Physico-Mechanical Characterization of Gypsum-Agricultural Waste Composites for Developing Eco-Friendly False Ceiling Tiles

Muhammad Fahad Ejaz, Muhammad Rizwan Riaz (), Rizwan Azam, Rashid Hameed, Anam Fatima, Ahmed Farouk Deifalla and Abdeliazim Mustafa Mohamed
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Muhammad Fahad Ejaz: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Lahore 54890, Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Rizwan Riaz: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Lahore 54890, Punjab, Pakistan
Rizwan Azam: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Lahore 54890, Punjab, Pakistan
Rashid Hameed: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Lahore 54890, Punjab, Pakistan
Anam Fatima: Department of Architectural Engineering and Design, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Lahore 54890, Punjab, Pakistan
Ahmed Farouk Deifalla: Structural Engineering and Construction Management Department, Future University in Egypt, Cairo 11835, Egypt
Abdeliazim Mustafa Mohamed: Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 12673, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-23

Abstract: This paper aims to facilitate in the reduction of issues related to agricultural wastes such as disposal and burning by incorporating two widely produced agricultural wastes in Pakistan, i.e., Rice Husk and Wheat Straw, in gypsum false ceiling plates to develop an eco-friendly construction product. There is an increased focus of research on the development of such eco-friendly gypsum products to make the use of gypsum sustainable. Composites containing agricultural residues with four different replacement levels of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% by weight are developed along with a control mix containing 100% gypsum. The physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the developed composites are investigated. Also, the false ceiling plates are made using the developed composites and their flexural behavior is compared with that of the control specimen containing 100% gypsum. The results showed that density and shore C hardness reduced with increasing the amount of agricultural waste while the water absorption remained similar up to a dosage of 7.5%. Except for the 10% wheat straw dosage, flexural and compressive strength of developed composites showed a decrease with the increase of wheat straw and rice husk dosages but remained above the acceptable values of 1 MPa and 2 MPa, respectively, as per BS EN 14246. For the same replacement level, the composites containing wheat straw showed relatively inferior mechanical properties results as compared to those containing rice husk. The thermal conductivity test showed better thermal performance of the composite mixes as compared to the reference mix. The bending test on false ceiling plates showed that all the plates satisfied the minimum flexural strength criteria as per BS EN 14246 and the flexural strength of plates increased up to a replacement level of 5% for both the agricultural wastes.

Keywords: agricultural waste; gypsum; false ceiling plates; physical and mechanical properties; thermal insulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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