Sustainable cement mortar bioformulated with a bioproduct obtained from fermentation of biodiesel’ crude glycerol

Abstract

This study analyses the potential of a new eco-friendly bioproduct to construction sustainability and its contribution for improving the fresh and hardened properties of cement mortar. The bioproduct was obtained from biomass grown using crude glycerol (biodiesel production waste). With similar functionality than petrochemical-based additions, these bioproducts encourage the decrease on the use of fossil-based raw materials with the concomitant reduction in their carbon footprint. The effect of bioproduct's sonication and storage for 3 day at 4 °C were assessed. Properties such as consistence, porosity, density, compressive and flexural strength, water droplet absorption, capillary absorption, drying rate, thermal conductivity and ultrasonic pulse velocity of the bioformulated mortars were compared with a control cement mortar. The findings show that the bioproducts can be used as renewable and eco-friendly alternative to petrochemical-based polymer admixtures to lengthen mortar service life, even after storage. Sonicated bioproduct improved the water related mortar properties, while non-sonicated bioproduct developed higher mechanical properties. Contributing for a cleaner production of cementitious products, an original waste from chemical industry was transformed into a valuable raw material for use in the construction industry.