Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 1848–1853

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Construction and Building Materials

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Oil palm shell as a lightweight aggregate for production high strength

lightweight concrete
Payam Shafigh ⇑, Mohd Zamin Jumaat, Hilmi Mahmud
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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

Article history: In Malaysia, oil palm shell (OPS) is an agricultural solid waste originating from the palm oil industry. In
Received 4 June 2010 this investigation old OPS was used for production of high strength lightweight concrete (HSLC). The den-
Received in revised form 5 October 2010 sity, air content, workability, cube compressive strength and water absorption were measured. The effect
Accepted 13 November 2010
of five types of curing conditions on 28-day compressive strength was studied. The test results showed
Available online 18 December 2010
that by incorporating limestone powder and without it, it is possible to produce the OPS concretes with
28-day compressive strength of about 43–48 MPa and dry density of about 1870–1990 kg/m3. The com-
Keywords:
pressive strength of OPS HSLC is sensitive to the lack of curing. The water absorption of these concretes is
High strength lightweight concrete
Compressive strength
in the range of good concretes.
Curing Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Agricultural solid waste
Oil palm shell

1. Introduction 1000–1200 °C [6]. This temperature results in high fuel costs.

Ordinary concrete, made with natural aggregate, has a low
strength–weight ratio compared to steel. Therefore, in using it
there is an economic disadvantage when designing structural
members for tall buildings, long-span bridges, and floating struc-
tures. One of the ways to resolve this problem is through using
high strength lightweight aggregate concrete [1]. High Strength
Low Density Concrete (HSLDC) typically achieves strength levels
from 34 to 69 MPa. This concrete has an air dry density not exceed-
ing 2000 kg/m3 as determined by ASTM C 567 [2]. HSLC with com-
pressive strength targets ranging from 35 to 41 MPa has been
successfully used for precast and prestressed concrete producers
in North America. In addition, tests with ultimate strengths
approaching 69 MPa are ongoing [3]. By using a high cement con-
tent and good quality lightweight aggregate of small size i.e. 9 or
13 mm maximum it has been possible in some precast and pre-
stressing plants to produce 40–50 MPa concrete [1].
The most popular method for lightweight concrete production
is to use lightweight aggregate (LWA) [4] and, in most cases, the
lightweight concrete has been made using a lightweight coarse
aggregate and a normal weight sand for the fine aggregate [5].
Expanded clay and shale are two artificial lightweight aggregates
that are most suitable for the production of structural quality
lightweight concrete [1]. These types of commercially available
lightweight aggregates are obtained through heat treatment at
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 172437383; fax: +60 379675318.
E-mail address: p_shafigh@yahoo.com (P. Shafigh).
Therefore, it would be beneficial to find a lightweight aggregate
from a natural source. But with the increasing use of these types
of lightweight aggregates consequently, it will cause a severe
depletion of the natural resources. An alternative source for light-
weight aggregate is the utilization of lightweight waste materials.
Using these types of lightweight aggregates will not only provide
a significant saving in the overall cost of construction but also, by
reducing solid waste it will address the concomitant environmen-
tal problems. Oil palm shell (OPS) or palm kernel shell (PKS) is a
waste from the agricultural sector and is available in large quan-
tities in the tropical regions. It has been found that OPS can be
used as coarse aggregate for the manufacture of structural light-
weight concrete [7–11]. In addition, the durability properties of
OPS concrete are comparable to that of other conventional light-
weight concrete [12]. Although OPS lightweight aggregate
concrete has been successfully produced in the past, the compres-
sive strength was generally only suited to grades 20–35 and there
are no reports of studies to develop high strength lightweight
concrete using this agricultural solid waste. Mannan and Ganapa-
thy [13] demonstrated that the 28-day compressive strength of
OPS concrete is between 20 and 24 MPa. Okafor [14] claimed that
with palm kernel shell cannot produce concrete with compressive
strength above 30 MPa. However a 28-day compressive strength
of 32.8 MPa was obtained for OPS concrete by quality improve-
ment (similar to the preservation of wood) of oil palm shell
[15]. The highest 28-day compressive strength of about 36 MPa
was achieved in another study [16].
The main purpose of this study is to develop high strength light-
weight concretes using oil palm shell as lightweight aggregate, and

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.11.075
 P. Shafigh et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 1848–1853 1849

to determine the influence of curing conditions on the compressive

strength of high strength OPS concrete.

