Biomass Geopolymer Composite Adobe Blocks as an Improved Construction Material

This study focused on investigating alternative construction materials for low-cost housing due to the skyrocketing costs of conventional building materials. The study methodology includes laboratory evaluation of the characteristics of 150mm×100mm×100mm unburnt earth blocks improved with corncob ash (CCA) geopolymer cement. Blocks produced at various percentages of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50% mix of clay/CCA geopolymer were crushed at 7 and 28 days of curing to observe their compressive strength. The block samples were observed to absorb a higher amount of water with an increase in the percentage content of CCA Alkali-Silica geopolymer. Careful observations were made on several properties of the samples such as the presence of cracks/voids and the level of shrinkage after 28 days of curing. Based on the compressive strength result of 5.87 N/mm² obtained at 28 days, it was recommended that up to 50% CCA geopolymer content be used to replace cement by weight.