Experimental Investigation on the Use of Bagasse Ash in the Construction of Low Volume Traffic Roads

Abstract

The road transport industry is indeed instrumental in interconnecting all businesses to all major world markets, driving trade, creating employment, ensuring a better distribution of wealth and uniting mankind. The road transport industry's story is sustainable progress. Transport investments within cities and across cities are essential for economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction. Over the last ten years (2002-03 to 2011-12) road transport sector gross domestic production grew at an annual average rate close to 10 per cent compared to an overall annual gross domestic production of 6 per cent. An efficient road transport system is a prerequisite for sustained economic development. It is not only the key infrastructural input for the growth process but also plays a significant role in promoting national integration, which is particularly important in India. In the road transport sector energy planning has a special significance because transport is the second largest consumer of energy. The growth of transport not only leads to pressure on limited availability of non-renewable energy but also gives rise to broader environmental issues. As the demand for transport services rise, it leads to increased use of scarce land resources and contributes to the atmospheric pollution in a big way. There is also a large production of agricultural wastes as agricultural industry is one of the largest industries in India as more than 70% of Indian population is dependent on agriculture. On the other hand, accumulation of unmanaged agro-waste, especially from the developing countries has an increased environmental concern. Therefore, development of new technologies to recycle and convert waste materials into reusable materials is important for the protection of the environment and sustainable development of the society. Many agricultural waste materials are already used in concrete as replacement alternatives for cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and reinforcing materials. Moreover, the various processes for the production and processing of cement, bitumen, fine and coarse aggregate requires a lot of energy and production of harmful gaseous and chemical wastes into the environment. Thus in view of the above problems, an attempt is made to study, to reduce the pollution from cement and other materials used in the construction process with a view to create and develop greener methods of construction by using bagasse ash in the construction of low volume traffic roads by the partial replacement of certain constituent materials. These roads can be constructed in those areas where there is availability of sugarcane bagasse. In Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, there is a large scale cultivation of sugarcane and thus the sugarcane bagasse can be easily procured to be used in the construction of low volume traffic roads.