The Feasibility of Using Palm Oil Ash
in the Mix Design of Interlocking
Compressed Brick
Hidayati Asrah, Nadiah Sabana, Abdul Karim Mirasa, Nurmin Bolong
and Lim Chung Han
Abstract The conventional clay bricks, which are used mainly for the masonry wall
construction, are suffering from the increase of energy price as well as environmental
problems due to soil excavation and high carbon dioxide emission. The use of green
interlocking compressed brick (ICB) containing palm oil fuel ash (POFA) may be
the solution for these problems. However, the mix design of ICB containing POFA
is not well established. This paper reports on the feasibility of using POFA in the
mix design of compressed brick for the ICB production. The mixes were formulated
using two different sizes of POFA, which were the ultrafine and unground POFA, and
combined with the cement and sand. The results demonstrated that the compressive
strength test and water absorption test satisfied the minimum limit specified for the
clay masonry unit. The maximum compressive strength of 39.2 MPa was obtained
with UF-10 at 24 days curing. Increasing the amount of ultrafine POFA to 40%
decreases the strength to 19.26 MPa. The utilization of ultrafine POFA into bricks
has produced bricks with good engineering properties compared to the unground
POFA brick. Nevertheless, these results indicate significant potential of using POFA
in the production of ICB for use in building construction. Application of POFA in
the ICB production will help to reduce the energy consumption of the conventional
clay brick firing process and reduce the environmental damages associated with the
greenhouse gas emission.
Keywords Interlocking compressed brick · Green building · Palm oil fuel ash ·
Ultrafine POFA · Compressive strength · Water absorption
1 Introduction
The construction industry in Malaysia integrates a variety type of construction
materials. The common types such as concrete and brick have long been used to
construct buildings and infrastructures. Concrete is usually used to construct the
main structural parts of the building, such as column and beam. Meanwhile, bricks
H. Asrah (B) · N. Sabana · A. K. Mirasa · N. Bolong · L. C. Han
Civil Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia
e-mail: hidayati@ums.edu.my
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Z. Yaser (ed.), Green Engineering for Campus Sustainability,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7260-5_5
51
in the Mix Design of Interlocking
Compressed Brick
Hidayati Asrah, Nadiah Sabana, Abdul Karim Mirasa, Nurmin Bolong
and Lim Chung Han
Abstract The conventional clay bricks, which are used mainly for the masonry wall
construction, are suffering from the increase of energy price as well as environmental
problems due to soil excavation and high carbon dioxide emission. The use of green
interlocking compressed brick (ICB) containing palm oil fuel ash (POFA) may be
the solution for these problems. However, the mix design of ICB containing POFA
is not well established. This paper reports on the feasibility of using POFA in the
mix design of compressed brick for the ICB production. The mixes were formulated
using two different sizes of POFA, which were the ultrafine and unground POFA, and
combined with the cement and sand. The results demonstrated that the compressive
strength test and water absorption test satisfied the minimum limit specified for the
clay masonry unit. The maximum compressive strength of 39.2 MPa was obtained
with UF-10 at 24 days curing. Increasing the amount of ultrafine POFA to 40%
decreases the strength to 19.26 MPa. The utilization of ultrafine POFA into bricks
has produced bricks with good engineering properties compared to the unground
POFA brick. Nevertheless, these results indicate significant potential of using POFA
in the production of ICB for use in building construction. Application of POFA in
the ICB production will help to reduce the energy consumption of the conventional
clay brick firing process and reduce the environmental damages associated with the
greenhouse gas emission.
Keywords Interlocking compressed brick · Green building · Palm oil fuel ash ·
Ultrafine POFA · Compressive strength · Water absorption
1 Introduction
The construction industry in Malaysia integrates a variety type of construction
materials. The common types such as concrete and brick have long been used to
construct buildings and infrastructures. Concrete is usually used to construct the
main structural parts of the building, such as column and beam. Meanwhile, bricks
H. Asrah (B) · N. Sabana · A. K. Mirasa · N. Bolong · L. C. Han
Civil Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia
e-mail: hidayati@ums.edu.my
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Z. Yaser (ed.), Green Engineering for Campus Sustainability,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7260-5_5
51