Influence of different methods of treating natural açai fibre for mortar in rural construction
¹UENF - State University of the Northern Rio de Janeiro, LAMAV - Advanced Materials Laboratory; Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, PO Box 28013-602, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
²UENF - State University of the Northern Rio de Janeiro, LECIV - Civil Engineering Laboratory; Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, PO Box 28013-602, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
³UFF - Federal Fluminense University, TER - Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering; Rua Passo da Pátria, 156, PO Box 21065-230, Niterói, Brazil
⁴UFLA - Federal University of Lavras, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Campus Universitário, PO Box 3037, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
⁵University of Firenze, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), Via San Bonaventura 13, IT50145 Firenze, Italy
*Correspondence: daianececchin@yahoo.com.br
Abstract:
Açai is a typical Amazonian fruit that has enormous potential for use in medicines and foods, whose consumption has been growing year after year. One of the major environmental impacts related to Açai is the generation of agro-industrial wastes, which are disposed of in landfills. One of the major problems related to the reuse of natural fibres in cementitious materials is related to their durability due to the alkalinity of the matrix. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate three different methodologies for surface treatment of Açai fibre, by immersion in NaOH, KOH and Ca(OH)2 solution to mortar application in rural construction. After the treatments, the fibres were added in a proportion of 2.5 and 5.0% in relation to the cement mass, in addition to the reference mortar (without fibre) in the making of the prismatic specimens (40×40×160 mm) and cured for 28 days in room temperature. Right after the curing period, the specimens were evaluated according to the mechanical strength of flexion and compression, workability, water absorption by capillarity and mass density in the hardened state of each methodology. The results showed that the best treatment methodology is with NaOH solution, with the addition of 5% Açai fibre in relation to the cement mass, producing a suitable mortar for use in rural buildings.
Key words:
açai, agro-industrial wastes, reuse, rural constructions, sustainability