Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Review

The present state of the use of palm oil fuel ash (POFA) in concrete
Hussein M. Hamada a, Gul Ahmed Jokhio a,⇑, Fadzil Mat Yahaya a, Ali M. Humada b,
Yasmeen Gul c
a
Faculty of Civil Engineering & Earth Resources, University Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia
b
Electricity Production Directorate of Salahaldeen, Ministry of Electricity, 34007 Baiji, Iraq
c
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Pakistan

h i g h l i g h t s

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA), a waste by-product, can be used to partially replace cement in concrete production.

POFA is rich in SiO2, therefore, is a good pozzolanic material.

Ultrafine and Nano POFA increase the compressive strength of concrete.

POFA reduces drying shrinkage as well as workability of concrete.

The use of POFA in concrete is favourable to the environment.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Concrete industry consumes considerably large quantities of natural resources in addition to generating
Received 26 September 2017 toxic gases, such as CO2, in the atmosphere. In order to achieve more sustainability in the concrete sector,
Received in revised form 20 March 2018 research should focus on using alternative renewable resources such as palm oil waste for concrete pro-
Accepted 23 March 2018
duction purpose. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is a by-product obtained during the burning of waste materials
such as palm kernel shell, palm oil fiber, and palm oil husk; it can be utilized to partially replace cement
in a concrete mix. This paper presents a review of the applications and effects of POFA on concrete prop-
Keywords:
erties as reported by previous studies that have been conducted to find out POFA properties and its effects
Palm oil fuel ash
Chemical and physical properties of
under various conditions. Chemical and physical properties of the resulting concrete have been illus-
concrete trated depending on the POFA characteristics in several sources. Many studies have shown that concrete
Compressive strength and durability containing POFA has better compressive strength, durability and other properties than concrete contain-
CO2 emissions ing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) only. Other researchers have shown more advantages of POFA
Environment friendly materials replacement in concrete in specific proportions, especially minimizing CO2 gas emissions and thus
improving environmental conditions.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1.1. Preparation of POFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.2. Environmental benefits of POFA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.3. Nano POFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.4. Nano silica with POFA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2. Utilization of POFA in concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3. Utilization of POFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1. POFA as SCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2. POFA in self-compacting concrete (SCC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4. POFA properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.1. Chemical composition of POFA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.2. Physical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: gajokhio@gmail.com (G.A. Jokhio).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.227
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40 27

4.2.1. Specific gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4.2.2. Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.2.3. Size and shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.2.4. Fineness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.2.5. Absorption of water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5. Effects of POFA on the concrete properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.1. Effects of POFA on fresh concrete properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.1.1. Workability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.1.2. Heat of hydration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.2. Effect of POFA on hardened concrete properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.2.1. Drying shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.2.2. Compressive strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6. Discussion and conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Conflict of interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

