Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Review

Incorporation of biochar in cementitious materials: A roadmap

of biochar selection
Hamid Maljaee a,⇑, Rozita Madadi b, Helena Paiva a, Luis Tarelho c, Victor M. Ferreira d
a
CICECO/Department of Civil Engineering, University of Aveiro 3810-193 , Portugal
b
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
c
CESAM/Department of Environmental and Planning, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Portugal
d
RISCO/Department of Civil Engineering, University of Aveiro 3810-193, Portugal

h i g h l i g h t s

 Biochar factors affecting the performance of cementitious materials are reviewed.

 Effect of biochar addition on the properties of cement composites is reviewed.
 A roadmap is provided for the selection of biochar into the cement composites.
 An optimum biochar dosage as filler and cement replacement is introduced.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Increasing cement production in construction sector and waste generation in industrial sectors are of the
Received 18 December 2020 major sources of CO2 emission. For decades, it has been the concern of environmentalists to convince con-
Received in revised form 15 February 2021 structors and researchers to find sustainable solutions targeting aforementioned problems. The attempts
Accepted 17 February 2021
focused on identification of wastes to be successfully complied with construction materials. Biochar has
Available online 10 March 2021
recently received attention due to several environmental and technological advantages, shortly include
carbon sequestration, low thermal conductivity, chemical stability and low flammability. For this reason,
Keywords:
biochar is recognized as an efficient candidate for cement or lightweight aggregates replacement in build-
Biochar
Cement mortar
ing materials. Biochar addition could result in a reduction of capillary absorption in mortar paste. Besides,
Carbon sequestration its addition accelerates cement hydration and restricts shrinkage cracking in cement mortar. The present
Concrete review categorizes all the biochar critical features affecting the performance of cementitious materials.
Filler The effect of biochar addition as filler and cement replacement on the workability, hydration, mechanical
Cement replacement and transfer properties of cement paste/composites is reviewed in this paper. From the data collection, an
optimum biochar content around 2% is shown to contribute to the improvement of mechanical proper-
ties. The gaps in the literature are identified and the future research plans are proposed.
Ó 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Biochar background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Biochar features affecting cementitious materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. Chemical composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2. Physical and morphological properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3. Water retain capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.4. Thermal conductivity and flammability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.5. Chemical stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.6. Environmental considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: h.maljaee@ua.pt (H. Maljaee), hpaiva@ua.pt (H. Paiva), ltarelho@ua.pt (L. Tarelho), victorf@ua.pt (V.M. Ferreira).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.122757
0950-0618/Ó 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al. Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757

4. Biochar as an additive in cementitious materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4.1. Fresh properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2. Transfer properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.3. Cement hydration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4. Mechanical properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5. Incorporation of biochar with other additives in cement composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. Activated biochar in cementitious materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7. Conclusions and future research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Declaration of Competing Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

1. Introduction dependent to the conditions of biochar production. Factors such

Recently the governments have established principles for the
use of sustainable materials in order to conserve natural resources
and encourage the use of waste/recycled materials in construction
sector. Construction and industrial actions are the foremost
sources of CO2 emission in the globe. To mitigate this issue, several
solutions have been suggested in the literature such as addition of
biomass and waste materials [1–3], ashes [4,5] to replace cement
products and development of alkali-activated materials [6,7] to
get rid of Portland cement in concrete and mortars. Cost-effective
sustainable solutions can be limited to the use of bio-based mate-
rials (as raw or ash) into the main composition of mortar or con-
crete. Many studies have raised concerns on the defective effect
of biomass on the durability of cementitious materials through
degradation of biomass due to the alkaline nature of cementitious
materials [8]. Another drawback of the biomass application in
cement composites is the retardation of cement hydration due to
the presence of hemicellulose in biomass as source of sugars
including glucose and fructose [9]. In elsewhere, high organic con-
tent and impurities of rice husk ash also have been recognized as
unfavourable factors in mortar [10]. Biochar is unique among
bio-renewable resource technologies in that it provides the poten-
tial to address all the aforementioned problems at once. Biochar
has been used to develop building materials such as natural inor-
ganic clay composites [11], red clay binder [12], bituminous mate-
rial [13,14] and most recently in geopolymers [15,16]. By adding
biochar to construction materials, carbon can be stored and locked
into the structure for decades and help in keeping the global car-
bon cycles in balance, thanks to carbon sequestration nature of bio-
char. Indeed, biochar is capable of reducing 870 kg CO2-equivalent
of greenhouse gas (GHG) per ton of dry feedstock [17,18]. Other
benefits of biochar compared to other bio-based by-products, is
in its production process (pyrolysis) which has the potential for
elimination of hemicellulose and lowering polysaccharides [19].
Pyrolysis of wastes is a technique to avoid the emission associated
with incineration process and avoid at the same time landfills due
to waste disposal [20]. Recent study has revealed that only 1% bio-
char gives the same effectiveness corresponding to 2.5% graphene
nano-platelet (GNP) and 3.6% nano silica [21].
This paper reviews the critical results of the recent researches
focused on the application of biochar in cement mortar and con-
crete. The physical and chemical properties of biochar affecting
the performance of cementitious materials are classified and
reviewed.
2. Biochar background
Biochar is a stable carbon-rich solid produced via pyrolysis
whose production enters less CO2 to the atmosphere in contrary
to other incineration techniques. Quality of biochars is highly
as pyrolysis temperature range, pressure, heating rate and resi-
dence time affect the pyrolysis products’ yield as well as their
physicochemical and microstructural properties [22]. In addition
to the operating conditions, variation of physicochemical proper-
ties of biochar including surface area, cation exchange capacity,
water-holding capacity, size of pores and their distribution can
be governed by the type of the selected biomass feedstock. Among
the pyrolysis types in terms of heating rate, slow pyrolysis (which
is usually performed over several hours) is normally associated
with higher yield of biochar and low flammability of produced char
compared with fast and flash pyrolysis (which are typically per-
formed over seconds) [23]. The processing temperature affects
inversely the yield of biochar. In opposite, the carbon content of
biochar can be changed from 56% to 93% when the pyrolysis tem-
perature raised from 300 and 800 ℃ [24]. Ash content of biochar is
more dependent to the type of feedstock rather than pyrolysis tem-
perature, in contrast with the volatile matters and carbon fixed
content which are significantly influenced by the temperature of
pyrolysis [25]. Ash content is a factor that is usually treated as inert
and it may not take place in the degradation of biomass [26]. High
ash content in the biomass avoids the formation of aromatic car-
bon and declines stability of biochar. Furthermore, high mineral
content which imparts high ash content, decreases the porosity
of biochar due to the blockage of micropores [27].
