Hemp Biocomposite Boards Using Improved Magnesium Oxychloride Cement
Jelizaveta Zorica,
Maris Sinka,
Genadijs Sahmenko,
Laura Vitola,
Aleksandrs Korjakins,
Diana Bajare
Affiliations
Jelizaveta Zorica
Department of Building Materials and Building Products, Institute of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas Street 6B, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Maris Sinka
3D Concrete Printing Laboratory, Institute of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas Street 6B, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Genadijs Sahmenko
Department of Building Materials and Building Products, Institute of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas Street 6B, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Laura Vitola
Department of Building Materials and Building Products, Institute of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas Street 6B, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Aleksandrs Korjakins
Department of Building Materials and Building Products, Institute of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas Street 6B, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Diana Bajare
Department of Building Materials and Building Products, Institute of Materials and Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas Street 6B, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
The share of bio-based materials in modern construction needs to grow more rapidly due to increasingly stringent environmental requirements as a direct result of the climate emergency. This research aims to expand the use of hemp concrete in construction by replacing traditional lime binder with magnesium oxychloride cement, which provides a faster setting and higher strength, opening the door for industrial production. However, the negative feature of this binder is its low water resistance. In this work, the water resistance of magnesium cement was studied, and the possibilities of improving it by adding fly ash, various acids and nano-silica were considered. Nano-silica and citric acid showed the most significant impact, increasing the binder water resistance up to four times, reaching softening coefficient of 0.80 while reducing the compressive strength of the magnesium cement in a dry state by only 2–10%. On the downside, citric and phosphoric acid significantly extended the setting of the binder, delaying it 2–4 times. Regarding board production, prototype samples of hemp magnesium biocomposite demonstrated compressive strength of more than 3.8 MPa in the dry state but only 1.1–1.6 MPa in the wet state. These results did not correlate with binder tests, as the additives did not increase the strength in the wet state.