Invited Speaker
Dr. Yap Soon Poh
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, MalaysiaSpeech Title: Feasibility of Recycled Spent Mushroom Substrates for Sustainable Masonry Materials
Abstract: Agricultural wastes are researched as material replacements in the concrete productions, mainly to realize the efforts of conserving natural resources by limiting or eliminating the usage in construction activities. This effort is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) and Goal 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns). Among the available agricultural wastes, Recycled Spent Mushroom Substrates (RSMS) as the leftover compost after the mushrooms have been harvested gains its research interest due to its expanding waste generation and lightweight characteristics. Thus the aims of this study are to investigate the feasibility of RSMS as alternative material for conventional constructions materials (fine aggregates and cement) in the productions of masonry structures, particularly on masonry mortar and bricks. The experimental results showed that 5-10% sand replacement by RSMS showed 45-62% strength increment along with 19-24% density reduction. Meanwhile RSMS can be utilized as filler to produce slight strength enhancement for the masonry mortar. In addition, RSMS also showed good potential as cement replacement and for medium-high strength brick productions.