Supplementary cementitious influence of cashew leaf ash as cement replacement in the production of mortar

Abstract Cement industries emit greenhouse gases into ecosystem, thus depleting the ozone layer. This calls for the applications of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) as alternative to cements. However, the choice of material is dependent on achieving global sustainable development with no or minimal environmental impacts. This research investigated the ash of cashew leaf as partial replacement of cement in mortar. The ash was added in 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%, respectively. Mix ratio 1:3 and 0.6 water/binder were adopted. Setting times and consistency of the mortar were evaluated. Forty-eight (48) samples each were cast for 50 mm cubes and 100 × 100 × 400 mm for strengths in compression and bending, respectively. Thereafter, cured in water for 7, 28, 56, and 90 days, respectively. The compressive and flexural strengths were determined accordingly. The consistency and setting times of mortar increased with increasing CLA. 10% CLA enhanced compressive strength of the mortar at 90 days of curing as compared to the control and other replacements. Following the same trend, 10% CLA enhanced the flexural strength at both 56 and 90, days, respectively. The study concluded that 10% CLA enhanced both flexural and compressive strengths of mortar.