DEVELOPMENT OF BRICK BLOCKS BY USING COMBINING HEMP CORE WITH AGRICULTURAL WASTE MATERIALS

Abstract

     This research presents the development of concrete blocks incorporating hemp stalk cores, which are agricultural waste materials, as a partial replacement material. The objective of this study was to develop concrete blocks mixed with hemp stalk cores by investigating appropriate mixing ratios, as well as manufacturing and testing the physical properties of the resulting concrete blocks. The material properties were evaluated in accordance with the Thai Industrial Standard for non-load-bearing concrete blocks (TIS 58-2533). The results indicate that an increase in hemp waste content leads to higher water absorption, while the unit weight of the concrete blocks decreases. The developed concrete blocks exhibited a compressive strength of approximately 24.18 kg/cm², which is higher than that of conventional concrete blocks without hemp addition and also satisfies the requirements of the Thai Industrial Standard TIS 378-2531. In particular, concrete blocks containing 2.5% hemp waste demonstrated a higher compressive strength than commercially available concrete blocks. Therefore, the development of concrete blocks incorporating hemp stalk cores as agricultural waste materials can be effectively applied in practice and has the potential to promote sustainable income generation for local communities.