Biochar is a highly porous material with high specific surface
area. Fast pyrolysis induces higher surface area in comparison with
the slow pyrolysis. The macropore structure and morphology of
biochar inherits its architecture from the derived feedstock and is
taken into account as a key parameter in the adsorption capacity
of biochar. Pores in biochar are created due to the release of vola-
tiles and organic matters during pyrolysis. The more the volatiles
released the more and larger the pores created in the biochar
[28]. Biochar’s pore network is composed of pores with different
size ranges from macropores with diameters  50 nm and meso-
pores with diameters between 2 nm and 50 nm to micropores with
diameters < 2 nm [29]. Elsewhere, the size of micropores, meso-
pores and macropores are defined as 0.0001–0.001 mm, 0.001–0.1
0 mm and > 0.1 mm, respectively [30]. Generally, increasing pyroly-
sis temperature up to a certain point leads to an alteration of pore
structure towards increasing pores, compact structure, integrity,
orderliness and developed porosity [31]. An inclined number of
micropores and thus an ordered structure in the biochar due to
the increase of temperature has been reported by Claoston et al.
[32]. Antal and Grønli [33] also observed a high fraction of micro-
pores formed in the biochar produced at low temperature (300 ℃)
but at high residence time and low heating rate (10 ℃/min). This
can explained by the smooth release of volatiles and organics
[33]. Fig. 1 presents the SEM images of biochars from different
sources. Increase of macro-porosity in biochar produced at higher
temperatures is obvious in Fig. 1 (the bottom images) [34]. It can
be observed that the increasing temperature caused formation of

2
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
Fig. 1. Changes in biochar structure with temperature. From top to bottom: biochar from date palm [35], biochar from beech wood [36], biochar from hardwood and
softwood [34].
deep channels and pores in date palm biochar [35]. However,
intensified degree of carbonation of biochar at 700 ℃ leads to the
destruction of porous structure of biochar [35] (Fig. 1). Almost
the same observation has been reported by Guizani et al. [36].
Gupta et al. [37] observed honeycomb-like pore structures on
the surface of biochar from food waste, rice waste and saw dust,
attributing to the release of volatiles from the feedstock and/or
received from the biological capillary structure of biomass. Wood
saw dust biochar prepared at 500 ℃ showed higher number of clo-
sely spaced pores with higher uniformity in shape compared to the
biochar prepared at 300 ℃ [37]. This can be attributed to more
complete release of volatiles from wood biomass at higher pyroly-
sis temperatures but still up to a certain point [38]. Increment of
pyrolysis temperature can lead to the formation of honeycomb
particles with cylindrical grooves connected to one another [34].
Biochars are recognized as hydrophilic materials due to the for-
mation of hydrogen bonds between water molecules and mole-
cules having OH groups on their surface [39]. The effect of pore
size on the water adsorption capacity has been studied fairly in
the literature. Micro-pores and pyrogenic nano-pores can provide
a site for the adsorption of aqueous solutions [40]. Also biochars
with macro-pores of size between 5 lm to 30 lm have been
known as the most active particles in absorption and retention of
moisture [41]. Similarly, Lehmann [42] suggested that biochar with
pore sizes lower than 30 mm is the most efficient in holding water.
Shafie et al. [41] reported high tendency of water adsorption in the
biochars with pore diameter of 5–6 mm.
Pyrolysis leads to the decomposition of biomass in several
stages depending on the chemical composition and structure of
raw feedstock. Most of biomasses are mainly composed of cellu-
lose, hemicellulose and lignin. The proportion of hemicellulose,
cellulose and lignin in the biomass determines the amount of sta-
bilized carbon in the biochar [43]. Cellulose is a regular polymer of
glucosidic monomers (C6H10O5)n, while, hemicellulose chemical
structure is approximated to a xylose polymer (C5H8O4)n. Real
hemicellulose is a matrix of different polysaccharides and contains
mannuronic and galacturonic acids. Typical monomers are glucose,
xylose, mannose, galactose, rhamnose and arabinose. Hemicellu-
lose is easily devolatilized or hydrolyzed by a dilute acid or base.
Compared with cellulose that is mostly crystalline, strong and
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Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
resistant to hydrolysis, hemicellulose has a more random and
amorphous structure. Decomposition of hemicellulose occurs at
lower temperatures than that of cellulose. Once the biomass sub-
jected to the pyrolysis, a drying phase occurs up to 100 °C in which
the free moisture in the biomass and the water weakly bound to
the biomass is released and then the biomass undergoes an
exothermic dehydration between 100 and 300 °C. This can allow
the water and low molecular weight gases, such as CO and CO2,
to evaporate [44]. Decomposition of hemicellulose and cellulose
is known to be occurred thereafter between 250 °C and 500 °C
[26]. Somewhere else in the literature, decomposition of hemicel-
lulose and cellulose occurred between 171 and 306 ℃ and 306–
417 ℃, respectively [19,45,46]. Biochars may contain more cellu-
lose than the raw feedstock due to the decomposition of hemicel-
lulose prior to cellulose [47].