1. Introduction
Concrete industry presents a challenge to the global environ-
ment as it consumes significantly large quantities of natural
resources in addition to generating toxic gases, such as CO2. In
order to achieve more sustainability in the building construction
sector, researchers in this field need to focus on using alternative
renewable resources, such as palm oil waste. Malaysian Palm Oil
Board (MPOB) in 2012 reported that the plantation area of palm
oil covers about 5.07 million hectares in Malaysia [1]. The United
States Department of Agriculture reported that the production of
palm oil in years 2016 and 2017 was estimated to be 64.5 million
metric tons [2]. Southeast Asian countries are the main palm oil
producers. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is one of the significant mate-
rials produced as a byproduct of the palm oil industry [3,4], which
is obtained by burning the waste materials such as palm oil fiber,
kernels, empty fruit bunches, and shells in the power plants to gen-
erate energy [4]. POFA can be utilized to partially replace cement in
concrete production [5]. The quantity of POFA being produced is
increasing with time due to the increase in the production of palm
oil. Leaving this waste material without any further utilization is in
itself an environmental challenge. Malaysia is one of the largest
exporters and producers of palm oil all over the world [6]. Produc-
tion of POFA in Malaysia alone is approximately 10 Million tons/
year [7,8]. Whereas, just 104 tons/year of POFA are being produced
in Thailand, which continue to increase with time [4].
Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the use of
industrial and agricultural waste materials in the construction
industry, especially during the concrete preparation [9]. There is
an urgent need for disposal of harmful residual agricultural and
industrial products which has become a threat for human life. In
recent years, many studies have emerged that indicate to use the
agricultural residues in the concrete industry [5,10–12]. From envi-
ronmental perspective, agricultural waste materials have been
investigated by many researchers and have been shown to have
better properties in concrete than the cement materials, whereas
the latter also generates a high amount of CO2, which is harmful
for environment [9]. Due to the fact that POFA is a geopolymer, it
is environmentally friendly and consumes less amount of energy
than traditional materials during production [13,14]. In Malaysia,
more than 1000 tons of POFA have been dumped into lagoons
and landfills without exploiting the use of this material in other
industries [15]. In terms of cost saving, using POFA as partial
cement replacement will reduce the cost of cement production
as well as transportation of the same from cement plants to the
stores. Moreover, this will improve the environment by mitigating
and reducing waste materials in landfills.
POFA is also one of the ash family of materials resulting from
the burning of waste materials such as palm kernel shell and palm
oil husk [7]. POFA is usually disposed in landfills, which results in
the increased amount of ash deposits every year and now has
become a burden [16]. Therefore, it is needed to devise new ways
to benefit from these waste materials and avoid the potential risks.
In the 1990s, Tay [17] started studying the properties of palm oil
fuel ash as a concrete material. The study was conducted by replac-
ing Portland cement with POFA ranging between 10 and 50%. It
was noted that the compressive strength of the specimens
decreased when between 20 and 50% of cement was replaced by
POFA. Since then, many studies have been conducted to enhance
the concrete properties, for example, Awal and Hussin [15] discov-
ered that POFA has a significant impact to prevent and reduce the
sulfate attack. In 2011, Kroehong et al. [18] conducted a study to
find out the effects of POFA fineness on pozzolanic reaction of
cement paste. The Ground Palm Oil Fuel Ash (GPOFA) and Ground
River Sand (GRS) were used to replace the Portland cement by
GPOFA or GRS at 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by weight of cementitious
materials, whereas the water to binder ratio (W/B) was 0.35 for the
mixes of cement pastes. It was concluded that the effects of POFA
on the cement paste and concrete mixtures increase when POFA is
of higher fineness.
In 2015, Rajak et al. [19] conducted research to determine the
morphological characteristics of hardened cement pastes which
contain Nano-POFA with particle sizes ranging between 20 nm
and 90 nm. It was discovered that Nano-POFA particles have a sig-
nificant effect on pozzolanic reactions in the pastes because of the
filling effect. In Thailand, P. Chindaprasirt et al. [18] used the POFA
and Rice-husk Bark Ash (RBA) to determine the water permeability
and strength of concrete replacing the cement in the concrete by
various percentages ranging between 20%, 40%, and 55% by weight.
It was concluded that replacing 20% of ordinary Portland cement
by POFA and RBA leads to increasing the compressive strength
and workability, while the value of compressive strength decreases
when the replacement quantity increases up to 40% due to the
increased requirement of water [16].
The above discussion leads to the objectives of the present
paper to review the state of the use of POFA in the production of
concrete. In this regard, the process of the preparation of ground
and nano POFA has been reviewed first. This has been followed
by a review of the chemical and physical properties of POFA itself.
The effects of the use of POFA in concrete on the properties of fresh
concrete and hardened concrete have been discussed in the latter
half of the paper. Finally, at the end, a section of discussion and
conclusions has been provided that includes a few directions for
the future research in this field.
28 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40
Palm Kernel Shell Empty Palm Fruit Bunches
Fig. 1. Waste materials from palm oil tree to produce POFA [22].
1.1. Preparation of POFA
Production of POFA is due to heating of significant amounts of
palm oil fiber, shell, and empty palm fruit bunches as shown in
Fig. 1; these wastes are employed at the palm oil mills as a main
source of energy. The byproduct which constitutes about 5% of
total waste weight is called POFA [20]. In the palm oil mills, the
waste materials are burnt at high temperature, which reaches up
to 1000 °C [19], and thus used as fuel to generate electricity [21].
In Malaysia, more than 3 million tons of POFA is produced every
year [20], while in Thailand, production of POFA is more than
100,000 tons annually [5]. Instead of using electricity from familiar
energy sources that causes many environmental issues and
requires high cost, waste materials produced from palm oil mills
can be used to generate electricity by heating up the boilers in
the palm oil factories [4].
POFA constitutes about 5% of the total waste materials after
burning shells and fibers to generate electricity in palm oil mills
[3,17]. Out of 4 kg of raw palm oil, only 1 kg is palm oil and the rest
is production residues which represent dry biomass [4,23–25].
Palm oil fronds and palm oil trunks are about 75% of the total
waste; this waste is left to be recycled and used as plant fertilizer
for future plant strengthening, while the remaining proportion,
which is 25% and includes empty fruit bunches, mesocarp fiber,
and palm kernel shells can be used to generate electricity in palm
oil mills by combustion of these wastes under high temperature
ranging between 800 and 1000 °C [26,27]. Preparation of POFA
can be achieved in different ways depending upon the burning pro-
cess and raw materials used. Noorvand et al. [20] studied initial
POFA preparation by putting dried samples in an oven at the tem-
perature of 105 ± 5 °C for 24 h. While another study by Tangchira-
pat et al. [5] obtained POFA through combustion of waste materials
at the temperatures of up to 1000 °C, followed by using sieve (1.18
mm opening) in order to remove the large foreign particles. In a
new study by Zeyad et al. [2] to prepare ultrafine POFA, three steps
were adopted as shown in Fig. 2. The first step was to dry POFA to
Step 1
• Oven Dry at 105oC
Wet Palm Oil Fuel Ash • Pass through number 300 sieve
(W-POFA)
Step 2 Step 3
• Grind in Ball Mill to obtain • Grind in Ball Mill to obtain
Ground POFA (G-POFA) ultrafine POFA (U-POFA)
• Treat in Gas Furnace at 500oC to
obtain heat treated POFA (T-
POFA)
Fig. 2. Production process for ultrafine POFA [2].
Palm oil fiber
remove moisture in the oven at 105 ± 5 °C, then passing dry POFA
through number 300 sieve in order to remove foreign and coarse
particles and also to dispose of kernels and fibers which failed to
burn. The second step was grinding POFA particles to get a suffi-
cient fineness followed by combustion in gas furnace at high tem-
perature of up to 500 ± 50 °C to remove unburned carbon and
obtain POFA with high fineness. The third step was conducting fur-
ther grinding of POFA similar to the previous step to get UPOFA.
1.2. Environmental benefits of POFA
In a study, Ali et al. [30] claimed that the cement industry alone
consumes almost 12–15% of the energy allocated for industrial
purposes [28]. Cement manufacturing process requires burning
of fossil fuels, coal, petroleum coke, and fuel oils in order to main-
tain the temperature at 1450 °C in the oven [29]. Therefore, it gen-
erates approximately 0.97 ton of CO2 for each ton of clinker
produced [30]. Around 7% of CO2 gas emissions are caused by
cement production processes in factories, which increases green-
house gases and causes environmental problems [30,31]. It was
predicted in 2008 that the cement manufacturing may increase
by 100% in 2020 [32]. Another study predicted the increase in
the cement production due to increase in demand to reach 200%
