Study on properties and durability of alkali activated rice straw fibers cement composites

The promotion of green and sustainable development is prompting more and more researchers to investigate eco-friendly cementitious composites. Nevertheless, harmful gas emissions from the burning of large amounts of waste rice straw fibers have caused unavoidable environmental pollution. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the properties of alkali-activated rice straw fiber-modified cement composites at different doses, including water retention, mechanical strength, porosity, hydration, and anti-permeability. Freeze-thaw cycle test and sulfate corrosion test were also conducted. Besides, SEM and FT-IR tests were adopted to reveal the properties of the modified specimens. The results showed that the incorporation of alkali-activated rice straw fibers affected the properties of cement composites. Specifically, the properties of the modified cement specimens were significantly improved with the appropriate amount of rice straw fibers admixture, while the reserve effect was observed with excessive amount. These results help to relieve environmental pollution caused by rice straw fibers, and contribute to theoretical studies on the application of straw fibers in cement-based materials.