Mechanical, durability and microstructure properties of self-healing concrete utilizing agro-industrial waste: a critical review

Self-healing concrete is an innovative solution to improve durability issues in traditional concrete structures. The review focuses on a novel approach in self-healing concrete technology by partially replacing cement with agro-industrial waste, which has received less attention in existing literature. The use of agro-industrial waste aims at increasing the environmental sustainability of concrete production, it also introduces unique properties that contribute to the self-healing process. The literature of various agro-industrial waste materials like coffee husk ash (CHA), rice husk ash (RHA), sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA), fly ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), as a potential replacement for cement. The waste materials that act as supplementary cementitious materials and possess inherent healing properties due to their chemical composition. To evaluate the processes governing this precipitation, this paper discusses the impact of incorporating agro-industrial waste on bacterial concrete's mechanical, durability, and self-healing performance. The present work sheds a light on various factors of bacterial concrete such as types of bacteria and dosage, mix proportion and the outcome of mechanical and durability tests. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need for comprehensive investigations on self-healing concrete's long-term performance and scalability with agro-industrial waste. The limited availability of studies on use for future research to explore deeper into the connection between agro-industrial waste and self-healing concrete, opening the door to more durable and sustainable building materials.

Graphical abstract