Behavior of pavement concrete mixture with cellulose materials in the severe environments for sustainability purposes

Concrete mixture is commonly prepared from cement, sand, gravel, and water to obtain the available mix that is easy to work. However, it can be prepared with different materials for better sustainable properties that are appropriate for the severe environments. Meanwhile, the concrete for highway pavement must be prepared with high-performance properties due to dramatic high traffic load and the adverse environmental effects in recent years. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of incorporating biomass waste on concrete performance. This study consisted of the production of concrete mixtures with different percentages of Papyrus Fibers (PF), Date Seeds (DS), and Olive Seeds (OS) after they were converted into powders and mixed with cement in proportions of (3, 5, 7) % by weight of cement. The samples were evaluated for compressive strength after (7, 14, and 28) of curing. The compressive strength was compared with the controlled mix. Results showed that the compressive strength of the mixture comprising PF exhibited (30, 34, 37) MPa at 28 days for percentages of (3, 5, 7) %, respectively, compared with the control mix (namely, 32 MPa). For other additives, DS exhibited (31, 28, 22) MPa, and OS (20, 18, 15) at the same curing ages and the same percentage of additives. Furthermore, the abrasion resistance test results of the 28 days cured samples with different cellulose additive types highlighted that decrement trend exists in the abrasion resistance for both wear depth and weight loss with the addition of OS (5 and 7) % or DS (3, 5 and 7) % and the decrement rate reach above (23%). Thus, adding biomass additives can improve the mechanical and durability properties if accurate optimizing percentages is comprised.