Use of the Spent Bleaching Earth from Palm Oil Industry in Non Fired Wall Tiles

Abstract

Currently, abundant wastes from the palm oil refining process have been generated which are hard to handle. Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) is the solid waste from this process and leads the cost of elimination to the company. This study aims to utilize the SBE as the alternative material in the non-fired wall tiles. The main raw materials used in non-fired wall tiles consist of laterite soil, fluvial sand, and Portland cement. The experimental formulas have been conducted and divided into 3 groups by varying the percentage of the SBE in main raw materials. The specimens of material mixture have been produced by uniaxial pressing at 100 bars, dimensions in 50x100x8 mm. These specimens are sprayed with water and cured in the air for 7 days. After that, bending strength and water absorption test of these specimens has been performed. It can be concluded that the best formula with the percentage of laterite soil, fluvial sand, Portland cement, and SBE are 60.94%, 13.125%, 22.5%, and 3.435%, respectively. Its bending strength and %water absorption are 0.68 MPa and 5.64%. Material costs of specimen are approximately $0.00276 USD /100g. Furthermore, the comparison of curing period between 7 days and 30 days has been performed. The 30 days of curing period can improve the bending strength of the specimen, but there is no effect on water absorption.