by 2050 in relation to the production rate in 2010 [33]. Besides,
the energy consumed to produce 1 ton of cement is a significant
amount; more than 1700 MJ/ton clinker [34,35], and about 1.5
ton of raw materials are required. Moreover, it has also been
reported that the cement industry alone consumes about 5% of
total energy [36]. Production of cement has been considered as
the second biggest contributor of CO2 gas emissions worldwide
[37].
In recent years, there has been an increased concern regarding
the environmental issues and their effects on various aspects of
life. The global warming is partially due to widespread solid waste
materials resulting from agricultural and industrial products,
which has become the most significant environmental issue world-
wide [38]. According a study by Tay and Show [39], the transporta-
tion and disposal of POFA into the landfills and open fields without
treatment may cause various diseases and be uncomfortable for
human life. Also, the production of huge quantities of concrete
due to the increased demand for the construction of new buildings
will result in significant damages to the atmosphere through the
generation of CO2 emissions [40]. Many researchers emphasize
the need to mitigate the risk to the environment, especially result-
ing from the agriculture wastes, and to develop methods to use
these materials in cement mortar [20,41,42]. In addition, disposal
of POFA in the landfills resulting into significant environmental
risks cannot be ignored. Recently, studies have been conducted
replacing Portland cement by POFA rich silica as cementitious
material aimed at creating sustainable construction materials
[13]. In Malaysia alone, around 3 million tons of POFA was pro-
duced in 2007 as waste material [38]. These materials can cause
 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40
damages to the environment if not utilized by other industries
such as construction industry [16,43]. Therefore, Tangchirapat
et al. [3] utilized POFA in their study as a pozzolanic material in
concrete in order to reduce the environmental problems by con-
suming POFA resulting from the palm oil industry in concrete
preparation, thus reducing the burden on landfills and decreasing
the environmental risk by lowering CO2 emissions.
Due to the increasing demand for energy resources, researchers
have started searching for new renewable resources instead of the
non-renewable resources such as natural gases and petro-
chemicals, which contribute to global warming and cause signifi-
cant harm [44]. The concrete made from agricultural wastes such
as POFA has been termed as Green concrete and is considered envi-
ronmental friendly. In this case, the concrete production consumes
less energy than the traditional concrete made of cement; it also
reduces the carbon dioxide emissions in the air. Besides, it helps
control the 5–8% of CO2 emissions produced by the cement indus-
try which leads to potential environmental risks in the future
[45,46]. The waste resulting from palm oil industry constitutes
about 80% of materials such as palm oil shells and fruit bunches,
which can cause serious environmental issues if not treated [47].
In studies by Tay, and Tay and Show [17,39], it was said that with
increased demand of the palm oil products, the waste materials
produced also increase dramatically. These waste materials can
potentially cause dangerous environmental problems, financial
losses, and health hazards if left without any utilization in various
manufacturing processes. Incorporation of POFA in concrete as
partial replacement of cement is increasing with time due to
enhancement of concrete in terms of physical and chemical prop-
erties. It also decreases the cost and improves the environmental
situation [1].
The concrete ingredients resulting from biomass products can
be more beneficial than traditional materials especially if those
do not contribute to the environmental damages. In order to man-
age the solid waste materials resulting from the production of
palm oil, many researchers have exploited this waste as partial
replacement of cement in concrete manufacturing [48]. Incorporat-
ing waste materials such as POFA in concrete manufacturing will
result in minimizing the impact of CO2 emissions due to decreased
quantity of wastes landfilled and thus improving the environment
[49]. In the long term, with increasing pressure to minimize CO2
emissions resulting from cement production, the need to use green
concrete by incorporating palm oil fuel ash as pozzolanic material
and partial replacement of cement will increase significantly [38].
In other words, using the waste materials in concrete production
assists to reduce the volume of the solid waste materials in land-
fills and thus reduces harmful gases in the atmosphere [50]. The
successful use of POFA and other agricultural waste materials will
contribute by reduction in the dumping of these wastes in landfills,
and thus reducing CO2 gas emissions. This will also result in
improving concrete properties such as compressive strength, dura-
bility, and resistance to attack of chloride and sulfate. Generally,
concrete consists of cement, water, fine and coarse aggregate. Con-
sumption of these traditional materials can generate harmful gas
emissions. Therefore, most of the researchers in this field who
are also interested in the environmental aspects have begun to
use new materials that have less impact on the environment and,
at the same time, do not negatively impact the concrete properties.
Although many studies have been conducted aimed at reducing the
air pollution by using POFA to reduce CO2 emissions, to date no
studies have mentioned the effects of POFA on the water and soil
pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need to encourage
researchers to make additional efforts towards minimizing water
and soil pollution in this regard.
29
1.3. Nano POFA
Nanotechnology has been applied in many scientific disciplines.
It is also relevant here due to the unique chemical and physical
characteristics of concrete composites [19]. Nano-particles are
the particles that have sizes less than 100 nm (100  109 m)
[51]. The integration of cement with Nano-additive replacements
such as nano-SiO2, silica fume, Nano-clay, Nano-fly ash and carbon
nanotubes in cement pastes has significantly improved the cement
paste properties, especially, increasing the compressive strength
and durability of concrete mixtures [52–55]. Many studies have
been conducted to find out the potentials of Nano POFA to improve
properties of concrete and cement paste, such as [18,56]. They con-
cluded that addition of Nano POFA can enhance the concrete prop-
erties by decreasing the amount of calcium hydroxide. Rajak et al.
[19] used Nano POFA as pozzolanic material in concrete mixtures.
The purpose of using Nano-POFA was to understand the effects of
Nano- POFA on cement hydration, especially on the microstructure
properties of cement paste. POFA is a pozzolanic material due to
the fact that it has a significant quantity of SiO2 in its particles
[57]. Abutaha et al. [58] conducted a study to find out the impact
of adding high volume Nano POFA on the cement mortar; they con-
cluded that incorporating high volume of Nano POFA can produce
concrete with the qualities of being more sustainable and with
higher compressive strength. Many studies such as [3,17,39] have
shown that the original size of POFA is not strong in the
microstructure because of its porosity with large particle size in
the natural condition. On the other hand, [59–61] suggest to grind
POFA to get finer particles and thus improve the reactions with
other particles in the concrete mixtures. Tangchirapat et al. [3]
showed that the fineness of POFA has significant effects on the
compressive strength.
Due to the large particles of POFA in its original size, its
microstructure composition is weak and highly porous [3,17,39].
Therefore, reducing its particle sizes to micro or Nano by grinding
process to improve its reactivity with other materials and enhance
its properties has been recommended [59–61]. Many studies have
incorporated different fineness of POFA as cement replacement, for
example, Tangchirapat et al. [3] concluded that POFA with the par-
ticle size of 7.4 mm and the replacement quantity of cement up to
10% has the same values of compressive strength as the control
samples. Sobolev and Gutierrez [62] concluded that incorporation
of nanoparticles with cementitious composites has the ability to
improve the chemical and physical properties for composites.
Kroehong et al. [18] noted that Portland cement Type I can be
replaced by high fineness particles of POFA to use it as pozzolanic
material with proportion up 30% of binder by weight. In a recent
study by Lim et al. [63], it was claimed that using high volume of
Nano POFA with particle size less than 1 mm and with the percent-
age up to 80% as replacement of cement can achieve high compres-
sive strength with high quality of concrete, and thus mitigate
carbon dioxide gasses emission from cement production process.
In a study by Johari et al. [64], it was shown that ultrafine POFA
leads to increasing the concrete workability and delay in the set-
ting time especially when higher content of POFA instead of
cement is used. Ultrafine POFA (UPOFA) contains more silica than
OPC and Ground POFA (GPOFA), and thus, it can produce extra
calcium-silicate-hydroxide (C-S-H) gels to make cement mortar
much denser and durable. Therefore, UPOFA can be classified as F
pozzolan class, while GPOFA can be classified as C pozzolan class
[65]. However, to date there have been few studies conducted to
combine Nano POFA and other waste materials in nano size such
as nano Fly ash and nano lime. Therefore, there is a research gap
in this area where it is needed to study mixing of Nano POFA with
30 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40

