Properties and Uses of Biochars Incorporated into Mortars

The construction industry is responsible for a large amount of CO2 emissions and an intensive energy consumption. Cement production is the third largest source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and is responsible for about 1.8 Gt of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The use of waste materials to replace a fraction of cement in the mortar makes it more economically and ecologically friendly. In this work, the main objective was to test incorporations of biochar produced at temperatures of 300, 350, and 400 °C, as a partial replacement for cement in the production of mortar. The materials used for the tests were residual lignocellulosic biomass (WBL) and electrical cable insulation waste (WIEC) mixed in a ratio of 1:1. The biochars produced were crushed and sieved after production to reduce the particles. A sample of biochar was used and tested under these conditions and another sample was washed in water and dried before being incorporated; all tests were carried out with a 5% replacement. Waste recovery tests were also carried out without thermochemical treatment. The specimens were studied for compressive strength and water absorption by immersion. All tests were replicated and were analyzed and compared with a control mixture with no incorporation of biochar in the mixture. It was possible to observe that the tests with the incorporation of biochars at 400 °C showed better results, with only a 24% reduction in resistance to compression.