Lignin is a complex organic polymer mainly derived from
hydroxycinnamyl alcohol monomers with different degree of
methoxylation. Phenol and phenoxy species are the main products
of lignin decomposition. Larger residue of phenol and phenoxy is
expected in softwoods due to a great amount of carbon and lignin
content. At lower pyrolysis temperatures, levoglucosane is the
most abundant volatile species in softwood and hardwood bio-
masses due to the large cellulose content [26]. Thermal stability
of lignin is higher than cellulose and hemicellulose, and its decom-
position takes place at slower pace. This phenomenon together
with decomposition of cellulose and degradation of heavier vola-
tiles eventually lead to the cracking of C–C bonds at temperatures
between 420 and 900 ℃ [48]. Since decomposition of lignin starts
from 200 ℃ and continues up to 800–900 ℃, it is considered as a
major source of char in the pyrolysis process [44]. Rodier, et al.
[19] observed a drop of lignin and polysaccharides by 65% and
90% (based on FTIR signal intensity), respectively after pyrolysis
of sugarcane bagasse at 200 ℃.
In a study conducted by Gupta et al. [49], decomposition of
hemicellulose and cellulose occurred between 220 and 280 ℃
and 280–400 ℃. They reported that the pyrolysis of saw dust at
500 ℃ leads to elimination of labile groups and the primary sources
of sugars, ensuring chemical stability of biochar in the cement
composition. In another study, Parihar et al. [50] also reached the
same conclusion in which both softwood and hardwood biochars
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
produced at 500 ℃, showed no alcohol, phenol and methylene
groups in their structures. It is noteworthy that these groups are
detrimental to the chemical and physical properties and stability
of cementitious materials.
3. Biochar features affecting cementitious materials
3.1. Chemical composition
Biochars mainly comprise carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen (in total
above 95%), inorganic elements and small traces of heavy metals
which all are varied in content depending on the type of the feed-
stock and pyrolysis conditions. Biochars derived from peanut and
hazelnut shells contain a limited amount of amorphous carbon or
of defective graphite crystals [51]. Biochar with lower content of
carbon possesses a higher density. Lower carbon in the composi-
tion of biochar can lead to addition of higher dosage of biochar
to the mortar in comparison with other types of biochars contain-
ing more carbon [37]. This can be explained by the fact that the
higher amount of biochar is demanded to reach the sufficient
toughness in the mortar mix, since the hardness and toughness
of biochar are augmented with elemental carbon content in the
biochar [52]. In contrast with carbon, the content of nitrogen in
biochar decreased with pyrolysis temperature. Biochars from soft-
wood exhibited high levels of nitrogen compared to the other bio-
masses especially the ones produced at low temperatures [34].
Inorganic content of biochar depends highly on the composition
of raw biomass. Inorganic elements in biomass include potassium
(K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), phosphorous (P),
silicon (Si), sulfur (S), aluminum (Al) and chloride (Cl). In compar-
ison with grass biomasses, woody biomasses contain less ash, Cl, K,
N, S, and Si, but more Ca [53]. Higher contents of Al and Si can be
found in bark in comparison with wood. In the chemical composi-
tion of straws and grasses, relatively high contents of Cl, K, Na, S
Fig. 2. Concentration of K, Ca, P and Fe in different biomasses (from [54]) WWB: wood & woody mass, EC: Energy crops, AB: Agricultural biomass, FR: Forest residue, AFIW:
Agri-food industry wastes.
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Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
and Si can be found. Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 present the elemental and
oxide composition in wide variety of biomasses, respectively.
Volatilization of each species during pyrolysis depends on bio-
mass properties, heating rate and temperature. In a study [55], a
minimal volatilization of (Mg, Na, K and Cl) has been reported dur-
ing slow pyrolysis of sugar cane bagasse. Following the enhance-
ment of ash content due to elevated pyrolysis temperature, the
mineral salts including Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, S and Si can be found in
abundance in the ash fraction in an oxide form [34,56]. Fast pyrol-
ysis of bagasse leads to volatilization of 80% of magnesium at
900 ℃ [55]. Potassium and sodium normally exist in the form of
soluble salts in the biomass. Organic potassium can be released
into gaseous phase at temperatures less than 500 ℃ due to its ther-
mal instability, while inorganic potassium tends to volatilized
above 500 ℃ due to the increase in steam pressure [57]. There is
a chance for the formation of insoluble residues through reaction
of potassium ion steam with silicate based substances during the
pyrolysis of biomass [58]. Likewise, some insoluble sodium in the
biomass is very stable and known as external impurity that does
not participate in pyrolysis process. Unlike potassium and sodium,
possibly all calcium cannot be volatized during the pyrolysis and
remained as a solid residue after pyrolysis due to high stability.
Potassium and calcium are the elements that can exist in higher
dosages in herbaceous and woody biomass, respectively [58]. Res-
tuccia and Ferro [59] believed that the coffee powder biochars with
high content of potassium are able to interact with cement parti-
cles during hydration process through a potassium salt reaction
(acting as alkali activating element) and speed the hydration pro-
cess and evolution of mechanical properties of cementitious com-
posites. Chlorine, on the other hand, is a highly volatile element
that is completely transformed into the gaseous phase during
pyrolysis. With the detailed information provided in Fig. 2 and
Fig. 3 one can decide on a proper pre-treatment of biomass and
the subsequent pyrolysis conditions before proceeding with bio-
char production. For example, the content of sodium is recom-
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al. Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757

Fig. 3. Oxide composition in the biomass ash (from [53]).

mended to be limited in the composition of biomass to prevent
uncontrolled deposit formation in the pyrolysis boiler [53]. In case
of stable inorganic salts in the biomass, some pre-treatment meth-
ods are suggested in the literature (acid pickling, water washing).
For example, potassium and sodium ions can be removed using
hydrochloric and sulfuric acids. However, these techniques cause
structural defects in the biomass, including partial decomposition
of hemicellulose and increase of cellulose and lignin content [60].
Silica also can be found in the composition of some biochars.
Reactive silica has been recognized to have a pozzolanic reaction
in cementitious materials but requiring to be in a specific range.
