Property characterization of concrete with water hyacinth ash and banana peel pectin as partial replacement to cement/ Arian Mae P. Agripa, Rosanna A. Agustin, Kurt Lester C. Bucasas, Stephanie Danielle G. Hizole, and Krystial Junie S. Visda .--

Bachelor's thesis

College of engineering .-- Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering: Technological University of the Philippines, Manila, 2023.

Includes bibliographic references and index.

The study investigated water hyacinth ash (WHA) together with banana peel pectin
(BPP) as partial replacements to cement. Due to the continuous problem of invasive water
hyacinth, that infests water bodies and high amounts of waste produced from bananas
which have no immediate use, these came as convenient materials for this study to use, in
which the demand for cement these days constantly increases and causes more carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions. The general objective of the study is to evaluate the properties of
concrete that contain pectin from the peels of bananas and water hyacinth ash in
replacement of various amounts of cement. The concrete's mechanical and fresh properties
were tested to establish the efficiency of using water hyacinth ash and banana peel pectin
as partial cement replacements. The design mixes consist of a control group of 100%
Portland Cement, and a treatment group with three different cement replacement
percentages such as 5%, 10%, and 15%, with five different material ratios (100:0, 75:25,
50:50, 25:75, 0:100). The water hyacinth was obtained from multiple locations, most
notably from the rivers located in Tanza, Cavite and Bustos, Bulacan. It was dried by
setting the water hyacinth under direct sunlight for a period of 7 days. Upon drying, it was
transported to a crematorium and was turned into ash at 600°C. On the other hand, the
banana peels were obtained from consumers/businesses who mainly use Saba bananas. The
preparation of samples was performed following the procedures of Castillo-Israel et al.
(2015). After soaking in a mixture 0.05% sodium metabisulfite and clean water, the banana
peels were left to dry under the sun. Once the banana peels were stripped of their moisture
content, it was powderized via a food processor and sieved until the fineness of the powder
passed through sieve no.100. A Microwave-assisted extraction process was conducted in

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accordance with the procedure of Rota et al. (2018). A mixture of the sieved banana peel
powder, water, and citric acid was microwaved at 700 watts and cooled until it has reached
room temperature. The solution was then filtered through multiple layers of cheesecloths,
separating the coagulated mass from the filtrate. Upon washing the coagulated mass with
three 95% ethanol washes, the filtrate was dried at a temperature of 65°C until its weight
remained constant. The resulting product the underwent Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy (FTIR) study. It was seen in the test that the pectin derived from banana peels
contained similar properties comparable to that of pectin that is sold commercially. The
water hyacinth ash that underwent Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Diffraction (WD-XRF)
showed that it contains pozzolanic materials, which is one of the properties of cement
which determines if the material can be utilized as a cement replacement. Good workability
was also observed as the incorporation of pectin increased as evidenced by the test
conducted in accordance to ASTM standards. The treatment groups appeared to have
performed as well as the control sample in other property tests despite having minute
increases in some of the design mixes. Upon graphical observation of the comparison of
the results obtained during the tests, design M-10-D was considered as the optimum design
mix. This can be seen through results obtained following the procedures indicated in the
ASTM testing standards. The design mix placed 2nd in terms average compressive strength

and gave results which surpassed that of the control sample. The results from the split-
tensile strength test were comparable to the results of the control sample, with values
ranging around the average strength reached by the control sample, while flexural strength
of the sample resulted above average in comparison with other design mixes.
Keywords: water hyacinth ash, banana peel pectin, cement partial replacement