Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar

Using biochar as a replacement for sand in concrete provides a sustainable solution to the ecological degradation and environmental pollution. This study investigates the use of biochar for internal curing when substituting sand in concrete. Various properties, including slump, mechanical strength,...

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Main Authors: Dong Wang, Anushka Jantwal, Elif Kaynak, Gabriel Sas, Oisik Das
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Case Studies in Construction Materials
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525003407
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author Dong Wang
Anushka Jantwal
Elif Kaynak
Gabriel Sas
Oisik Das
author_facet Dong Wang
Anushka Jantwal
Elif Kaynak
Gabriel Sas
Oisik Das
author_sort Dong Wang
collection DOAJ
description Using biochar as a replacement for sand in concrete provides a sustainable solution to the ecological degradation and environmental pollution. This study investigates the use of biochar for internal curing when substituting sand in concrete. Various properties, including slump, mechanical strength, and hydration products, were assessed. The results show that prewetted biochar effectively preserves the slump of fresh concrete. The prewetted biochar provides internal curing by extending the hydration process, resulting in a 56 % increase in the duration between the first and third hydration peaks at the 100 % replacement level. This extended hydration process reduced the amount of unhydrated cement clinkers and enhanced the development of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) and CaCO₃, indicating a more complete degree of hydration of cement. Furthermore, the addition of biochar effectively reduces the total shrinkage of concrete by 65 % at a 100 vol% replacement level at 28 days and guarantees later strength development of concrete.
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spelling doaj-art-4c8d9fd8b2e94655b03d00a02aa9fb142025-08-20T02:10:06ZengElsevierCase Studies in Construction Materials2214-50952025-07-0122e0454210.1016/j.cscm.2025.e04542Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biocharDong Wang0Anushka Jantwal1Elif Kaynak2Gabriel Sas3Oisik Das4Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå 97187, Sweden; Corresponding author.School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm 100 44, SwedenDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå 97187, SwedenDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå 97187, SwedenDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå 97187, Sweden; Corresponding author.Using biochar as a replacement for sand in concrete provides a sustainable solution to the ecological degradation and environmental pollution. This study investigates the use of biochar for internal curing when substituting sand in concrete. Various properties, including slump, mechanical strength, and hydration products, were assessed. The results show that prewetted biochar effectively preserves the slump of fresh concrete. The prewetted biochar provides internal curing by extending the hydration process, resulting in a 56 % increase in the duration between the first and third hydration peaks at the 100 % replacement level. This extended hydration process reduced the amount of unhydrated cement clinkers and enhanced the development of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) and CaCO₃, indicating a more complete degree of hydration of cement. Furthermore, the addition of biochar effectively reduces the total shrinkage of concrete by 65 % at a 100 vol% replacement level at 28 days and guarantees later strength development of concrete.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525003407BiocharInternal curingSandHydrationInterfacial transition zone
spellingShingle Dong Wang
Anushka Jantwal
Elif Kaynak
Gabriel Sas
Oisik Das
Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar
Case Studies in Construction Materials
Biochar
Internal curing
Sand
Hydration
Interfacial transition zone
title Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar
title_full Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar
title_fullStr Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar
title_full_unstemmed Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar
title_short Promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar
title_sort promoting internal curing in concrete by replacing sand with sustainable biochar
topic Biochar
Internal curing
Sand
Hydration
Interfacial transition zone
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525003407
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AT elifkaynak promotinginternalcuringinconcretebyreplacingsandwithsustainablebiochar
AT gabrielsas promotinginternalcuringinconcretebyreplacingsandwithsustainablebiochar
AT oisikdas promotinginternalcuringinconcretebyreplacingsandwithsustainablebiochar