Investigating the possible usage of elephant grass ash to manufacture the eco-friendly binary cements

• The influence of elephant grass ash on the evolution of the hydration reaction is evaluated.
• 20% EGCA ash blended cement substantially reduces the hydration heat.
• At 90 days, 20% EGCA paste showed similar mechanical behavior to 20% SF pastes.
• The EGCA ash can successfully be used as pozzolan in eco-efficient cements.

In recent years, agro-industrial residues are focusing attention worldwide as a new source of pozzolans; in Brazil one of the wastes generated from agro-industrial activities comes from elephant grass that is cultivated as biomass for energy cogeneration. The goal of this paper is to analyze the influence of elephant grass, once activated at 700 °C for 1 h in electric furnace, on the evolution of the hydration reaction as well as physical and mechanical properties in blended cement elaborated with 20% of elephant grass ash. For the present study, different instrumental techniques of characterization and methodologies (XRF, XRD, TG/DTG, mercury porosimetry, isothermal calorimetry and mechanical strength) were used. The results obtained in the present work show, that due to its high pozzolanic activity, the elephant grass ash activated at 700 °C can be used as an alternative pozzolan in the blended cement manufacture. Additions of 20% of ash confirm the formation of CSH gels and hexagonal C4AH13 as main products from hydration as well as pozzolanic reaction. The 20% ash blended cement showed lower heat evolution than OPC and similar to the 20% silica fume blended cement, a 12% of reduction of compressive strength and an important reduction of pore sizes below 50 nm.