any other Nano composite or geopolymer to enhance the concrete expansion due to magnesium sulfate attack. They discovered that
properties. concrete containing POFA leads to delay in setting time depending
upon the proportions of POFA replacing cement and its degree of
fineness. In terms of compressive strength, the concrete samples
1.4. Nano silica with POFA
made from cement and the POFA with original size have less com-
pressive strength than conventional concrete samples, but the con-
Nano silica consists of small particles sized (1–50 nm); it has
crete samples made from cement and POFA with fine particles
spherical particles and can enhance the concrete properties in
have compressive strength higher than traditional concrete sam-
fresh and hardened states [66]. Nano silica has been added as
ples. To produce lightweight foamed concrete (LFC) that has lower
cement replacement with POFA in order to enhance the concrete
density than normal concrete, Lim et al. [87] used POFA as replace-
properties, such as dry shrinkage and compressive strength.
ment of cement to get low concrete density 1300 ± 50 kg/m3 with
Farzadnia et al. [66] conducted a study by adding Nano silica to
improved properties such as compressive strength, thermal con-
POFA replacing 30% of cement. It was noted by the authors that
ductivity, and flexural strengths. To find out the mechanical prop-
the compressive strength increased by 15% compared to the con-
erties of concrete containing fiber, Islam et al. [88] also used POFA
trol sample, the shrinkage decreased while lowering free water,
with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) as binder and oil
and the hydration volume in cement matrix increased. POFA can
palm shell as coarse aggregate in preparing geopolymer concrete.
be utilized as a pozzolanic material in concrete mix because it
In order to exploit palm oil waste in the construction industry,
has a significant content of SiO2 [66]. Incorporation of Nano silica
POFA has been adopted as cement replacement up to 25% and oil
with unground POFA was studied by Noorvand at al. [20] in order
palm shell as a coarse aggregate. A study concluded that POFA
to improve mechanical properties of concrete mix. The reduction of
within 10–15% of cement replacement gives better results in terms
water absorption and the increase in the compressive strength of
of compressive strength; in contrast, increased POFA proportions
concrete resulted from adding Nano silica to the POFA-cement
lead to decrease in the splitting and flexural tensile strengths
mortars. Tobon et al. [67] found that after adding Nano silica to
[89]. Liu et al. [90] utilized POFA and fly ash as concrete binder
the cement pastes, especially in the first days of curing process,
to prepare lightweight-foamed concrete containing oil palm shell
the compressive strength increases due to the good distribution
(OPS) as lightweight coarse aggregate. The main purpose of the
of C-S-H and thus causes a larger quantity of hydration compared
study was to evaluate the mineralogy and the morphology of oil
to plain cement paste. Sanchez and Sobolev [68] reported that
palm shell foamed geopolymer concrete.
Nano silica is the most common among nanomaterials, which are
Chindaprasirt et al. [16] examined the amount of water perme-
used to enhance and improve the chemical and mechanical proper-
ability and concrete strength containing POFA. They found that the
ties of cementitious materials and has been widely examined. Add-
compressive strengths of concretes containing 20% of GPOFA were
ing Nano silica to the cementitious materials ranges from small to
higher than compressive strength of OPC concrete. But, they also
large quantities [69–77]. After adding small amount ranging from
found that the permeability of water was still lower than that in
1% to 3% of Nano silica, it was noted that the compressive strength,
OPC state. It was concluded that POFA can be used as a pozzolanic
durability, and microstructure of cementitious composites are
material in concrete and thus achieve an acceptable permeability
modified and improved. From chemical aspect, Nano silica acceler-
and strength for concrete samples. In terms of using other wastes
ates the C3S dissolution because of its high surface area [78]. In fact
with POFA as cement replacement, Ranjbar et al. [13] replaced
Nano silica also affects the physical properties through the con-
the Fly Ash (FA) by POFA as a pozzolanic material and measured
sumption of calcium hydroxide (CH) and formation of C–S–H clus-
the volume change, the density, microstructural characteristics,
ters to improve pozzolanic properties in cementitious materials
and compressive strength of concrete samples. They replaced the
[70]. Many studies have reported that POFA has high silica content
FA contents by 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of POFA to prepare
which ranges between 50% and 70% of total weight and makes it a
the geopolymer mortar. All the samples were exposed to a variety
good pozzolanic material in the concrete mixtures, therefore, there
of temperatures starting at room temperature as a reference to
is no need to add more silica to cement containing POFA [1].
300 °C, 500 °C, 800 °C and 1000 °C. The researchers found that,
Previous studies such as [69,76,79–83] have focused on the
after exposing the concrete sample with POFA and FA to higher
enhancement of properties of mortar, paste, and concrete mixtures
temperatures, the compressive strength starts decreasing when
to fast CH consumption, particularly at early ages of concrete sam-
the temperature becomes more than 500 °C. In another study,
ples to discover the high reactivity of Nano particles that includes
POFA was utilized as a pozzolanic material in concrete. The POFA
SiO2. In a recent study by Farzadnia et al. [66], it was reported that
particle sizes in the study were between 7.4 and 15.9 mm, the Port-
adding Nano silica to POFA advantageously affected the
land cement was replaced by POFA at 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% by
microstructure and the shrinkage of concrete. However, there is
weight of binder [3]. Some researchers [64,91] have used high vol-
still need to conduct further experimental works by adding Nano
ume of ultrafine POFA as replacement of cement reaching up to
silica under different conditions to cement containing POFA.
60% of total cement mass to produce concrete. POFA has a signifi-
cant content of silica and thus it has the ability to replace cement
2. Utilization of POFA in concrete in the concrete mixtures [57]. There are significant concerns
related to the durability of concrete buildings as a result of erosion
POFA has many benefits to be utilized in concrete manufactur- and reduction of the age of concrete structures as well as the gen-
ing such as enhancing the concrete properties to resist chloride eration of harmful gases into the surrounding environment. There-
attack [84], assisting to increase the drying shrinkage of concrete fore, a significant number of researchers have begun to exploit new
[85], decreasing heat development, resisting concrete sulfate materials that have high durability and resistance to corrosion,
attack [3,86], and reducing the effect of acidic environment on con- such as FA and POFA [92]. Some researchers have reported that
crete [17]. In 2011, Awal and Hussin [7] studied the effects of POFA the thermal properties of concrete improve if POFA is used as par-
on the heat control of concrete during chemical reactions. They tial cement replacement in concrete [38]. The production of C-S-H
found that the hydration heat depends mainly on the type of gels results from the interaction between Al2O3 and SiO2 with Ca
chemical interactions of the materials. In Thailand, Tangchirapat (OH)2 in a cement paste to produce pozzolanic material [93], and
et al. [3] used POFA to find out its effect on the concrete properties increasing fineness of pozzolanic materials will result in increasing
such as compressive strength, initial and final setting time, and the resistance to sulfate in concrete and reduction in the content of
 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40
Ca(OH)2. In addition to that, concrete with high pozzolanic reaction
is better in terms of enhanced concrete compressive strength along
with being more homogeneous and dense. POFA satisfies the ASTM
C618 chemical requirements in terms of using a binder pozzolanic
material having (LOI) value less than 10%, which makes it suitable
to be used in the concrete production.
Many studies have been conducted to benefit from Palm oil
waste applications in concrete manufacturing and it has been
reported that these wastes have beneficial value [59,94,95]. In
2011, Jaturapitakkul et al. [38] claimed that pozzolanic reaction
of POFA in early age of concrete sample is low and increases with
time. A study on the compressive strength of concrete for 10–40%
of cement replacement was reported where the researchers found
the compressive strength of concrete ranging from 0.1 MPa to 4.5
MPa at 7 days and 2.5 MPa to 22.5 MPa at 90 days [60]. POFA can
be mixed with other waste materials such as fly ash FA in certain
proportions [1] to give high concrete quality in terms of improved
workability and lowering the quantity of super plasticizer (SP). Due
to the considerably large advantages acquired from the utilization
of POFA and FA in concrete as partial replacement of cement, it has
started gaining popularity in concrete manufacturing, especially
towards minimizing cost and ecological issues. In addition, to pro-
duce foamed concrete, good quality is obtained by partially replac-
ing cement with POFA. Even when the compressive strength value
is lower than the control samples, the concrete with POFA can be
used in non-structural building elements such as producing con-
crete blocks that do no need to be of high compressive strength
[96]. Also, POFA can be combined with waste plastic resulting from
plastic factories and daily use by the people to produce concrete
with new properties, such as incorporating POFA with thermoset-
ting plastic, whereas thermosetting plastic has been used by
Panyakap and Panyakapo [97] with fly ash to produce lightweight
concrete, which has acceptable compressive strength for non-
structural elements in buildings. In addition, POFA can be used
along with egg shells, because the latter is rich in calcium oxide
and enhances hydration heat during reaction of materials. Egg
shells were used in concrete by [97,98].
One of the disadvantages of POFA is the high content of non-
burning carbon which is considered to be higher than FA and GGBS
[21]. Therefore addition of high quantity of POFA will result in the
decrease of workability when the replacement reaches up to 30%,
thus necessitating the addition of a superplasticizer [99]. Accumu-
lation of palm oil waste in huge amounts results in the generation
of biomass such as mesocarp fiber, empty fruit bunches, palm oil
leaves, palm oil trunks, palm oil kernel shell, and palm oil mill
effluent, which cause an environmental risk if not treated directly
[44]. In a study by Hassan et al. [100], it was reported that biomass
generation over the world was 80 million tons and this quantity is
expected to reach up to 110 million tons in 2020. Therefore, aca-
demicians and researchers should play a significant role to encour-
age the government and non-government agencies to use these
waste by demonstrating the benefits resulting from utilization in
concrete production and other industries.
3. Utilization of POFA
3.1. POFA as SCM
There has developed an increasing interest in the recent years
towards adopting new supplementary cementitious materials
(SCM) that result in better chemical and physicals characteristics
than traditional concrete [56,101]. Many studies have used POFA
as SCM, for example, Paris et al. [49] conducted a study to find
out the effects of POFA on the physical and mechanical properties
as well as the durability of cement paste. Almost all of the research
31
related to using POFA in the concrete mixtures has been applied in
very warm climates. Due to the increasing demand of cement
materials all over the world, and because of the decrease of coal
fly ash as a supplementary cementitious material, there is an
urgent need to use new supplementary cementitious materials
such as POFA to replace PC fully or partially even in colder climates
[49]. In Thailand, Tangchirapat et al. [5] used the POFA as supple-
mentary cementitious materials to produce new concrete with
high strength. In 2017, Thomas et al. [44] reviewed many studies
related to using POFA as a supplementary cementitious material
and the chemical and physical properties of resulting concrete in
the fresh and hardened states. The authors reported that POFA
gives high strength to concrete in sulfate and acidic environments,
high resistance to chloride and carbonation, in addition to lowering
of permeability and shrinkage. Due to the POFA advantages as a
supplementary cementitious material in the long-term, it has been
more extensively used in concrete preparation, whereas, many
studies have focused on the determination of fresh and hardened
state properties. Palm oil industry is one of the most important
agro industries in South-East Asian region [102]. POFA is the new-
est addition to the cement paste as a SCM, which can be obtained
as a by-product from the palm oil mills and is considered a signif-
icant pozzolanic material [7].
Many studies have been conducted to benefit from the agro
waste materials such as POFA, FA, and rice husk ash (RHA) as
SCM or as pozzolanic materials [103]. Minimizing the permeability
in concrete mixes is one of the advantages resulting from using
SCMs such as POFA. This alters the pore structure and thus
increases resistance to the sulfate and acid attacks. In terms of con-
crete durability properties, POFA and other SCMs enhance concrete
durability and reduce environmental damages, which leads to the
reduction of concrete cost. However, adding an excessive amount
of SCM in cement paste may result in lowering compressive
strength because of reduced portlandite concentration in these
materials [104,105]. Tangchirapat et al. [5] examined water perme-
ability, drying shrinkage, and sulfate resistance in concrete con-
taining POFA, and noted compressive strength up to 70 MPa at
90 days. The researchers reported that concrete thus produced
has lower drying shrinkage than concrete produced from OPC,
and that the concrete water permeability decreases when GPOFA
proportion is increased. Concrete with POFA replacing cement
shows resistance to sulfate better than conventional concrete.
Due to the limited availability of concrete materials in most of
the countries and the high cost of cement, POFA can be used as
SCM in concrete manufacturing in order to be more economical
and environment friendly. The differences in POFA particles
because of incomplete burning in the boilers for some quantities
can cause higher carbon content and make it darker potentially
reducing its utilization as SCMs [106].
3.2. POFA in self-compacting concrete (SCC)
There are many advantages due to the utilization of waste
materials in concrete, one of these advantages is self-compacting
concrete (SCC) when it is required to be poured into a narrow area
[107], especially when the concrete reinforcement is congested
and it is difficult to conduct compaction process to the concrete
during casting. Self-compacting concrete requires reduction in
the aggregate materials and increase in the bonding materials,
which results in additional cost; in order to overcome this problem,
the alternative solution is using a SCM to replace cement partially
[108]. The SCM improves concrete properties such as workability,
decreases cost due to decrease in the cement amount, and
enhances SCC characteristics thus achieving energy saving, which
can be considered a sustainable construction method [109]. POFA
is one of these SCMs that can be used as a replacement of cement
32 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40