2. Experiment programme

2.1. Materials

2.1.1. Cement and filler

The cement used was Malaysia ordinary Portland cement (OPC), having a 3-, 7-
and 28-day compressive strength of 25.5, 34.2 and 45.9 MPa, respectively. The spe-
cific gravity of the cement used was 3.14 g/cm3. Its Blaine specific surface area was
3510 cm2/g. Its chemical composition is given in Table 1. Fine limestone powder,
with 92% <75 lm, 85% <45 lm and Blaine specific surface area of 7270 cm2/g,
was used as filler and as a part of the fine aggregate. The chemical compositions
of the cement and limestone powder used, expressed in percentages by mass of
the constituent oxides, are shown in Table 1.

2.1.2. Aggregates
Local mining sand with a fineness modulus of 2.73, specific gravity of 2.68, Fig. 1. OPS aggregates with and without fibre.
water absorption of 0.96% was used as the fine aggregate.
OPS were used as the coarse aggregate. They were collected from a local crude
palm oil producing mill, and comprised old discarded waste at the palm oil mill Table 2
area. Old OPS means that they are discarded for more than 6 months at the palm Physical properties of OPS and crushed stone.
oil mill area. The difference between old and fresh OPS is in the fibre content on
the surface. Usually more than 50% of fresh OPS grains have fibre. This percentage Physical property OPS (9.5 mm)
for old OPS is less than 5%. Fig. 1 shows the OPS grains with and without fibre. These Specific gravity (saturated surface dry) 1.19
fibres increase the demand for water and also diminish the contact area between Bulk density (compacted) (kg/m3) 598
the mortar and OPS surface that result in a weak interfacial transition zone. Conse- Fineness modulus 5.64
quently, to achieve better workability of fresh OPS concrete and the bond between Water absorption (10 and 30 min) (%) 7.15 and 8.32
OPS and mortar phase, the old OPS were used. Before the OPS were used, they were Water absorption (1 and 24 h) (%) 10.18 and 21.82
washed and sieved. They were then soaked in water for 24 h, and subsequently air
dried in the laboratory to obtain approximately a saturated surface dry condition.
For investigation of the size effect of OPS aggregate on compressive strength, OPS
Table 3
aggregate passing through the 12.5 and 9.5 mm sieve were used to obtain two types
Grading of OPS aggregates.
of OPS aggregate with a difference in maximum size. The physical properties and
grading of OPS are shown in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. Sieve size (mm) Cumulative % by weight passing
OPS (12.5 mm) OPS (9.5 mm)
2.1.3. Superplasticizer
Trial mixes show that the selection of the type of superplasticizer (SP) and its 12.5 100 100
dosage are very important to improve the workability of fresh OPS concrete. The 9.5 78.49 100
importance of using superplasticizer in oil palm shell concrete was reported by 4.75 22.50 24.17
Okafor [17]. Hence, several types of SP were tested. The SP used in this study was 2.36 4.74 5.64
Sika ViscoCrete-15RM, supplied from Sika, is in conformity with EN 934-2, and 1.18 1.76 2.04
was used as 1%, 1.5% and 1.8% of cement weight.

