Strength Characterization of Ferrock Incorporated As a Potential Substitute of Cement

The global construction sector is contributing to global warming through cement manufacturing, necessitating the search for eco-friendly, low-carbon materials as alternatives. Iron dust waste generated by steel industries is often disposed of through landfilling, which contributes to soil pollution. Ferrock is made up of iron dust which is produced in steel industries along with other supplementary cementitious materials to improve the performance of concrete. It is a carbon negative material which absorbs carbon during its reactions. Concrete mixes were prepared with ferrock at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% replacement of cement. The compressive, split tensile and flexural strength tests were evaluated and their findings revealed that 10% is the optimum ratio which enhanced the aforementioned strengths by 37.4%, 37.5% and 19.4%, respectively, at 28 days of curing as compared with the control mix. Carbonation tests showed that concrete with ferrock had a higher carbonated area than the control mix without ferrock. Ferrock enhances concrete strength, reduces cement usage, and absorbs carbon dioxide from the environment, promoting sustainable development by recycling steel waste dust and reducing carbon emissions. Keywords: Ferrock, Sustainable construction, Mechanical strength, Carbonation test, Industrial waste, Phenolphthalei