Consistency, Setting Times and Chemical Properties of Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash Cement

This research work aims at determining the physical and chemical properties of sugar cane bagasse ash cement (SCBAC). The physical properties investigated in this research were initial and final setting times, consistency tests and chemical analysis tests using X-ray Florescence Spectral analysis test. These tests were carried out to compare the properties of the Sugar cane bagasse ash cement with the normal cement. The SCBA were replaced at 0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 15 % and 20 % proportions of cement content. From the test results, the consistency was found to increase as the Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash (SCBA) proportion increased from 32.5 % for the pure cement to 40 % for 20 % sugar Cane Bagasse Ash replacement with cement. This showed that the more the proportion of the SCBA in cement, the higher the amount of water required to get the right consistency. The initial setting time increased as the proportion of SCBA increased from 2.25 hours at 0 % to 3.42 hours for 20 % replacement but was within the acceptable range of less than 30 minutes. The final setting time however decreased from 8.33 hours to 7.5 hours for the same proportions of replacements but fell within the acceptable limit of not more than 10 hours. Finally, the elemental composition like Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), Alumina (Al2O3) and Ferric Oxide (Fe2O3) of the various samples containing the blend of SCBA and cement showed that the elements gradually decreased as the proportion of the SCBA increased in the mixes.