Indeed, the pozzolanic active materials in cementitious composites
must meet the criteria of SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 > 70% and MgO
should not pass 5%, according to ASTM C618 [61]. Rice husk is char-
acterized with high level of silica in its composition. However, any
thermal treatment to produce ash or biochar leads to lowering of
silica content. Studies show that the rice husk biochar possesses
less silica and pozzolanic effect than rice husk ash [10]. The silica
content in poultry litter biochar has been shown to be noticeable
[62,63]. Paper and pulp sludge biochar has shown a higher poz-
zolanic activity in the early stages of strength development with
pore structure refinement [63].
Enrichment of inorganic content after pyrolysis of biomass and
its changes with rising production temperature are presented in
Table 1. Inorganic contents of biomass are remarkedly increased
by converting to the biochar. It can be seen that the concentration
of K, Si, P, Ca, Mg is increased with increasing operation tempera-
ture in witchgrass, pine wood, poultry litter and willow [64,65].
The intensity of increment of each element depends on the type
feedstock.
In general, the concentration of heavy metals in secondary
materials added to the cementitious composites should be com-
plied with standards [67]. In the composition of cementitious
materials, the content of heavy metal is one of the major parame-
ters determining their potential environmental impacts [68]. Selec-
tion of proper biomass in terms of heavy metal content is a
prominent action towards biochar application in cementitious
materials. Feedstocks with low level of heavy metal content will
yield a biochar containing less amount of heavy metals [69]. Addi-
tion of secondary materials such as fly ash, sewage sludge ash and

Table 1
Enrichment of inorganic content after pyrolysis.

Feedstock Pyrolysis Enrichment of inorganic content after pyrolysis[biochar content/biomass content] Ref
T (℃) K Si P Ca Mg Na Al Fe
Switchgrass 450 3.76 3.43 1.98 3.61 2.81 2.03 6.99 7.14 [64]
600 5.47 4.42 2.42 5.06 3.44 1.70 9.06 12.45
800 5.57 5.59 4.08 6.06 4.38 1.80 7.26 9.89
Pine wood 450 3.18 1.09 3.68 3.20 3.33 2.43 3.18 8.42
600 6.38 1.53 6.39 5.74 5.85 4.52 6.38 6.96
800 8.72 1.83 9.98 6.78 8.91 5.61 8.72 6.83
Poultry litter 450 3.4 3.42 [66]
500 3.4 3.44
Willow 450 4.4 5.72
500 5 6.25
Spruse sawdust 425 1.61
Softwood bark 475 2.1 3.08
Corn stover 500 5.28 7.03 6.02 6.19 6.08 4.65 6.5 6.82 [65]

5
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
slag has been found out not to induce over-limit of leached fraction
despite high content of heavy metal [70,71]. Besides, partial substi-
tution of natural raw materials with the secondary materials does
not result in higher contents of heavy metals in cement products.
Hohberg and Schiessl [72] have indicated that the addition of fly
ash with high content of heavy metals contribute to very low leach
out content due to immobilization of heavy metals by fly ash in the
highly alkaline cement matrix. In this study, smaller emission of
mortar with fly ash was ascribed to the filler effect of fly ash and
to the compaction in the pore network due to pozzolanic reaction,
which could hinder diffusion of heavy metals such as zinc, copper
and lead [72].
In spite of all the findings related to the chemical composition
of biomass, the effect of each element, as a residue in the biochar,
on the inherent properties of cementitious materials still remain
controversial.
3.2. Physical and morphological properties
Properties of biochar such as surface area, pH, porosity, mor-
phology may have a direct impact on the cementitious materials
features and performance. As is known, a large surface area is con-
nected with some other biochar properties such as cation exchange
capacity (CEC) and water retention capacity. Although, the surface
area itself is not the only parameter explaining the biochar physical
properties. Smaller particle size conveys a higher surface area.
Workability and rheology of the cement mixture can be influenced
by the particle size of the added biochar and this effect can be
intensified by coarser particles [49]. Microparticle biochar showed
higher efficiency than nanoparticles due to higher water absorp-
tion tendency, and subsequently reduction of water-cement ratio
and higher densification effect. Particles at nanoscale have higher
surface area per unit volume, i.e. more atoms and molecules on
the surface. This means that a stronger Van der Waals force and
electrostatic force can be formed between atoms and between
the nanoparticles, respectively, causing their re-agglomeration.
This phenomenon is known to be deleterious in the structure of
cement based composites [59,73]. Biochars with macropores may
affect the transport properties of cementitious composites. A high
surface area-to-volume ratio of carbon microparticles results in an
increase of the contact area between the particles and the sur-
rounding cementitious matrix, that consequently causes a better
adhesion of biochar particles to the cement matrix [74].
Shape of the biochar particles can also have considerable effects
on the intrinsic properties of mortar. Angular-shaped biochar par-
ticles tend to restrain the movement of cement paste and the par-
ticles and induce a reduction of spread diameter during flow table
test (slump). Biochars are characterized with the roughness in their
appearance which promote the adhesion between biochar and
cement paste. Fibrillar biochars may have a capability to make a
bridge between micropores over the Interfacial Transition Zone
(ITZ) and hydration products and contribute to stress redistribu-
tion [37]. Thus, brittle failure is expected to be avoided [20]. ITZ
is a zone between aggregates and cement paste matrix, which nor-
mally has a thickness around 10 to 40 mm in plain mortars [75].
Excessive milling and grinding the biochar particles give them
angular shapes being more favorable for aggregate bridging [76].
This particular feature can govern the cracks to pass through the
angular aggregates which are not bonded to the matrix following
a flat fracture path [77].
Density is a physical property of biochar that significantly
affects the fresh and hardened properties of cement composites.
