Review of the Synthesis of Nano-Sized Ash from Local Waste for use as Admixture or Filler in Engineering Soil Stabilization and Concrete Production

The synthesis of local nano-sized ash materials from local waste burnt and completely pulverized for use as admixtures or fillers in the stabilization or modification of weak engineering soil and the production of concrete is reviewed and the principles behind this all important aspect of nano technology X-rayed to give geotechnical engineers a clue and new turn in this area. These local waste materials as captured are palm bunch ash, coconut shell ash, palm kernel shell ash, bagasse ash, vehicle tyre ash, engine combustion ash, cigarette ash, fiber glass, pozzolan etc. Over the years, previous researches in the area of soil modification and stabilization of weak engineering soil have shown that remarkable improvement have been recorded in soil stabilization by using these ashes in their macro and micro scales. But in this era of nano technology and advent of nano-materials like nano copper, nano silica, nano carbon, nano aluminate, nano ferrite etc resulting from chemical synthesis for various engineering uses, there is also the need to look into our readily available waste materials to nano-size the ashes making use of nano-sieves and nano filters and subjecting the collected powder to XRD test. These will lend to the research, parameters like wave length of X-ray (λ), full width of half maximum (β), and X-ray diffraction angle (θ). With these parameters, the average particle size of the powder under study would be determined using Debye-Scherrer’s formula as shown in Equation 1and establish the important fact that the powder belongs to nano-sized particle ranging between 0.1 to 999 nm as either 0-D, 1-D, 2-D or 3-D nanomaterial. In the same vein, the nano-sized particles are used as fillers in the production of concrete which is subjected to strength characteristic tests to establish the improvements on concrete properties. With this approach, local waste materials’ ash is used at the nano-scale to affect engineering soil for use and improve the strength properties of both soil and concrete.