Sustainable recycled wood ash-based mortar and concrete from production to large-scale application

从木材生物质产品生产绿色热能，通常被称为生物能源，不仅在加拿大，而且在全世界的需求都在增长。然而，燃烧木质生物质产生的一个主要问题是作为副产品产生的大量灰烬，这些灰烬通常最终被填埋。位于不列颠哥伦比亚省阿姆斯特朗的Tolko热电联产设施每天产生约20吨锅炉灰作为其副产品。如果管理不当，处理如此大量的木灰可能会造成严重的环境和健康问题。因此，找到一个可持续的解决方案来处理这种废物是至关重要的。除了解决木灰处理相关的问题外，本研究旨在发现生产环保和可持续混凝土的方法。该项目将研究利用木灰（包括飞灰和底灰）作为混凝土中水泥的部分替代品的前景，包括机械性能和耐久性。拟议的研究将对Tolko的木灰进行彻底的表征，部分由不同替换水平的木灰制成的砂浆和混凝土的机械性能，以及在最佳替换水平下含有木灰的混凝土的耐久性。优化后的混凝土混合物将应用于m&k Ready Mix复合材料中，并与Fawdry Homes合作应用于实际项目中，并仔细监测其短期和长期性能。加拿大还没有关于在混凝土生产中使用木灰的标准准则。全球已经制定了数量有限的木灰使用准则/做法。该项目的研究成果将在加拿大标准协会（CSA A23.1）和美国混凝土协会（ACI） 555再生材料混凝土（ACI 555）委员会的技术委员会会议上展示，以获得他们的反馈和认可，将混合设计纳入CSA和ACI规范。

The production of green thermal energy from timber biomass products, commonly known as Bioenergy, is growing in demand not only in Canada but also worldwide. However, a major problem arising from burning woody biomass is the substantial amount of ash that is being produced as a by-product, which usually ends up in landfills. Tolko co-generation facilities in Armstrong, British Columbia, produces about 20 Tonnes of boiler ash per day as their by-product. If not managed properly, the disposal of such a significant amount of wood ash may result in serious environmental and health problems. Thus, it is crucial to find a sustainable solution to this waste disposal.This research aims to discover ways to produce environment-friendly and sustainable concrete in addition to addressing the problems associated with this wood ash disposal. This project will investigate the prospects of utilizing wood ash - both fly ash and bottom ash, as partial replacements for cement in concrete in terms of both mechanical and durability properties. The proposed study will render a thorough characterization of the wood ash by Tolko, mechanical properties of mortar and concrete made partly of wood ash at different replacement levels, and durability of concrete with wood ash at optimized replacement levels. The optimized concrete mixtures will be implemented in the M & K Ready Mix compound, applied in a real-life project in collaboration with Fawdry Homes, and carefully monitored to assess their short and long-term performance. Canada does not have a standard guideline on the use of wood ash in the production of concrete yet. A limited number of guidelines/practices for such use of wood ash have been developed globally. Research results from this project will be presented during the technical committee meetings of Canadian Standards Association (CSA A23.1) and American Concrete Institute (ACI) 555 Concrete with Recycled Materials (ACI 555) committee to get their feedback and endorsement to incorporate the mix designs in CSA and ACI codes.