2.1.4. Water 2.3. Curing regimes

The water used in all mixes was potable water from the pipeline in the lab.
For determining the effect of the curing environment on the 28-day compres-
2.2. Mix proportions sive strength of high strength OPS concrete, the specimens were cured under five
types of curing conditions. The curing symbols and their descriptions are given
Eight different OPS concrete mixtures were produced, as shown in Table 4. The below:
cement content was 480, 520 and 550 kg/m3. The effect of maximum coarse aggre-
gate size was compared with mix 1 (12.5 mm maximum size) and mix 2. The max-  FW: Specimens were immersed in water at 20 ± 2 °C after demoulding till the
imum OPS size for all mixes, except mix 1 was 9.5 mm. age of testing.
For investigation of the effect of limestone powder as a filler material on the  7W: Curing in water for 6 days after demoulding and then air cured in labora-
fresh and hardened OPS concrete, three additional mixes were made to compare tory environment with RH of 65 ± 15% and temperature of 27 ± 3 °C.
the effect of partial replacement limestone powder (10, 20 and 30% of OPC by  3T7D: Specimens were watered three times per day (in the morning, afternoon
weight) by the fine aggregate (mixes 3–5). In addition, the effect of increasing the and evening) for 6 days after demoulding and then air cured in laboratory
OPS amount on the properties of high strength OPS concrete (mixes 7 and 8) were environment.
compared.  3T3D: Specimens were watered three times per day (in the morning, afternoon
and evening) for 2 days after demoulding and then air cured in laboratory
environment.
Table 1  AC: Specimens were kept in laboratory environment after demoulding.
Chemical composition of cement and limestone (%).
2.4. Test methods
Contents OPC Limestone powder
SiO2 18.47 0.21 All materials except the water and superplasticizer (SP) were put into a pan
Fe2O3 2.06 0.16 mixer and mixed for 1 min. To ensure that the entire SP was uniformly distributed
CaO 64.09 53.23 throughout the entire mix, and before the water was added to the mixture, SP was
MgO 2.08 2.54 mixed with 70% of the mixing water and then added into the mixture. After 3 min of
K2O 0.28 0.03 mixing, the remaining water was added and mixing was done for 2 min. After this
P2O5 0.07 0.29 time the slump test was performed; this is called slump at zero time. Other slump
SO3 4.25 0.35 measurements were done at 15, 30 and 45 min to determine workability loss with
SrO 0.019 0.03 time. It should be noted that the moulding for the cubes with 100 mm sides was
Al2O3 4.27 – started in the 30th minute.
Cl 0.015 – After casting, the specimens were covered with plastic sheet and stored in the
LOI 1.41 41.55 laboratory environment. The specimens were demoulded after 24 h of casting.
Three test specimens were prepared for obtaining average values at any age.
1850 P. Shafigh et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 1848–1853

Table 4
Mix proportions.

Mix No. Content (kg/m3) Water to cement ratio SP (%)

OPC Water Limestone Sand OPS
1 550 234 0 950 281a 0.425 1
2 550 234 0 950 273 0.425 1
3 550 234 55 895 273 0.425 1
4 550 234 110 840 273 0.425 1
5 550 234 165 785 273 0.425 1
6 480 182 0 1050 295 0.38 1.5
7 520 177 0 852 364 0.34 1.5
8 520 177 0 746 420 0.34 1.8
a
Maximum size of 12.5 mm.

For determination of water absorption of all mixes at the age of 28-day, speci-
mens were dried in the oven at 100 ± 5 °C to reach a constant mass and then fully
immersed in water with 20 ± 2 °C for 72 h. This test was similar to the test con-
ducted by Razak et al. [18] and Teo et al. [19].
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Properties of fresh concrete
aggregates, when the maximum size is reduced (from 12.5 mm
to 9.5 mm in this study) the variety of shapes diminish.
The average air content of the concrete with limestone powder
was 1.4%. A decrease in the air content causes an increase in the
compressive strength. Al-Khaiat and Haque [20] reported an aver-
age air content of 1.7% for high strength lightweight concrete
(HSLC), which was produced using Lytag coarse and fine aggregate.
In addition, for Brazilian (expanded clay) high performance light-
weight concrete, an average air content of 2.7% was reported [21].

