Use of modified palm kernel shell particles composite blend with cement or clay as alternative material for block production

This study presents the potential of modified Palm Kernel Shell (MPKS) particles in the production of blocks as an alternative building material using cement or clay as binders. Several studies on Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) as a blend with other natural fibres/fillers found that due to its hydrophilic nature, it has low physical and mechanical capabilities in comparison to MPKS, making it less compatible with any polymeric matrix. Experimental tests were conducted to determine the physico-mechanical attributes of MPKS/Cement and MPKS/Clay blocks, including characterization of the cement and clay using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), as well as moisture content, water absorption, hardness, apparent porosity, bulk density, compressive strength, and flake. The morphology of the samples was determined using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Results show that MPKS/Cement block samples exhibit superior physicomechanical and morphological properties compared to MPKS/Clay. The MPKS/Cement block sample moisture content ranged between 4.76 and 9.94%. The 80/20 MPKS/Cement sample recorded the most water absorption at 49.5%, and a microhardness value of 82.3 Hv for the 20/80 sample. The MPKS/Clay samples showed higher values of apparent porosity but recorded the least bulk density in the 80/20 samples. The 20/80 MPKS/Cement and MPKS/Clay samples showed the best compressive strength at 63.72 and 50.3 N/mm 2 , respectively, while 80/20 for both cement and clay displayed very weak compressive strengths. The ratio 20/80 of MPKS/Cement is observed to be the optimum ratio where better properties of the composites were obtained. For the structure industry’s long-term viability, MPKS’ superior mechanical properties as an aggregate in block manufacturing make it an asset material as an alternative for some high-cost construction resources such as sand.