because it contains a large quantity of silica that reaches up to 66%, between 43% and 71%, and makes POFA particles with good poz-
which enables it to produce a variety of concrete types [110]. zolanic properties to produce high quality concrete.

4. POFA properties 4.2. Physical properties

4.1. Chemical composition of POFA
The chemical composition of POFA has been examined by many
researchers as shown in Table 1. A large variety has been reported
in the experimental works, the notable variations are due to differ-
ent conditions such as burning temperature, burning quantity of
palm oil parts to produce POFA from different factories and other
factors. These factors were identified in detail by [64,91], who
focused on the higher quantity of silica due to burning some parts
of palm oil tree. The chemical properties of constituent materials
affect the heat of hydration of concrete [102], its compressive
strength and workability. Using waste materials as a replacement
of cement has seen a tremendous advancement due to their chem-
ical composition being suitable to produce high quality concrete in
line with increasingly stringent environmental legislation [111].
The main composition of POFA is silicon dioxide which ranges
The physical properties of POFA are affected by the burning
temperature and other conditions [50,115], for instance, POFA
color is grey in normal state but it becomes darker if it contains
high amount of unburned carbon; and after burning further, the
carbon is removed and the color changes back to grey [119]. The
physical properties of POFA have been shown in Table 2. Specific
gravity of POFA ranges between 2.6 and 1.89; these values are less
than the specific gravity of cement.
4.2.1. Specific gravity
A study by Tay in 1990 [17] showed that the specific gravity of
unground POFA is approximately 40% lower than the specific grav-
ity of OPC, which ranges from 1.78 to 1.97. Sata et al. [59] reported
that the specific gravity increases when the POFA particle size is
finer, to reach up to 2.78 because the reduction in particle sizes
decreases porosity. There are many factors that affect the POFA

Table 1
Chemical compositions of POFA as reported in literature.

References Silicon Aluminum Iron oxide Calcium Magnesium Sodium oxide Potassium Sulfur Loss on
dioxide (SiO2) oxide (Al2O3) (Fe2O3) oxide (CaO) oxide (MgO) (Na2O) oxide (K2O) trioxide ignition (LOI)
(SO3)
[18] 54.0 0.9 2.0 12.9 4.9 1.0 13.5 4.0 3.7
[112] 64.2 3.7 6.3 5.8 4.8 0.18 5.18 0.72 16.3
[56] 65.01 4.68 3.2 8.19 4.58 0.07 6.48 0.33 2.53
[113] 53.5 1.9 1.1 8.3 4.1 1.3 6.5 – 18.0
[15] 43.6 11.4 4.7 8.4 4.8 0.39 3.5 2.8 18.0
[102] 59.62 2.54 5.02 4.92 4.52 0.76 7.52 1.28 8.25
[5] 65.3 2.5 1.9 6.4 3.0 0.3 5.7 0.4 10.0
[59] 65.2 2.6 2.0 6.4 3.1 0.3 5.7 0.5 10.1
[99] 71.67 0.94 2.77 5.61 4.91 0.12 7.89 1.05 –
[90] 63.4 5.5 4.2 4.3 3.7 – 6.3 0.9 6.0
[66] 47.37 3.53 6.19 11.83 4.19 – – 1.22 1.84
[20] 48.9 2.71 6.54 13.89 2.74 0.05 7.13 1.54 11.3
[85] 65.3 2.5 1.9 6.4 3.0 0.3 5.7 0.4 10.0
[16] 57.8 4.6 3.3 6.6 4.2 0.5 8.3 0.3 10.1
[43] 60.42 4.26 3.34 11 5.31 0.18 5.03 0.45 2.55
[19] 54.80 7.40 4.47 14.0 4.14 – – 0.71 9.3
[14] 64.17 3.73 6.3 5.8 4.87 0.18 8.25 0.72 16.3
[63] 69.3 5.30 5.1 9.15 4.1 – 11.1 1.59 1.3
[114] 51.55 4.64 8.64 5.91 2.44 0.07 5.50 0.61 5.00
[7] 43.60 11.40 4.70 8.40 4.80 0.39 3.50 2.80 18.00
[1] 52.63 8.991 1.059 3.211 1.459 0.564 3.133 – 27.7
[115] 64.20 4.25 3.13 10.20 5.90 0.10 8.64 0.09 1.73
[50] 62.6 4.65 8.12 5.7 3.52 – 9.05 1.16 6.25
[116] 47.37 3.53 6.19 11.83 4.19 – – – 1.84
[117] 47.22 2.24 2.65 6.48 5.86 1.22 11.86 9.19 5.42
[118] 63.41 5.55 4.19 4.34 3.74 0.16 6.33 0.91 6.20
[119] 62.60 4.65 8.12 5.70 3.52 – 9.05 1.16 6.25
[30] 59.17 3.73 6.33 5.80 4.87 0.18 8.25 0.72 16.1
[120] 65.30 2.60 2.00 6.40 3.10 0.30 5.70 0.50 10.10
[3] 57.71 4.56 3.30 6.55 4.23 0.50 8.27 0.25 10.52
[84] 63.6 1.60 1.40 7.60 3.90 0.10 6.90 0.20 9.60
[121] 66.91 6.44 5.72 5.56 3.13 0.19 5.20 0.33 2.30
[64] 65.01 5.72 4.41 8.19 4.58 0.07 6.48 0.33 2.53
[86] 57.7 4.5 3.3 6.5 4.2 0.5 8.2 0.2 10.5
[111] 65.01 5.72 4.41 8.19 4.58 0.07 6.48 0.33 2.53
[122] 67.72 3.71 4.71 5.57 4.04 0.16 7.67 1.07 6.20
[123] 62.6 4.65 8.12 5.7 3.52 – 9.05 1.16 6.25
[89] 63.4 5.51 4.2 4.35 3.78 0.15 6.35 0.93 6.19
[16] 57.8 4.6 3.3 6.6 4.2 0.5 8.3 0.3 10.1
[61] 55.7 0.9 2.0 12.5 5.1 1.0 11.9 2.9 4.7
[124] 63.41 5.55 4.19 4.34 3.74 0.16 6.33 0.91 6.20
[125] 64.17 3.73 6.33 5.80 4.87 0.18 8.25 0.72
[126] 53.3 1.9 1.9 9.2 4.1 1.3 6.1
[127] 60.42 4.26 3.34 11.00 5.31 0.18 5.03 0.45 2.55
 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40 33

