ying Liu
Assessment of Indoor Thermal Condition on Traditional
Vernacular Masjid: A Case Study on Masjid Kampung Laut,
Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Nur Athirah binti Khalit, Zuraini binti Denan,
Aliyah Nur Zafirah binti Sanusi, and Norwina binti Mohd Nawawi
Scopes of Work in Property Management Services: Perspective
and Performance of Residential Property Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Cheong Peng Au-Yong and Wan Siti Aisha Wan-Shukery
Cold-Formed Steel Structure for Mid-Rise Residential Building:
A Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Jhun M. Jacinto, Orlean G. Dela Cruz, and Ernesto J. Guades
Evaluation of Water Hyacinth Ash, Extract, and Fiber in Concrete:
A Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Ernie D. Tombado, Orlean G. Dela Cruz, and Ernesto J. Guades
Reinforced Concrete Beam–Column Joint: A Review of Its Cyclic
Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mark Arvin P. Velasco, Orlean G. Dela Cruz, and Ernesto J Guades
Challenges Faced by Students in Online Architectural Design
Studio During COVID-19 Pandemic: Universities in Sarawak . . . . . . . . . 81
Mervyn Hsin Jyi Wong, Mohd Afzan Bin Mohamed,
Raja Nur Syaheeza Bin Raja Mohd Yazit, and Joanne Chui Ying Ho

vii
Evaluation of Water Hyacinth Ash,
Extract, and Fiber in Concrete:
A Literature Review

Ernie D. Tombado, Orlean G. Dela Cruz, and Ernesto J. Guades

Abstract Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to trop-

ical and subtropical South America. It is a bothersome plant due to its broad, thick,
glossy, ovate leaves that can reach up to 1 meter above the water’s surface. Water
hyacinth blooming in most rivers and lakes is the most visible effect of aggravating
environmental pollution, a perennial problem that could have been controlled. Hence,
the applications of water hyacinth should be explored, investigated, and promoted
to motivate its harvesting to manage its growth. Besides being utilized as raw
materials for handloom weaving livelihood programs, the feasibility of using this
material in concrete production attracted many researchers’ attention. The litera-
ture review evaluates water hyacinth in liquid form, ash, and dried fibers to produce
an environmentally friendly, blended concrete material. The experimental process
conducted by different researchers shows significant improvements in the param-
eters of concrete. WHA demonstrates that ash is a potential pozzolanic substance
that improves concrete durability and marginally affects its strength. It is also worth
mentioning that concrete reinforced with water hyacinth fiber was light, making it
suited for use in the building industry where lightweight concrete is desired. More-
over, finally, water hyacinth extract increases the slump value of concrete; thus, it
can be employed as a superplasticizer in concrete with a lower water–cement ratio.

Keywords Water hyacinth · Blended cement · Concrete · Bio-waste material

E. D. Tombado
Laguna Lake Development Authority, Quezon City, Philippines
e-mail: [email protected]
O. G. Dela Cruz (B)
Graduate School, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
e-mail: [email protected]
E. J. Guades
School of Engineering, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam, USA

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 53
E. M. Nia et al. (eds.), Advances in Civil Engineering Materials,
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 310,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8024-4_5
54 E. D. Tombado et al.

1 Introduction

Concrete is a composite material that constitutes natural sand, coarse aggregates,

cement, and water. Cement is the main constituent of concrete and is known to
be expensive material compared with all other construction materials [1]. Cement
production uses most natural resources and emits toxic gases to the environment
during chemical production, accelerating global warming. Currently, the cement
sector contributes around 7% of worldwide human-caused carbon dioxide emissions
yearly [2]. There are limited natural resources on the earth; therefore, human beings
need to conserve them and ensure the reuse and recycling so future generations
can use them. Concrete is the most widely utilized building material in today’s
construction sector. Concrete’s superior mechanical and physical properties, when
correctly planned and constructed, are one of its most notable advantages [3].
Researchers are currently challenged of use waste materials with pozzolanic
properties in concrete production as cement replacement materials. The context of
utilizing wastes in concrete is beneficial in terms of production cost and environ-
mentally friendly [4]. Various breakthroughs have been made in using alternative
materials, techniques, and technology to lower the carbon footprint of cement manu-
facturing and enhance its energy efficiency [5]. Furthermore, utilizing these waste
materials in manufacturing concrete can potentially have significant environmental
and economic benefits. The material supported in recent studies includes the incor-
poration of water hyacinth for blending cement to produce quality concrete tested
for compressive strength, chloride resistance test, and water absorption test [6–15].
Researchers looked at water hyacinth extracts and fibers as a superplasticizer and
a suitable lightweight concrete material. Because a superplasticizer is required to
make concrete with high flowability, superplasticizers are high-range water reducers
that are often used to make concrete more workable [16]. Using lightweight concrete
in construction may reduce the building’s dead load, hence shrinking the founda-
tion size and lowering cement demand and construction costs. Concrete, to its innate
nature, has the potential to absorb and retain heat until it is delivered into the building
through the building envelope. Because of its excellent thermal insulation, the long-
term use of lightweight concrete contributes to the reduction of energy needed by air
conditioning systems to achieve thermal comfort for inhabitants [17].
The lack of sanitation and wastewater treatment facilities and discharging of
wastewater directly into the rivers and bays create a condition conducive to water
hyacinth’s continuing growth and spread over the rivers and lakes. It causes fish
reduction, navigation hindrance, mosquitoes’ breeding, and water quality [12]. This
investigation aims to use water hyacinth as a cement-replacing material, a satisfactory
solution to environmental impacts. For this purpose, it investigated further research
to know the effect of water hyacinth in powder, liquid state, and dried water hyacinth.
Further, this study has been carried out to evaluate this bio-waste and contribute to
developing environment-safe concrete.
58 E. D. Tombado et al.