Normally, biochar possesses a lower density than ordinary Port-
land cement particles, being about one third of it [78]. Density of
material is inversely connected to its porosity. Increasing the
6
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
pyrolysis temperature results in a higher porosity and thus a bio-
char with a lower density [79].
pH of biochar is another indicator of admixtures effect on the
cement hydration and heat evolution such that the addition of
admixture must not reduce the pH of cement pore solution signif-
icantly. pH value of biochar produced via pyrolysis may differ from
the one produced through hydrothermal carbonization. The acidic
functional groups such as carboxyl, hydroxyl or formyl groups in
the biomass are detached during pyrolysis and form a basic nature
in biochar. On the other hand, with increasing pyrolysis tempera-
ture, more ash, which is basic in nature, is remained in the biochar
and that increases the degree of carbonization [80]. In addition to
the conversion process type, feedstock and the pyrolysis conditions
including temperature and residence time affect the pH value of
biochar. In the case of slow pyrolysis, which pertains to the pro-
duction of majority of biochars, that are used as secondary sources
in construction materials, the effect of residence time is not
assessed properly. The biochar produced from softwood materials
at high temperatures has high concentration of basic cations and
high pH level [34]. The pH of cement solution has been shown to
reduce after substitution of 10% cement with marble powder
[81]. However, effect of biochar addition on the alkalinity of
cementitious materials has not been studied fairly. It has been
reported that the biochar introduction in the range of 2–8%
insignificantly alters alkalinity of the cement mix (drop of about
5.5% at the dosage of 8%, but still have a pH > 12), which is signif-
icant to ensure hydration and strength development of mortar
composite [21,82].
3.3. Water retain capacity
High amount of carbon and low quantities of impurities make
the biochar perfect as a filler in the cementitious composites, as
no difficulties can be observed in the dispersion into the solution
of water and superplasticizer and the particles are very resistant
compared to the cement matrix [59]. This factor can affect the
workability of concrete, as the biochar’s demand of water
increases. This has been also indicated by Choi et al. [24] stating
that the high carbon content of fly ash influences the air entraining
and water gain into the mixture. The water absorption and reten-
tion properties of biochar are the top features offered to the mortar
to resist moisture evaporation and shrinkage. Water retain capac-
ity of biochar is an important parameter determining the moisture
transfer properties of cement mortar. Despite the fact that the bio-
char produced at high temperatures losses its hydrophilicity as a
result of less polar functional groups, the effect of increase of
porosity at higher temperatures governs its high level of water
holding capacity [79]. Water retention capacity of biochar depends
on several factors such as morphology, porosity, pore size and
interconnection between the pores [82]. Biochar produced at low
temperature is characterized with smaller pore size and less inter-
connection between the pores, thus it may hinder the water
absorption process [83].
Biochar tends to physically bind to the cations existing in the
solution due to the high CEC in the carbonaceous structure of bio-
char [84]. This feature forces the biochar to rapidly absorb a part of
mixing water through hydrogen bonding during mixing, leading to
the drop of the mix fluidity [37]. Furthermore, the mix fluidity of
the cement matrix can be significantly influenced by the pore size
distribution of biochar. Presence of pores (less than 30 mm)
increases water holding capacity of biochar while reducing the flu-
idity of the mix [41,85]. For the same reason, grinding biochar par-
ticles may improve the absorption process in the mortar mixes
when it is ground to a very fine form due to the changes in the pore
size of the biochar and thus the underlying alterations in the trans-
port properties of the concrete [24]. In general, grinding the bio-
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
char particles down is associated with the reduction of average
pore size, higher surface area and larger micropore volume, which
eventually contributes to increasing the water retention capacity
[49,86]. The biochar addition to the cementitious matrix must be
controlled carefully since its higher dosage can lead to a drastic
reduction of free water and subsequently mortar fluidity, and this
increases the demand of superplasticizer. Although, the higher
amount of superplasticizer can cause a retarded hydration and
reduce the early age strength. Furthermore, porosity of cementi-
tious matrix can be increased with increasing the water-cement
ratio [87].
3.4. Thermal conductivity and flammability
The thermal conductivity is the ability of a material to conduct
heat, i.e. the transport of heat through the material as the result of
a temperature gradient. The porous structure of biochar offers a
lower thermal conductivity compared to its parent biomass. A con-
siderable decrease of about 60–80% has been registered in the ther-
mal conductivity of biomass after pyrolysis process [88]. Unlike to
biomass, the biochar at higher temperatures have almost a similar
thermal conductivity in different directions [88]. Thanks to a rela-
tively low thermal conductivity of biochar, it can also have a pos-
itive impact on the insulating properties of building components.
Increased porosity of concrete due to biochar inclusion (with a
wide range of mesopores, micropores and nanopores) is another
reason for such an observation [89].
A significant reduction of thermal conductivity is reported in
the cement pastes containing sugarcane bagasse biochar [19].
45% and 30% drop of thermal conductivity were observed in the
6% biochar-cement composites cured for 28 and 90 days,
respectively [19]. In another study, the largest reduction in
thermal conductivity was observed in the samples with 1 and 2%
biochar by weight, registering 0.208 to 0.230 W/(m
K), and
0.192–0.197 W/(m
K), respectively, comparing with 0.62 to
3.3 W/(m
K) for a standard concrete [90]. Lower thermal conduc-
tivity can be caused by the burning out of organic matter in biochar
added as supplementary materials to the cementitious composites
[91]. In fact, the pores in biochar tend to break the thermal bridg-
ing within the cementitious composites and this can be associated
with lowering of thermal conductivity and improvement of insula-
tion of buildings [92].
Flammability of biochar is a significant factor affecting the fire
safety of building materials. Biochar has been recognized as a non-
flammable substance in a study carried out by Zhao et al. [23]. High
pyrolysis heating rate, short residence time and biomass impurities
promotes carbon-free formation. In fact, carbon-free radicals tend
to bond to the oxygen via chemisorption and thus promote
flammability [23]. In the same study, a biochar produced via slow
pyrolysis showed no combustion front propagation. More short-
term flammability was observed at high temperature biochars (at
450 °C) [23]. Pyrolysis adds a credit to the raw biomass with
release of volatile matters and formation of pores ranging from
macropores to nanopores. As a result of reduced volatile propor-
tions, biochar can be associated with lower flammability [23].
Addition of biochar improves fire resistance of cementitious com-
posite through retaining higher strength and water tightness at
elevated temperatures [93].