properties [130] such as treatment processes [64] and the burning
temperature [15]. Therefore, it can be said that the specific gravity
of POFA varies depending on the factors mentioned above but does
not exceeded 3.0. Other researchers [5,120] have also reported that
the specific gravity of POFA increases after the grinding process
due to the minimization of porosity. The specific gravity of POFA
ranges between 2 and 2.5 and thus is less than the specific gravity
of ordinary Portland cement. The specific gravity of POFA particles
was reported as 2.16 by a study conducted to find out properties of
lightweight concrete made from POFA, lime treated sewage sludge
and sodium silicate [131]. While in a study by Mohammadhusseini
et al. [129] the specific gravity of POFA was reported as 2.42; Islam
et al. [99] reported it to be 2.15.
4.2.2. Color
The color of ground POFA is dark gray, while the color is light
gray for unground POFA because of the exposure to low burning
temperature of the unburnt carbon content. The high burning tem-
perature for POFA leads to decrease in the unburnt carbon content
proportion, and thus leads to change in its color [8]. In general, the
color of POFA powder is gray and becomes dark when quantity of
unburned carbon increases [102]. The decarbonation of POFA is
because of the decomposition of calcium carbonate at tempera-
tures ranging between 400 and 600 °C, therefore, the color of POFA
changes from dark black to grey [63]. Zeyad et al. [111] concluded
that the color of POFA particles changes due to the heat treatment
which causes reduction in carbon content responsible for black
color in POFA particles.
4.2.3. Size and shape
Generally, the particle size of unground POFA is larger than
ground POFA. In terms of the geometry, particle shape of unground
POFA is spherical and porous, whereas the particle shape of ground
POFA is an irregular and angular shape because it consists of
crushed particles [16]. The particle size of ground POFA is smaller
than cement particle size which ranges between 7.2 and 10.1 mm,

Table 2
Physical properties of POFA as reported in literature.

References Specific gravity Surface area (m2/g) Blaine fineness, m2/g Median particle size, d50 (mm) Retained on sieve No. 325 (%)
[117] 2.31 4582
[102] 2.42 4930 10.5
[63] 2.56 7205 1.10 0.13
[20] 1.97 82 75
[85] 2.17 19.9 17.1
[43] 2.6 13.40 1.07
[19] 145.35 20–90 nm
[14] 1.89 12.92 22.78
[5] 2.33 10.1 1.5
[18] 2.36 2340 15.6
[128] 2.42 493 14.58 4.98
[60] 2.39 1228 12.30 4.30
[7] 2.22 520
[50] 2.42 4930
[117] 2.16 1977 57.13
[118] 2.2 0.172 88.4
[119] 2.42 4930 33
[86] 2.43 7.4 1.0
[3] 2.36 15.9 19.5
[129] 2.42 4930 33
[99] 2.15 17.10
[111] 2.59 7.670 1.136 2.06
[122] 2.2 1.72
[123] 2.42 4930
[88] 2.14 1.720
[16] 2.43 8.0 1.0
[61] 2.48 1.49 2.1
[124] 2.14 1.72
[125] 1.81 10 96
[127] 2.6 13.40 1.069

UPOFA [20] GPOFA [142]

Fig. 3. Particle shape and size of POFA [20,142].

34 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40

while the cement particle size is 10–20 mm [59]. In order to find out
shape and size of POFA particles, a scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) as one of the analysis tools has been used by many research-
ers [19,20,43,113,132–141], most of whom concluded that GPOFA
particles are smaller in size and less porous compared to UPOFA
particles. SEM analysis for GPOFA and UPOFA can be seen in Fig. 3.
Although POFA particles have different size and most of the
POFA particles have spherical shape, these still have specific grav-
ity less than the cement particles [25]. Regarding the shape of
POFA, Lim at el. [63] conducted tests on the UPOFA particles to find
out morphological structure by Field Emission Scanning Electron
Microscope (FESEM). They noted that UPOFA particles have irregu-
lar, thinner, and crushed particles as shown in Fig. 4. Other
researchers such as [128,135] reported that POFA has thinner,
irregular, crushed particles together with spherical particles, with Fig. 5. Distribution curve of particle size for POFA and OPC [125].
some air gaps present.

4.2.4. Fineness
Fineness is one of the significant physical properties of POFA.
The pozzolanic nature of the material and the hydration rate
depend on the fineness of POFA particles. With the finer particle
size, the compressive strength of concrete increases directly
[20,86,126]. The UPOFA particles are larger than OPC, on the other
hand, the GPOFA particles are finer than OPC as can be seen in
Table 3. Finer POFA particle size can be obtained in ball mills
through grinding process [3,5,59]. The porosity of POFA can also
be reduced by decreasing particle size through the grinding pro-
cess [143]. Besides, Paya et al. [144] showed that the grinding pro-
cess of POFA particles leads to smaller particles with less porosity.
Fig. 4. UPOFA shape by Field Emission Scanning Electron Micrograph (FESEM) [63].
The fineness of POFA can be measured through the mass percent-
age passed or retained on sieve No. 325. Due to the fact that parti-
cle size of GPOFA is smaller than that of OPC, the specific surface
area of OPC is smaller than that of GPOFA as listed in Table 3.
The physical and chemical properties of the waste materials result-
ing from agricultural combustion residue are affected by the mate-
rial treatments inside palm oil mills [49]. Some of these treatments
are calcination temperature, acidic or alkaline pretreatments, and
the Blaine fineness of POFA which may differ from 300 to 1800
m2/kg depending on the treatment method [4]. The Particle size
of POFA and OPC influence the pozzolanic activity in these materi-
als directly. Khalid et al. [126] claimed that grinding process by rod
bar for POFA particles is the best method to get further fineness of
particles with high surface area. The distribution curve of POFA
particles size in Fig. 5 shows that POFA particles have smaller size
than that of OPC particles. In addition to that, there is large quan-
tity of unburned carbon which may affect the concrete workability
by absorption of a huge amount of super plasticizer. The carbon
particles in the unburnt residues can be mitigated or disposed
through heating these particles at a high temperature of up to
500 °C for one hour [64,134]. Awal and Shehu [102] used various
particle sizes of POFA after grinding process for half an hour, where
the specific surface area was 4930 cm2/g, while the ash retained on
45 mm sieve was 10.5% only.
As shown in Fig. 5, POFA particle size in normal state is larger
than OPC particles. While POFA particles have size 2.99 mm, UPOFA
particles have size 2.06 mm, which is considered finer than OPC
particles [44]. Another study divided POFA particles into 3 sections,
small, medium, and large particle sizes, which have median sizes of
7.4, 15.9, and 183 mm, respectively. The POFA particle fineness and

Table 3
Effects of the particle size POFA on concrete properties.