Table 5 Physical properties of aggregates

Cement OPC, Grade 43, IS: 8112-2013a
Fine aggregates River sand, IS: 383-1970b
WHA WH stems, IS: 1727-1967c
a IS:8112–2013, Ordinary Portland Cement, 43 Grade–Specification, Bureau of Indian standards,
New Delhi, India
b IS:383–1970, Specification for Coarse and Fine Aggregates from Natural Sources for Concrete,

Bureau of Indian standards, New Delhi, India,

c IS:1727–1967, Methods of Test for Pozzolanic Materials, Bureau of Indian standards, New Delhi,

India

Table 6 Adopted blended ratios of mortars

Specimen ID Blending ratio (by weight %)
W0 100% OPC + 0% WHA
W10 90% OPC + 10% WHA
W15 85% OPC + 15% WHA
W20 80% OPC + 20% WHA
W25 75% OPC + 25% WHA

Table 7 Mix proportions of the studied concrete mixes

Mix No w/(OPC + WA) WHA/OPC + Material content (Kg) SP(%)a
WHA)–% Cement WHA SF Sand Gravel
1 0.5 0.0 350.00 0.00 – 615 1230 1.0
2 0.5 2.5 341.25 8.75 – 615 1230 1.0
3 0.5 5.0 332.50 17.50 – 615 1230 1.0
4 0.5 7.5 323.75 26.25 – 615 1230 1.0
5 0.5 10.0 315.00 35.00 – 615 1230 1.0
6 0.5 – 315.00 – 35.00 615 1230 1.0
a Superplasticizer as a weight percentage of the sum of cementitious materials

4 Effect of Water Hyacinth Ash, Extract, and Fiber

to Water Absorption, Compressive Strength, Modulus
of Elasticity, and Chloride Resistance of Concrete

Water absorption is the ratio of two measured masses of the dry mass. There are
many different tests that have been established around the world to determine the
water absorption of concrete specimens. According to ASTM C64, absorption is
usually measured by drying a specimen to a constant mass, immersing it in water, and
measuring the saturated surface dry mass [19]. The durability of concrete is essential
in knowing its water absorption property. In an experimental study on the durability
Evaluation of Water Hyacinth Ash, Extract, and Fiber in Concrete: … 59