3.5. Chemical stability
The ratio of hydrogen to organic carbon (H:C) and oxygen to
organic carbon (O:C) determine the degree of aromaticity and mat-
uration of biochar and can be linked to its long-term chemical sta-
bility [94–96]. Chemical stability is a striking feature that makes
the biochar as an efficient additive in cement mortar. Lower values
7
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
of H:C and O:C ratios imply a high fraction of stable carbon
together with a lower number of reactive groups in the structure
of biochar. Thus, a higher resistance of biochar to the mineraliza-
tion and chemical and biological degradation is expected [97]. This
can be due to the reduction of swelling tendency of biochar
through elimination of cellulose components, especially hemicel-
lulose, which show susceptibility to moisture absorption and
biodegradation [49,98]. Therefore, decomposition of cellulosic
matters in biochar and stability of micro-fillers can assure the
long-term durability of cementitious composites [82]. This feature
of biochar may also avoid changes in properties of cement compos-
ites that may encounter severe conditions such as carbonation,
alkali–silica and chloride reactions during their life-time.
O:C ratio is normally decreased with increasing pyrolysis tem-
perature since more carbon persist at high temperatures. This is
also directly linked to the volatile matters released at high temper-
atures [97,99]. Reduction of H:C (degree of aromaticity) and O:C
(polarity) ratios with growing pyrolysis temperature can be also
due to the dehydration and decarboxylation reactions and removal
of functional groups containing O and H, from the original biomass
which intrinsically has low aromaticity [100–102]. Biochars with
O:C ratio of less than 0.20 tend to have high stability and is esti-
mated to have a half-life of up to 1000 years [97]. In a recent report
[37], biochars produced from sawdust, food waste and rice waste
with O:C of 0.12, 0.09, and 0.15 respectively, showed high chemical
stability in cement composites. In a study conducted by Rehrah
et al. [34] under the same pyrolysis conditions (750 ℃ and 6 h res-
idence time), biochars from hard materials (sawdust), soft materi-
als (grass, tree leaves) and paper materials showed a O:C ration of
0.02, 0.97 and 0.71, respectively.
3.6. Environmental considerations
Selection of a bio-based secondary material for incorporating in
the cementitious materials should be made based on the environ-
mental considerations other than mechanical and physical
improvements. Production of biochar has been shown to have a
negative net CO2 emission and GWP (Global Warming Potential).
Pyrolysis process shows preferences to incineration (for produc-
tion of ashes), due to a reduction of emissions such as methane,
CO, NOx and SOx [20]. In the literature, it has been believed that
the carbon content in biochar has a significant impact on the car-
bon sequestration capacity of biochar [103]. The negative GHG
emission of different types of biochar have been determined as
0.90, 0.864 and 0.885 CO2 eq./kg in Barley straw biochar
[104], corn stove biochar and yard waste biochar [17], respectively.
In the production of cementitious materials, the environmental
impacts are evaluated based on the net CO2 emissions associated
with the raw materials application and the carbonation process.
A part of the CO2 released during the cement production is
absorbed by cement composites (mortar and concrete) through
carbonation during their lifetime, which leads to the permanent
fixation of CO2 in the form of stable calcium carbonate [105]. Incor-
poration of biochar in the cementitious materials also can lead to
the offset of CO2 emissions. In the mortars with the same amount
of water and cement, it has been shown that the addition of bio-
char reduces the net emission of greenhouse gases (up to 15%)
and air pollutants associated with mortar production [20,106]. In
the study conducted by Roy et al. [78], for every 1% increase by vol-
ume of biochar, there was a 2.2% reduction of cement by weight,
thanks to the low density of biochar (approximately one third of
cement). Therefore, at the real scale applications, the CO2 emission
is expected to be reduced by 880 Mt per year by replacing only 10%
of biochar on volumetric basis. In other words, the total worldwide
GHG emissions level could reduce by 1.1% [78].
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
Fig. 4. A detailed map describing factors influencing biochar and cement composite properties. I: biomass factors, II: pyrolysis production, III: biochar properties and VI:
cement composite properties. Red lines are presenting inverse effects. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web
version of this article.)
An improved leaching behavior is also a result of addition of
biochar to the cement composite due to increment of the porosity
of cement matrix. In a study carried out by Zalina et al. [107], the
leaching behavior of Cesium-134 (in distilled water) from the
cement-biochar matrix was investigated. The lowest leachability
of Cs-134 was found at 11% biochar addition [107].
Fig. 4 shows the detailed map of the influencing factors from the
biomass selection to the incorporation in cement mixes.
4. Biochar as an additive in cementitious materials
4.1. Fresh properties
Gupta et al. [21] found out that 8% of biochar addition to the
cement mortar can result in a drop of 22% in the flow rate (work-
ability). In this study, it was proven that the addition of biochar
(>2%) which is produced at high temperatures gives a stiffer mortar
mix [21]. In order to maintain workability of cementitious mate-
rial, the required water should be increased with increasing bio-
char content [90]. In order to provide free water, the water to
cement ratio should be increased from 0.4 to 0.48 when 1.5 gr of
biochar is added to 10 gr of cement in the concrete composition,
as Cuthbertson et al. observed in their study [90]. Biochar addition
can result in an increase of superplasticizer content in the compo-
sition of cementitious material. There is an inverse relationship
between flow and the content of superplasticizer due to increase
of biochar dosage [37]. Addition of 1 wt% biochar derived from
mixed wood and food wastes had a negligible effect on the flow
table spread diameter at the same dosage of superplasticizer with
plain mortar. At 5% addition, the dosage of superplasticizer to
maintain flow increased by 26% and 14% for mortar with mixed
wood and food waste biochars respectively [37]. Higher reduction
in flowability of mortar can be described by the water absorption
capacity of added biochar which tends to maintain higher amounts
of free water in its porous structure. Biochar addition also results in
a reduction of initial and final setting as a consequence of filler
effect and reduction of free water by biochar particles [20].
In terms of biochar addition as a cement replacement, its
dosage should be limited to a specific value in order to retain the
workability of the material. Choi el al. [24] reached out 5% of
8
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
cement to be replaced by biochar particles. The authors believed
that the loss of ignition (LOI) level in the added biochar determines
the amount of biochar to obtain the desired workability. Fresh den-
sity of mortar is also reported to decrease with increasing biochar
content due to low density and highly porous texture of biochar
particles. However, the air content of fresh mortar is observed to
increase with increase of biochar addition content [20,37].
