Carbonised palm kernel shell effect on the physico-chemical properties of clay-sand mixture

Carbonised palm kernel shell was employed to improve water purification property of clay-sand mixture used as water filter in the rural areas. Quantity of carbonised palm kernel shell in clay-sand mixture was varied. Different proportions of carbonised palm kernel shell were mixed with certain proportion of clay-sand mixture and used as samples-mix for the different analysis. Each samples-mix was tested for various physical as well as chemical properties. The results showed that linear shrinkage ranges between 0% and 6%, bulk density ranges between 1.02 g/cm3 to 2.21 g/cm3 , modulus of rupture of 46.54 kg/cm3 , reduction in water absorption of 25.21 to 12.31% and weight of the various samples-mix decrease with carbon addition while permeability to air, apparent porosity and flow rate rise. Samples with 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% carbon were stable at the calcinations temperature of 1450oC. The chemical analysis of the pure clay sample revealed 55.91% of SiO2. It can thus be concluded that the carbonized palm kernel shell in the mixture of the clay-sand is inversely proportional to the linear shrinkage, bulk density, modulus of rupture, water absorption and weight of the sample but directly proportional to permeability, apparent porosity and flow rate.