Table 5 summarizes the results for the slump values of fresh
concrete samples that were tested immediately after mixing and
also at times of 15, 30 and 45 min to determine the slump loss of
the mixtures. It can be seen that, all the concretes made (except
mix 5) had a maximum slump at 15 min or 30 min. This phenom-
enon shows that to achieve the better workability for OPS concrete
it needs more time for mixing. In general, all mixes exhibit a good
to high workability. No segregation and bleeding occurred in any of
the mixes produced. By improving the workability and compatibil-
ity of the mixture, the strength of the interfacial transition zone
tends to improve and, thus, improves the strength of the concrete.
The effect of the maximum size of OPS on workability was dem-
onstrated by mixes 1 and 2. With the same proportions, the con-
crete slump increased slightly when the maximum size of OPS
aggregate was changed from 9.5 mm to 12.5 mm.
The effect of limestone powder on workability was demon-
strated by mixes 2–5. Adding limestone powder resulted in the
reduction of workability of the concrete. Especially for mix 5, from
the time of leaving the mixer, the concrete presented a signifi-
cantly slump loss.
The air content of concrete mixes 1 and 2 was 2.2% and 1.6%,
respectively. Teo et al. [19] reported that the air content in the
OPS concrete is in the range of 4.8–5.5%. They attributed this high
air content to the highly irregular shapes of the OPS which pre-
vented full compaction from being achieved, as well as the high
water absorption of OPS. From the results of this study (decrease
air content more than 50%), it seems that the first reason is the
most effective for the high air content. This is because, in OPS
Table 5
The results of the slump test.
Mix No. Slump (mm)
3.2. Compressive strength and density
Fresh unit and oven dry weights for all the concrete mixtures
are given in Table 6 with the standard variations. The dry concrete
density varied from 1868 to 1988 kg/m3. If the weight of ordinary
concrete in 2300 kg/m3 to be considered there is a saving in the
dead load between about 14% and 19%.
The compressive strength of the full water cured concretes is in-
cluded in Table 7. The 28-day compressive strength of the OPS con-
cretes varies between around 43 and 48 MPa, which suggests that
these concretes are high strength. The pore structure, density, and
strength may vary within a wide range for different types of light-
weight aggregate. Hence, not all types of lightweight aggregate are
suitable for production of high-strength concrete [22]. This inves-
tigation shows that with this agricultural waste aggregate (OPS)
the production of HSLC is possible. The use of old OPS causes the
better bond between cement matrix and OPS. Furthermore, be-
cause the OPS grains are in different shape by more time mixing
even within the globular grains are filled with mortar completely
and also remaining fibres on the surface will be removed.
All the mixtures obtained 86–91% of their 28-day strength at
7 day age. Fujji et al. [23] reported that this ratio for HSLC is be-
tween 80 and 90%. 7-day strength to 28-day strength ratio for HSLC
of 86–92% was reported elsewhere [3]. In this study, the ratio of 1-
day and 3-day strength to 28-day strength obtained 40–66% and
72–81%, respectively.
Fig. 2 presents the compressive strength development for con-
cretes containing OPS with a maximum size of 12.5 mm (mix 1),
and 9.5 mm (mix 2). The results indicate that a decrease in the
Table 6
Fresh and oven dry density of concrete (kg/m3).

0 (min) 15 (min) 30 (min) 45 (min) Mix No. Fresh density Oven dry density
1 230 250 255 250 1 2063 ± 18 1937 ± 17
2 214 245 235 233 2 2055 ± 19 1935 ± 23
3 210 235 220 200 3 2005 ± 15 1920 ± 10
4 230 235 185 120 4 1991 ± 15 1903 ± 12
5 215 164 65 20 5 1970 ± 10 1878 ± 27
6 50 80 70 40 6 2058 ± 11 1988 ± 13
7 48 130 95 95 7 2000 ± 14 1956 ± 14
8 53 55 80 60 8 1931 ± 13 1868 ± 13
 P. Shafigh et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 1848–1853 1851