References Particle size of Positive effect

POFA (mm)
[99] 45 Adding 10% POFA had higher compressive strength than control concrete at 90 day
[64] 2 Improved workability due to reduction in water demand. In addition, enhanced the compressive strength up to 104 MPa at 28 days.
[59] 11 Use of UPOFA particles in high strength concrete is effective in minimizing the superplasticizer volume in high compressive
strength concrete, less than the quantity required in silica fume state.
[5] 10.1 Small particle size of POFA can be used as a cement replacement in high strength concrete to minimize the water permeability and
produce high compressive strength.
[3] 7.4 The small POFA particle size can replace cement in the concrete mixture due to the ability to resist sulfate and improve compressive
strength at the age of 90 days, especially when 20% is added as replacement.
[85] 10.1 The grinding process for POFA to produce micro particle size enhances the concrete durability and reduces water absorption.
[61] 2.2 Finer particles of POFA improve compressive strength higher than POFA with coarse particle size
[18] 2.1 Grinding POFA to get high fineness particles assists to use it as pozzolan material and, therefore, it can be used as cement
replacement up to 30% of total cement weight.
[125] 10 Due to small particle size of POFA, it can be used a replacement of cement by 20% in self-compacting concrete SCC.
[127] 1.069 Effect of using ultrafine POFA particles was acquiring more strength especially after adding 10 ML of Na2SiO3 aq to NaOHaq
 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40
the specific gravity increases whenever the grinding process is
used to get smaller particles. Jaturapitakkul et al. [86] discovered
that increasing POFA fineness leads to decrease in the compressive
strength in addition to improving resistance against sulfate attack.
Lim at al. [63] used UPOFA with particle size 146% less than OPC to
find out impact of Nano POFA on the hydration heat and
microstructure properties of cement mortar. UPOFA particles have
high surface area than that of GPOFA and OPC particles.
4.2.5. Absorption of water
One of the physical properties of cement mortar and concrete
paste is the ability to absorb water. A few studies have been con-
ducted to examine the water absorption of concrete containing
POFA as a replacement of cement material. One of these studies
in 1990 showed that absorption of water increased whenever the
quantity of POFA content increased in concrete mixture [17,39].
Islam et al. showed that absorption of water in concrete containing
POFA as a replacement of cement with proportion range between
10 and 70% increases because of the delayed hydration and ten-
dency of POFA to absorb water [99]. In a recent study to determine
water absorption for concrete containing POFA, tests were con-
ducted at two ages of 28 and 90 days. Firstly, the disc specimens
were dried at 105 ± 5C for 2 days and left at room temperature
before being immersed in water for curing purpose [99]. Absorp-
tion of water was determined through observing the weight of
the samples at 30 min and 72 h. Lau et al. [131] noted that increase
of temperature of sintering leads to decrease in the water absorp-
tion of light weight concrete containing POFA and lime treated
sewage sludge. Mixing waste polypropylene (PP) with POFA was
done by Mohammadhusseini et al. [129], who investigated the
durability properties of sustainable concrete compound, which
consisted of POFA and PP (carpet fiber). They noted that mixing
POFA and PP in concrete assists to decrease the slump value, the
water absorption and chloride penetration. In a study by Yahaya
[145], it was claimed that POFA with pulverized fuel ash PFA used
as replacement of concrete by 10%, 20%, and 30% has ability to
enhance concrete porosity due to minimizing voids within con-
crete microstructure and thus producing concrete with high den-
sity. It is known that some of the materials have good absorption
of water due to the microstructure properties of their composites,
and it is generally agreed upon that materials containing finer par-
ticle have improved resistance to water transportation through
them. Therefore, further studies should be conducted using nano-
materials as cement replacement such as Nano POFA, Nano FA,
and Nano GRBA [59].
5. Effects of POFA on the concrete properties
5.1. Effects of POFA on fresh concrete properties
5.1.1. Workability
Workability is a significant characteristic to determine the con-
crete quality. Decrease of concrete workability occurs due to higher
amount of unburned carbon in POFA, especially when the replace-
ment level of cement is high [21]. Slump test is generally used to
identify the workability; Awal and Shehu studied the slump of con-
crete which contains different percentages of POFA in various con-
crete mixtures; they found that whenever the percentage of POFA
is increased in concrete mix, the workability also increases and the
slump value decreases [102]. On the other hand, Tay and Show [85]
noted that workability of concrete decreases with increased
amount of POFA percentages in the concrete mortar. They con-
cluded that no segregation in concrete sample occurs when the
compacting factor value is more than 0.93 [39]. In a recent study
by Noorvand et al. to assess the desired workability, nanosilica
35
was utilized with concrete containing POFA in order to reduce
the quantity of super plasticizer in concrete mortar [20]. Aldah-
dooh et al. concluded that the workability of concrete increases
when using ultra fine POFA particles instead of OPC. The workabil-
ity increases because of the lower carbon content and the lower
loss of ignition (LOI) of the ultra-fine POFA [56]. Concrete contain-
ing unburned carbon leads to decrease in the workability of con-
crete. Islam et al. studied the behavior of concrete containing
POFA. They noted that the concrete workability will be reduced
when replacement level of POFA is more than 30% [99]. Also, the
slump is not influenced if the POFA content is less than 20%, com-
pared with Palm oil shell to produce lightweight aggregate con-
crete (LWAC) without POFA [99]. Other studies, such as [4] have
concluded that increasing the amount of POFA replacement will
result in decreasing the concrete workability level due to the
increase in water demand. Yusuf et al. [43] investigated impact
of H2O/Na2O molar ratios on the UPOFA and ground blast furnace
slag GBFS. They noted that using Na2O in UPOFA and GBFS has pos-
itive impact on the workability of concrete, while it has negative
impact on the compressive strength of the concrete sample.
Another study by Ariffin et al. [113] used sodium hydroxide and
sodium silicate, NaOH and Na2So3, as alkaline solution that have
been mixed together for 5 min; in addition, super plasticizer was
used to achieve required workability ranging between 80 and
100 mm. They noted that the concrete paste had low workability
making it not suitable to be cast in molds. Salami et al. [136]
reported that to achieve the required workability, water should
be added to fresh concrete containing POFA. Muthusamy et al.
[146] used POFA as cement replacement in various percentages
with oil palm shell OPS as a coarse aggregate in order to benefit
from the waste materials generated from palm oil industry, and
mitigate the hazardous impacts to the environment. They noted
that using POFA with 20% to 30% achieved the best results in terms
of workability and compressive strength. Slump tests were con-
ducted by Bashar et al. [122] to investigate the concrete workabil-
ity; the slump value was recorded zero due to the use of high
quantity of POFA, which caused absorption of high quantity of
water resulting in decreasing the concrete workability. Awal and
Mohammadhusseini [123] used 20% POFA as replacement of
cement and various proportions of waste carpet fiber (WCF) rang-
ing between 0.25% and 1%. They noted that the slump value
decreases from 210 mm for the mix without fiber to reach 25
mm with the addition of only 1% fiber into the concrete mix. The
addition of 20% of POFA also improved the workability by reducing
slump value. Islam et al. [88] conducted a study to examine the
extent of concrete incorporating oil palm shell as coarse aggregate
and POFA with GGBS as binder replaced in concrete. They con-
cluded that the addition of fibers to concrete results in reducing
the concrete workability due to large surface area and the ability
to absorb high quantity of water. It is noted that there is a lack
of studies in literature that focus on evaluating the workability of
concrete made by combining POFA and other plastic materials
[147] in order to fully benefit from the effects of plastic properties
on the workability.
5.1.2. Heat of hydration
Awal and Shehu noted an increase in the concrete temperature
value containing 50%, 60% and 70% of POFA compared to 100% OPC
in the beginning. However, the total temperature increase reduced
in concrete containing POFA and thus the occurrence of peak tem-
perature was delayed [102]. On the other hand, Lim at el. [63] con-
ducted a study on the impact of high volume Nano POFA on the
hydration temperature and microstructure properties of cement
mortar. They concluded that a high volume of Nano POFA reduces
the heat of hydration of cement mortar; it can also be used to treat
thermal cracking resulting from large temperature increase in
36 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40

Table 4
Compressive strength for concrete containing the POFA as replacement of cement.

References Compressive strength in MPa at 28 days with replacement value

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
[30] 67.1 69.0 68.0 65.5
[102] 46 41 36 28
[120] 77.5 81.3 85.9 79.8
[5] 58.5 59.5 60.9 58.8
[153] 137 142 153 146
[64] 91 98 104 98
[122] 31.4 30
[89] 41.8 42.4 38.4
[59] 77 81 86 79
[86] 31.9 31.9 31.6 30.1 27.5
[119] 44.4 35.7 29.5 27.0