Effect of biochar inclusion on the rheological properties of
cement mortar has been studied more rarely. Gupta et al. [49]
investigated the early-age characteristics of biochar-cement com-
posites in their recent research. The authors determined yield
stress and plastic viscosity of mortar at different times after mixing
water. The results showed that the incorporation of ground biochar
(denoted as GBC with particle size between 0.1 and 2 mm) facili-
tated placement of cement paste into the formwork due to a lower
viscosity compared with the plain mortar and mortars with coarser
biochar particles (denoted as NBC with particle size 2–100 mm)
[49]. Yield stress of cement mix was influenced by the particle size
of biochar, having lower value for the mixes with finer biochar
grains [49].
4.2. Transfer properties
Water absorption plays a key role in durability and long-term
performance of cementitious materials. Many investigations can
be found in the literature concerning effect of biochar addition
either as a filler or cement substitution, on the sorptivity of cement
composites. Water absorption via capillary increases following the
enhancement of void fraction within mortar. Increasing capillary
absorption imparts deterioration of mortar/concrete structure
[108] and/or growth of germs in the indoor environment [21].
The effect of incorporation of biochar produced at different tem-
peratures on the capillary absorption and penetration depth of
mortar has been studied in [21]. In this study, addition of 1% of bio-
char (by cement mass as a filler) produced at 300 and 500 ℃
induced a significant drop of 68% and 41% in the water absorption
compared to the plain reference mortar. The difference is attribu-
ted to a higher hydrophilic nature of biochar produced at 300 ℃,
hindering the formation of capillary pores due to absorption [21].
A similar trend was also observed in the depth of water penetra-
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
tion. 65% and 61% reduction of penetration depth were the conse-
quence of incorporation of 1% biochar produced at 300 ℃ and
500 ℃, respectively [21]. Although the results of this study showed
an improved water penetration performance in the mortars with
5% biochar addition, the same dosage of biochar resulted in a
higher capillary water absorption. The authors justified this obser-
vation with the presence of dead-ended voids in the mortar and
biochar particles that may form a discontinuous network within
mortar that prevents penetration of water [21]. Resistance to the
external fluid penetration into the mortar mix is a key issue in
the improvement of the material durability.
Biochar addition at low dosages (0.1–0.5%) mitigated the high
water absorption capacity of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC)
which possesses high porosity [108]. In another study, penetration
depth of mortar was reduced by 52% and 60% when dry and satu-
rated biochar added to the cementitious matrix, respectively cured
under moist conditions [85]. These observations have been also
confirmed in [37], where biochar from food wastes, mixed wood
and rice wastes were used in the composition of cement mortar.
A lower drying rate of cement mortar with dry biochar was
reported in [24], while Gupta et al. [85] observed a different trend
with no change in the drying rate. In terms of cement replacement,
water absorption of concrete samples has been shown to decrease
with substituting 0.25% and 0.5% of cement with poultry litter bio-
char and paper & pulp sludge biochar, respectively [63].
Furthermore, moisture content and internal relative humidity
(IRH) in the cement composites are critical parameters for most
of degradation processes, such as shrinkage and cracking, which
cementitious material may suffer during their lifetime [109,110].
Internal relative humidity is the key factor while considering effec-
tiveness of internal curing. Internal moisture content of cementi-
tious matrix guarantees the cement hydration specially when no
external water is available. IRH of cement mortars can be influ-
enced by the moisture diffusion and self-desiccation during hydra-
tion [111]. The drying process in cementitious materials is
characterized in two main phases [112–114]. The dominant mech-
anisms to drive the moisture transfer within the material are diffu-
sion of water vapor in the first stage having 100% RH, and capillary
action of liquid water in the second stage, which is accompanied
with the RH reduction [115,116]. Biochar addition to the mortar
is associated with the reduction of water evaporation from the
mortar mixes and ensures the retention of moisture content in
the mortar during its early ages. Therefore, biochar can play the
role of a self-curing agent in the composition of mortar [24]. El-
Diab [117] observed that a concrete with a self-curing agent suf-
fered less self-desiccation under sealed cure conditions. The effect
of biochar as a water reservoir in the internal curing of mortar was
explored by measuring internal relative humidity (IRH) of mortars
containing pre-soaked biochar [85]. While the IRH of mortar with
saturated biochar was 89.5% and 90.2% (pyrolyzed at 300 ℃ and
500 ℃ respectively), the plain reference mortar registered 85.6%
IRH at the same conditions (28 days of curing at 25 ℃ and 60%
RH), according to the data measured at a depth of 100 mm from
the specimen surface [85]. Pre-soaking of biochar before applica-
tion in the mortar resulted in a lower drying rate comparing the
plain mortar and its counterpart with dry biochar. In fact, the
amount of free water was reduced by 45% due to the presence of
pre-soaked biochar into the mix. The lower the free water in the
mix the lower the evaporation occurred at the time of mixing. In
other words, more water is physically retained in the biochar when
it is used in saturated state, rather than participate in capillary,
hence, it is supplied afterwards to the hydration of cement. The
results also implied that internal curing effect of pre-soaked bio-
char is more effective in attaining higher IRH compared to when
additional water was added to the mix. In another investigation
9
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
[118], addition of 2% biochar delayed the onset of relative humidity
reduction (second stage) by 20 h compared to plain cement paste.
