Investigation the effect of nano carbon tube prepared from tea waste on Microstructure and properties of cement mortar

Abstract

Environmental contamination and the massively higher cost of disposal of wastes have been a big concern for scholars throughout the globe, prompting them to seek a way to recycle waste materials in various implementations filed. The rising expenditure of disposal and the shortage of naturally big aggregate have increased interest in reusing recycled waste materials to manufacture concrete and mortar. The some of the country population annually consumes hundreds of tonnes of black tea, resulting in a considerable number of discarded teabags. These huge quantities are disposed of in landfills without being recycled or otherwise used. Moreover, landfills are considered one of the country's biggest global issues. Therefore, the aim of this experimental work to investigate influence of nano carbon tube produced from tea waste as cement replacement materials in mortar mixtures. Cement mortar mixes contain four replacement levels (1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) of cement with nano carbon tube produced from tea waste. The compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and water absorption were tested to demonstrate the effect of the nano carbon tube made from recycled tea waste on the mechanical properties of the mortar mix. The fresh properties such as flow rate were evaluated in accordance with the specific standards. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) analyses were performed to demonstrate the microstructure of the mixtures. The results show that the fresh properties (flowability) of mortar containing nanocarbon tubes from tea waste were improved with the increase of the replacement ratio. In addition, the compressive strength was improved by substitution of up to 2%. For the other levels of substitution, it decreased with increasing proportion. In contrast, the density was increased with the increase in the substitution level of tea waste. Based on the results of the experiments, it seems that the suggested bio-mixture could increase the compressive strength of the material by up to 2% of the replacement at 28 days of curing.