Table 7 in Fig. 3. A suitable linear relation is developed between the den-

Compressive strength of full water curing.a sity and compressive strength for grades of OPS concrete ranging
Mix No. 1 (day) 3 (days) 7 (days) 28 (days) from 42.8 to 48.3 MPa. It is clearly seen from Fig. 2 that the com-
1 22.18 (49%) 32.80 (72%) 38.94 (86%) 45.54 pressive strength linearly increases with the increase of density.
2 19.84 (43%) 33.80 (73%) 41.09 (89%) 46.15 A relation has been proposed, which is suitable for OPS high-
3 27.79 (60%) 36.19 (78%) 42.05 (91%) 46.28 strength concrete. The proposed equation is given by:
4 31.67 (66%) 36.74 (76%) 42.12 (87%) 48.33 y = 0.04x 29.37, where, y is the compressive strength (MPa),
5 29.33 (63%) 36.06 (78%) 40.15 (86%) 46.51
6 22.16 (47%) 38.04 (81%) 42.05 (89%) 47.22
and x is the oven dry density (kg/m3). This equation has an R2 of
7 22.98 (50%) 36.09 (78%) 41.66 (90%) 46.35 0.96, indicating a strong relationship. Fig. 3 also shows a compari-
8 17.16 (40%) 32.17 (75%) 38.29 (90%) 42.75 son between the OPS LWC in this study and LWC based on ex-
a panded clay aggregates reported by Chen and Liu [26], and
The data in parentheses are percentages of 28-day compressive strength.
Rossignolo and Agnesini [27]. It is clear from Fig. 3 that according
to the results of this study, OPS high strength lightweight concrete
is available in the range of higher density. The density of the OPS
55
high strength lightweight concrete is significantly higher than that
Cmpressive strength (MPa)

50 of manufactured lightweight aggregate (expanded clay).

45 Proposed prediction models for compressive strength are of
great concern in structural engineering. However, for high-
40
strength concrete it is difficult to predict the 28-day strengths from
35 early strength because of the influence of the aggregate [22]. In this
30
study, it was observed that for mixes without limestone powder
there is an acceptable linear relationship between early age
25 Mix 2 strengths and 28-day strength. These relationships are presented
20 Mix 1 in Fig. 4. The linear correlation seems to be better for the 7 day
than for the 1 or 3 day.
15
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Age (days) 3.3. Effect of curing condition on 28-day compressive strength

Fig. 2. Development of compressive strength of mixes 1 and 2. Curing is the maintaining of a satisfactory moisture content and
temperature in concrete during its early stages so that the desired
properties may develop [28]. A minimum period of 7 days of moist
maximum size of OPS aggregate significantly improves the 56-day
curing is generally recommended with concrete containing normal
strength of concrete.
Portland cement or a mineral admixture, a longer curing period is
The highest 1 day compressive strength with an average of
desirable to ensure strength contribution from the pozzolanic reac-
about 30 MPa was obtained for all mixes containing limestone
tion [1]. The effect of different curing regimes on 28-day compres-
powder (mixes 3–5), because of the filler effect. Therefore, this
sive strength has been plotted in Fig. 5. Regardless of the mix
concrete, with an average dry density of about 1900 kg/m3 can
proportions, all the concretes had a strength loss in air curing or
be used for precast concrete manufacturing.
early curing regimes compared to the strength development of
The optimum percentage limestone filler (by weight of cement,
those that were continuously water cured. The compressive
replaced by fine aggregate) of 20% and the highest value of com-
strength loss for 28-day samples under air curing (AC) was in the
pressive strength of 48.33 MPa were obtained in this study. Mix
range of 14–26%, under partial early curing (3T3D and 3T7D) it
6 is a high strength OPS concrete with a cement content of
was 8–22% and under early curing (7W) 0–8%. The average 28-
480 kg/m3. This quantity of cement is with the usual range of val-
day compressive strength under AC, 3T3D, 3T7D and 7W curing
ues used in the mix design of lightweight concrete [8]. The 28-day
condition was approximately 81%, 85%, 88% and 95% of concrete
compressive strength of this mix was about 47 MPa. This result
in full water curing condition, respectively.
shows that with the usual range of cement content and the highest
As shown in Fig. 5, the 7 day initial water curing gave very sim-
density that is valid for structural lightweight concrete, it is possi-
ilar results to that of the continuously water cured specimens. It
ble to make OPS concrete with high strength. As can be seen from
Table 6, there is not remarkable difference between mix 6 and mix
4 pertaining to 28-day compressive strength. It was reported
28-day compressive strength (MPa)