of concrete with partial cement replacement by WHA (Murugesh, Balasundaram,

and Senthil Vadivel), a 10% replacement concrete by WHA attains less absorption
property when compared to the conventional concrete. It shows that voids in WHA
replacement concrete are less when compared to conventional concrete [19]. In a
separate evaluation of WHA as pozzolanic material for use in blended cement by
Neelu Das and Shashikant Singh, it was observed that the use of WHA in Portland
cement has reduced water absorption characteristics [6].
The compression strength of concrete is one important parameter as it indicates the
capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to compress the struc-
ture [20]. A different approach to material preparation was conducted by Kiptum,
Rosasi, Joseph, and Odhiambo. Dry water hyacinth stems were incorporated with
the percentage of 0, 0.1, 0.2%, and 0.3% of the volume of samples to determine
their impact on compressive strength. The results showed that concrete composed of
the horizontal orientation of dry water hyacinth stem fibers had an average optimum
tensile strength of 1.5 N/mm2 , corresponding to 0.1% replacement. Concrete’s tensile
strength is one of the fundamental and essential characteristics. Due to its brittle-
ness, concrete is extremely vulnerable to tension and is not expected to withstand
the direct tension. As a result, knowing the tensile strength of concrete is crucial to
know the load at which concrete members may crack [9]. In vertical orientation, there
was a uniform decrease in tensile strength as the percentage replacement increased.
Compressive strengths decreased slightly as the composition of water hyacinth fibers
increased for both vertical and horizontal orientations [12]. The compressive strength
of concrete shows insignificant increase from 0 to 0.25% concentration, goes insignif-
icant decrease to 0.5% concentration and goes on large decrease after the concen-
tration of 0.5% solution [15]. Due to uneven fineness between cement and water
hyacinth powder, powder acted as foreign material in concrete cubes. In evaluating
water hyacinth stem ash as pozzolanic material for use in blended cement by Neelu
Das, and Shashikant Singh, mortar specimens containing 10% of WHA had a compa-
rable compressive strength that without WHA [6]. The test results show that cement
replacement by WHA in concrete has improved concrete parameters [13].
Elastic modulus is a significant mechanical parameter that defines concrete rigidity
and strength. The elastic modulus for 10% partly replaced cement by water hyacinth
ash shows better performance than conventional concrete. It increased by 2.24%
than conventional concrete. It concludes that WHA has better stiffness than regular
concrete [13]. Moreover, results have shown that water hyacinth extract can be
utilized economically as a co-superplasticizer to replace a chemical admixture in the
production of self-compacting concrete. It showed that the water hyacinth extract
delays the hydration rate and hardening process, allowing the concrete to flow for a
longer period of time and resulting in great flowability and filling ability [10].
The existence of microcracks, voids, and capillary pores in concrete, even of supe-
rior quality, allows degrading chemicals such as chloride to infiltrate the structures
easily [1]. Chloride-induced corrosion is one of the elements causing corrosion that
has gotten the most attention from the industry [21]. Based on an experimental study
conducted by Murugesh, Balasundaram, and Senthil Vadivel, 10% replaced concrete
subjected to excellent chloride resistance in 3.5% chloride solution [13]. Blended
60 E. D. Tombado et al.

concrete with WHA has lower chloride ion permeability and diffusion coefficient
with the same percentage used as plain portland cement concrete [14]. Hence, it is
suggested that a 10% replacement of WHA is the best replacement ratio to lower
chloride ion permeability, diffusion coefficient, and concrete carbonation depth.

5 Structural Applications

Water hyacinth appears to offer potential as another environmentally friendly and

structurally sound replacement for high-polluting conventional building materials,
some highlights of water hyacinth applications to structural members are shown in
Table 8.
Since water hyacinth-infused concrete has a higher water absorption capacity than
regular concrete, this suggests that it has a lower permeability capability. Marine
structures are continually in contact with water, the water should return to the water
source rather than seeping through the structure. Concrete with water hyacinth has
the same sorptivity level as the normal concrete. Sorptivity is the ability of a porous
material to absorb and carry water by capillary action. As a retaining wall, it offers
more stability against soil pressure because it provides appreciable resistance against
freezing and thawing. After being heated at a higher temperature, concrete with water
hyacinth added demonstrated a better compressive strength than regular concrete. In
industries and structures that are prone to explosions, it can therefore be employed
as an insulating material. The manufacturing of self-compacting concrete can utilize
water hyacinth extract as a superplasticizer. Setting time has increased with the
application of water hyacinth extract and was a water-reducing and setting retarding
superplasticizer. With higher compressive strength than normal concrete generally
favors the application to columns and slabs. Concrete with water hyacinth can be
utilized in situations when the structure’s weight needs to be decreased because it
weighs less than regular concrete.

Table 8 Structural
Structural Water hyacinth References
application of water hyacinth
application application
incorporated concrete
Marine structure Water hyacinth [9, 12, 15]
fiber
Retaining wall Water hyacinth [9, 12, 15]
fiber
Heat-resistant Water hyacinth [9, 12, 15]]
structure fiber
Self-compacting Water hyacinth [10, 12, 15]
concrete extract
Foundation, Water hyacinth ash [6, 7, 13, 14, 18]
column, slab
Evaluation of Water Hyacinth Ash, Extract, and Fiber in Concrete: … 61

6 Conclusion

Using water hyacinth in concrete demonstrates that an essential feature of the aquatic
plant is helpful in terms of durability and compressive strength of concrete. WHA
shows that the ash is a pozzolanic material that increases concrete durability while
having a minor impact on strength. The lightweight nature of concrete reinforced with
water hyacinth fiber made it ideal for usage in the construction industry. In contrast,
water hyacinth extract can be used as a superplasticizer in concrete with a lower
water–cement ratio. This article analyzes water hyacinth ash, extract, and fiber as a
viable material to produce structurally safe and sustainable concrete. This paper only
covers previous studies on the influence of water hyacinth in ash, fiber, and extract
on the elastic modulus, compressive strength, durability, and corrosion mechanism
of the concrete. The rapid and unabated growth of water hyacinths in rivers and
lakes necessitates environmental awareness and a concerted effort to maintain its
growth. Therefore, this paper may aid future researchers in accessing information
about exploiting industrial by-products like the water hyacinth, which is an active
and a challenging topic of study.

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