Manufacturing of building materials using agricultural waste (sugarcane bagasse ash) for sustainable construction: towards a low carbon economy. A review

ABSTRACT Cement production processes contribute to around 5% of carbon emissions globally and increase yearly. To cut 5% of global emissions, alternative materials to substitute cement concentration in building materials must be sourced. This review identified some agricultural waste, such as sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA), palm leaf ash, and rice husk ash, with potential materials for partial substitution or replacement for cement. It also discusses the influence of incorporating agricultural waste on critical properties of building materials such as bricks, interlocks, concrete, and pavements. Adding these agricultural wastes could increase bricks’ strength by 65% and reduce unit weight by 25%. It also improves bio bricks’ compressive strength, water resistance, and bulk density. Optimising agricultural waste-loading-producing building materials is critical to their performance and must be considered for developing brick materials with improved properties. The review established that 50% of cement concentration could be replaced with SCBA, or hybridising rice husk ash, agricultural olive waste (AOW), sugarcane leaf waste ashes (SLWA), and rice husk (RH). This suggested that 100% of cement is achievable by exploring hybridising SCBA, a combination of rice husk, (AOW), (SLWA), and (RH) to develop a sustainable material without compromising the required properties for construction application. Incorporating agricultural waste is a viable way to develop more cost-effective and sustainable building materials with no cement content, resulting in a 5% global emission cut and a low-carbon environment.