Effect of Wood/Binder Ratio, Slag/Binder Ratio, and Alkaline Dosage on the Compressive Strength of Wood-Geopolymer Composites

The impact of building construction on the environment is significant. Occupying large land areas (urban footprint), buildings are one of the most important consumers of resources and raw materials. They are responsible for 38% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in both developed and developing countries. Therefore, incorporating sustainability and resilience into all aspects of urban infrastructure has become necessary. To curb emissions, part of the answer lies in the use of construction and building materials made from recycled materials. Bio-sourced materials, like wood chips, combined with a cementitious matrix, offer an alternative to conventional materials. They are sustainable, lightweight, and have good thermal insulation. However, because of their inferior mechanical strength, they have limited use as load-bearing structural parts. Furthermore, the use of Portland cement as a binder still poses some challenges due to its high carbon footprint. This study investigates the potential of wood-geopolymer composites for better mechanical performance and environmental sustainability. A 6x2x2x2 fractional factorial-based experimental design was used to simultaneously study the effect of slag content, wood binder ratio, and alkaline on the compressive strength of the wood-geopolymer composite. The experiments showed encouraging results for developing ambient cured wood geopolymer composites.