mass mortar. However, there are few studies that illustrate the
impact of Nano POFA along with other Nano composites of waste
materials on the heat of hydration of cement. Therefore it is needed
to study the use of high volume mixing Nano POFA and Nano fly
ash and find out how it affects the heat of hydration. In addition
to the potential utilization of POFA as cement replacement in cold
climates, it will also help understand its effects on the heat of
hydration of cement in climate change conditions.
5.2. Effect of POFA on hardened concrete properties
5.2.1. Drying shrinkage
Drying shrinkage is responsible for cracks occurring because of
the loss of water from concrete paste, and it occurs particularly in
dry and hot weather [85]. Many studies have been conducted to
find out the impact of POFA as cement replacement on drying
shrinkage in concrete. Farzadnia et al. [66] investigated the effects
of adding various dosages of Nano silica on short-term drying
shrinkage of cement mortars containing POFA as partial replace-
ment of cement during the first 28 days. They noted that the con-
crete samples with 30% POFA as cement replacement showed
increased compressive strength by 15% during 7 to 28 days of
treatment, while drying shrinkage decreased by 7.5%. At the same
time, the hydration volume of concrete mix increased. A significant
result from a study by Lau et al. [131] is the shrinkage index. They
used POFA, lime treated sewage sludge, and sodium silicate to pro-
duce lightweight aggregate; all these materials had been sintering
under three temperatures of 1160, 1180 and 1200 °C. The research-
ers noted that the fire condition and adding more binder affects the
shrinkage index and water absorption. The shrinkage index can be
defined as the percentage for changing in pellets’ diameter before
and after burning as illustrated in equation below [148].
d2  d1
Shrinkage index ¼  100
d1
where d1 is pellets diameter before burning and d2 is pellets diam-
eter after burning.
However, adding some materials to the concrete mix is
expected to change the drying shrinkage value. Other materials
can be used instead of Nano silica, such as Nano clay [149,150]
and Nano alumina [151] to control the drying shrinkage of
concrete.
5.2.2. Compressive strength
Most of the researchers have conducted their studies to
improve the compressive strength of concrete containing POFA.
For example, Muthusamy and Zamri [114] concluded that 20% of
POFA as cement replacement is the optimum level for compressive
strength of concrete at 28 days. In another study by Islam et al.
[89], it was found that 10% of POFA is the optimum level to replace
cement in the concrete mix. The values of the compressive strength
of concrete mixtures containing different percentages of POFA as
cement replacement as reported in the literature are shown in
Table 4. It may be disadvantageous to use POFA in excessive pro-
portions if the structure is expected to face adverse conditions such
as earthquakes [96]. In a recent study by Zeyad et al. [2], it was
shown that ultrafine POFA replacing cement can achieve compres-
sive strength higher than control samples, which may reach more
than 90 MPa at 28 days. In 2007, Tangchirapat et al. [3] used three
types of POFA in concrete; the first type was original POFA called
OP, the second type was median particles (15.9 m) called MP, and
the third type was small particles (7.4 m) called SP. They reported
that the compressive strength of concrete containing OP was much
lower than in case of OPC, while compressive strength of concrete
containing 10% MP, and concrete containing 20% SP was better
than normal concrete at 90 days. Application of Nano POFA with
particle size less than 100 nm has better characteristics than nor-
mal cement mortar as filler and binder in cement mortar, in addi-
tion more than 80% cement replacement by Nano POFA in concrete
mix can be used to achieve compressive strength more than nor-
mal concrete [63]. Another study investigated the potential of
using high volume of POFA and OPC in sustainable concrete with
various proportions in addition to the effects of these quantities
on the chemical and physical properties [99]. Incorporation of
10–20% of POFA as filler in lightweight foamed concrete improves
the compressive, flexural, and tensile strength if compared with
lightweight foamed concrete containing 100% sand [87]. On the
other hand, Awal and Mohammadhusseini [123] conducting their
research by incorporating POFA and waste carpet fiber (WCF) as
replacement of cement in various proportions of WCF and 20%
POFA. The compressive strength was reported to range between
38.1 and 49.1 MPa at the age of 91 days. Some researchers have
conducted their studies by adding Nano silica to the unground
POFA, for example Noorvand et al. [20], to improve the mechanical
properties of concrete, such as increasing the compressive strength
ð1Þ
and decreasing water absorption of cement mortar. More research
is required in this regard to improve mechanical properties of con-
crete using waste materials, which are freely available and cost
less, such as combination of Nano POFA as cement replacement
with egg shells [152].
6. Discussion and conclusions
A review of the literature on the use of POFA as cement replace-
ment in the concrete production emphasizes the importance of this
practice towards sustainability. On the one hand, cement and con-
crete industry has been reported to consume large amounts of
energy, utilize great quantities of natural resources and generate
significant proportion of the CO2 in the atmosphere. Any technol-
ogy aimed at reducing the use of cement in the preparation of con-
crete is going to be beneficial on all these three fronts i.e. energy
economy, resources sustainability, and environmental friendliness.
 H.M. Hamada et al. / Construction and Building Materials 175 (2018) 26–40
On the other hand, large quantities of agricultural/industrial waste
byproducts are being dumped in the landfill sites without treat-
ment or re-use. The management of these wastes is a significant
environmental challenge. The use of these waste materials in the
production of concrete can not only result in the efficient solid
waste management of the same but it will also help reduce the
use of cement realizing all the benefits mentioned above.
Many researchers have studied the potential of using POFA as
partial cement replacement in concrete. The significant informa-
tion gathered from reviewing the present state of this practice
can be summarized as:

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is obtained as a byproduct when waste
materials are burnt in palm oil mills to produce electricity.

Grinding procedures can be applied to obtain finer varieties of
POFA such as Ground POFA (GPOFA), Ultrafine POFA (UPOFA),
and Nano POFA.

In its original size, the microstructure composition of POFA is
weak and highly porous. Reducing the particle size to micro
and nano, however, significantly improves the performance of
POFA. The finer varieties of POFA react well with the other con-
stituent materials and produce stronger concrete.

POFA satisfies the ASTM C618 requirements to be used as a bin-
der pozzolanic material in concrete production.

POFA is rich in SiO2 and therefore, is a good pozzolanic material.
With the addition of Calcium, it can produce extra Calcium-
Silicate-Hydroxide (C-S-H) gels, which increase the density
and durability of the cement mortar.

Addition of Nano Silica along with POFA increases the compres-
sive strength of concrete and reduces the water absorption.

The use of POFA in concrete improves the resistance to the chlo-
ride and sulfate attacks.

The compressive strength of concrete containing POFA
decreases at temperatures in excess of 500 °C.

The specific gravity of POFA ranges between 2.6 and 1.89, which
is less than the specific gravity of cement resulting in the pro-
duction of lighter concrete when cement is partially replaced
by POFA.

POFA has a high content of unburnt Carbon resulting in decreas-
ing the workability when high amount of POFA is used as
cement replacement. This necessitates the use of a super
plasticizer.

The use of POFA as a secondary cementitious material can help
reduce the drying shrinkage in concrete.

POFA can also be used as partial cement replacement to produce
self-compacting concrete.

The finer the particle size of POFA, the higher is the compressive
strength of the resulting concrete. However, the finer varieties
of POFA have higher specific gravity than the coarser varieties.

The use of POFA tends to delay the hydration process and
increase the absorption of water.

A high volume of Nano POFA reduces the heat of hydration of
cement mortar. It can also be used to treat thermal cracking
resulting from large temperature increase in mass mortar.

Researchers have reported various proportions ranging from
10% to 20% of cement replacement by POFA to be optimum
for the compressive strength of concrete.

The use of ultrafine POFA has been reported to produce concrete
strength up to 90 MPa at 28 days.

The use of Nano POFA has also been reported to produce
strengths more than normal concrete.

Incorporation of 10–20% of POFA as filler in lightweight foamed
concrete improves the compressive, flexural, and tensile
strength compared with lightweight foamed concrete contain-
ing sand only.
37
Based on the above review of the literature on the use of POFA
as partial cement replacement in concrete production, the follow-
ing directions are suggested for the future research.
1. A comparative study can be carried out between concrete con-
taining POFA with micro particles and concrete containing
POFA with Nano particles, in terms of resistance for marine
environmental conditions.
2. Compressive strength of concrete samples prepared with the
POFA obtained from various sources such as different factories
should be compared in order to determine if the source from
where the POFA has been obtained is significant for concrete
properties.
3. The use of Nano POFA along with Nano-Alumina in various pro-
portions needs to be studied in order to find out the physical
and chemical properties of the resulting concrete.
Conflict of interest
There is no conflict of interest.
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