[24,25] that the compressive strength and density of OPS concrete 65

increase by increasing the sand to cement ratio. Mix 6 has higher The LWC in this study
62
sand to cement ratio and lower water to cement ratio than mix The LWC reported by [25]
59
4. But mix 4 is more interesting than mix 6 because of its lower The LWC reported by [26]
56
density, better workability, lower SP content and then better com-
pressive strength. 53
A comparison between the development of compressive 50
y = 0.04x - 29.37
strength for 28-day mixes 7 and 8 shows that by increasing the 47 R2 = 0.96
quantity of OPS in mix 7 until about 15% the 28-day compressive 44
strength and density decrease about 8% and 4.5%, respectively. This
41
comparison shows that in OPS concrete, without using cementi-
38
tious additions in the mixture, the lower the density, and the lower 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
is the strength.
Oven dry density (Kg/m3)
The correlation between the density of oven dry concrete and
the 28-day compressive strength of high strength OPS concrete Fig. 3. The relationship between 28-day compressive strength and oven dry
for mixes without limestone powder (mixes 1, 2, 6–8) is presented density.
1852 P. Shafigh et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 1848–1853

Polystyrene aggregates concrete [32] and 14–22% for Pumice

28-day compressive strength (MPa)

50 aggregates [33] have been reported.

49
y = 19.96x0.27 y = 9.72x 0.44
48 4. Conclusions
R2 = 0.73 R2 = 0.64
47
46 Based on the experimental results of this investigation, it can be
45 concluded that:
y = 2.42x0.79
44
R2 = 0.77
43 1. A lightweight aggregate concrete with both high workability
42 and strength can be reached by using old OPS (OPS without
41 1 day 3 days 7 days fibre).
40 2. It is possible to manufacture OPS high strength lightweight
10 20 30 40 50
concrete with 28-day compressive strength of about 43
Short time (1, 3 and 7-day) compressive strength (MPa) and 48 MPa and dry density of about 1870 and 1990 kg/m3.
3. Compressive strength at 1, 3 and 7 day were 40–66%, 72–81%
Fig. 4. Relationship between early age (1, 3 and 7 day) and 28-day compressive
strength for mixes without limestone powder.
and 86–91% of the 28-day strength in OPS high-strength con-
crete, respectively.
4. High strength OPS concretes are sensitive to poor curing. A
60 minimum period of 7 days of moist curing is recommended
AC 3T3D 3T7D 7W FW
28-day compressive

for this type of LWAC. With this period of moist curing the
50
strength (MPa)

compressive strength will be very similar to that of continu-

40
30
20
10
0 References
1 2 3 4 5 6
Mix No.
Fig. 5. The effect of different curing conditions on 28-day compressive strength.
seems that for this reason most codes of practice recommend suf-
ficient curing to achieve a maturity equivalent to 7 days moist cur-
ing [29]. The results of this investigation show that the strength of
the OPS concrete appears to be sensitive to poor curing. The sensi-
tivity increasing in the concrete mixtures with high cement con-
tent and low water cement ratio. It must be noted that while the
compressive strength of all specimens in the lab are sensitive to
curing, the same has not been shown true in larger elements [30].
3.4. Water absorption
Most good concretes have absorption below 10% by mass [31].
The water absorption of all mixes is given in Fig. 6. In this study,
it was observed that high strength OPS concretes have the lowest
water absorption of 3.12% and the highest of 6.20%. For OPS con-
cretes with conventional compressive strength, water absorption
of more than 10% has been reported [19]. For other types of struc-
tural lightweight concrete, the reports are very different. For exam-
ple, a water absorption value of about 3–6% for expanded
7
Water absorption
ous curing.
5. Water absorption of OPS high-strength concrete varies from
3.1% to 6.2%, which is in the range of good concretes.
7 8
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