Preliminary study on the utilization of carbide residue to enhance the engineering properties of mortar

Carbide residue (CR) is one of the industrial byproducts treated as industrial waste that has not been fully utilized. Historically, numerous developed countries have implemented innovative approaches to utilize carbide residue as a construction material. However, information regarding the utilization of carbide residue as a construction material in Indonesia remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to perform a preliminary investigation into the properties of carbide residue that could be utilized in mortar manufacture. As supplementary materials, carbide residue was utilized in this investigation to enhance the mechanical and physical engineering properties of hardened mortar. Laboratory tests were conducted to investigate several engineering properties of mortar, including the slump flow of fresh mortar, density, water absorption, porosity, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength of hardened mortar. This study is divided into two main series. Series 1 employs carbide residue at different concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 20% as a cement replacement material. While series 2 incorporates carbide residue at proportions of 20%, 30%, and 40% as a fine aggregate (sand river) replacement material. Based on this experiment, fresh properties (as determined by the slump flow test) decrease with increasing amounts of carbide residue as a cement and sand substitute. To ensure that the water-to-binder ratio is sufficient, conducting early studies on the water requirements for mortar containing carbide residue as a partial replacement material is essential. The results indicate that 10% carbide residue substituted for cement produces the most enhanced mechanical properties. Meanwhile, it was shown that 40% carbide residue generated the most ideal mechanical properties when used as a substitute for sand.