The weight loss due to the moisture evaporation in the mortars
containing biochar is less than the conventional mixes which
implies a better water retention capacity of biochar [24]. Thus,
reduction of the plastic and drying shrinkage can be a significant
result of biochar addition [24]. In another study, it is said that
the biochar particles may not have positive effect on the shrinkage
of hardened paste [21]. In this investigation, biochar-added mor-
tars showed a higher drying shrinkage at the early stage between
age of 1–4 days, irrespective of biochar dosage [21]. Nevertheless,
at the age of 56 days, mortars containing only 1% biochar caused
lower shrinkage compared with plain mortar [21]. In the study of
Chen and Poon [119], the key impact of pore size of the added
ash on the drying shrinkage of mortar has been revealed. The
authors noted that the increase of mesopores in sewage sludge
ash (<0.025 mm) was the reason for greater drying shrinkage of
mortar mix in comparison with the mortar containing pulverized
fly ash. Carbonation can be also the reason of shrinkage in cemen-
titious material, having the same mechanism with drying shrink-
age [120]. Although, the effect of biochar on the carbonation
process of cement paste has not been studied yet. The role of bio-
char in producing inner carbonation will be discussed in section 5.
4.3. Cement hydration
Hydration is the vital mechanism of microstructural develop-
ment of cementitious materials. Hydration products include non-
crystalline hydrated phases such as C-S-H gel, hydrated crystalline
phases such as calcium hydroxide (CH), and non-hydrated crys-
talline phases, with different chemistry, microstructure and size-
scale. While CH is formed in the pores which are filled with water,
C-S-H deposits around cement grains and it is responsible for bind-
ing mortar components to form a rigid system. Individual non-
hydrated particles in calcium silicate clinkers are normally
retained in almost every cement paste [121]. Nonetheless, cement
grains with finer size have an ability to quickly hydrate completely
[122]. For this reason, the degree of hydration and reaction kinetics
of cement paste can be improved due to introduction of a micro-
filler to the cement composite [123]. Fine biochar particles can play
a significant role in the generation of more hydration products at
early stage and induces a faster setting and percolation of solid net-
work. For instance, a higher level of calcium hydroxide (CH) has
been reported in the mortars containing fine biochar particles
[37]. Studies have demonstrated that the filler effect of biochar
can be more dominant than its pozzolanic effect. This means that
the biochar is capable of producing a compact structure within
the cement products and have a small contribution towards chem-
ical enhancement [63]. Filler effect of some biochars such as poul-
try litter may cause a formation of denser structure in the early
stages which in turn, avoids production of C-S-H due to higher vol-
ume occupation, leading to the slower pozzolanic activity [63].
Unlikely, in the same study [63], paper & pulp sludge biochar pro-
duced a high level of C-S-H band in the concrete composites with
the least minor peaks in the spectra of the FTIR test representing
its higher integration into concrete structure.
Hydration of cement paste can be significantly influenced by
addition of biochar. Cement pastes containing 1% mixed wood bio-
char showed higher cumulative heat of hydration (as indirect mea-
sure of extent of hydration in cement mixes) than the plain paste
[49]. In this study, coarser biochar led to slightly higher heat evo-
lution than grinded biochar.
Gupta et al. [124] observed an increase of 10%, 9.10% and 9% in
the cumulative hydration heat after replacing 5% cement with trea-
ted coconut shell biochar, commercial biochar (from wood
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
obtained from neighbouring Southeast Asian countries) and wood
waste biochar, respectively. Furthermore, addition of biochar into
the cement paste resulting in an acceleration of hydration and
higher rate of hydration heat irrespective of the feedstock type.
In another study, addition of 5% coarse biochar (250–500 mm) from
mixed wood sawdust, as cement replacement, showed 30% higher
heat of hydration at the end of 96 h [82]. In this study, substitution
of 2–8% cement with biochar was associated with higher cumula-
tive heat than the plain mixes [82]. However, in another experi-
ment, addition of 1–2% of biochar derived from rice husk, mixed
wood showed a comparable heat of hydration after 7 days, with
the control cement mortar [125]. Reduction of cumulative hydra-
tion heat by 15% was observed in the cement pastes containing
2% dairy manure biochar [126]. This was attributed to the high
ash content (84%) which contains relatively high amount of cal-
cium, phosphorus and magnesium, and contributes to the retarda-
tion of hydration [126]. In the same study, addition of sorghum
biochar was also associated with reduction of heat of hydration
and slower hydration reaction in cement paste [126].
Presence of higher content of cellulose in biochar, on the other
hand, may cause an increase of released heat during hydration in
comparison with when raw biomass is used in the cementitious
composition. 9% increase against 9% decrease of hydration heat
was observed in the cement pastes containing 2% biochar and bio-
mass (from sugarcane bagasse), respectively [19]. Although, the
degree of hydration in ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is
essentially low due to the lower free water amount in its composi-
tion, it was observed to be improved by adding biochar up to 8% of
cement weight. This effect could be amplified through using finer
biochar particles i.e. less than 150 mm [82].
Curing condition can significantly affect the hydration process
in biochar-mortar composites. The moist curing conditions showed
to neutralize the effect of the biochar addition on the hydration of
mortar matrix since it provides sufficient moisture for hydration
process regardless of water retainment capacity of biochar [85].
However, a 22% increase was observed in the hydration degree of
air-cured cement mortar due to addition of preconditioned biochar
with water saturation [85]. It implies that less cement remains
non-hydrated in the composition of cementitious material because
the presence of biochar offers more free water. In fact, lower path-
ways exist for evaporation of moisture during air curing of cement-
biochar mortar [127].
Recent studies [128] showed that the ITZ of biochar particles
can be superior to that of sand particles. This can be imparted from
the interlocking mechanisms formed at the face of biochar parti-
cles pores due to water migration from internal reservoir to the
surrounding paste, that in turn leads to the higher hydration prod-
ucts and less porous ITZ [128]. ITZ formation greatly is dependent
to the aggregate properties including absorption and release of
water from aggregates, such that, those with high porosity and
high potential to absorb and release water can increase the hydra-
tion degree around the aggregate. Thus in presence of biochar, the
wall effect in the aggregate-cement interface can be reduced, and a
uniform and continuous microstructure can be formed in the
biochar-cement composites [129,130].
4.4. Mechanical properties
Mechanical properties of cementitious materials are influenced
by the properties of added biochar. The addition of biochar into the
cement mortar as a filler is associated with more noticeable effects
on the early strength of mortar irrespective of water-cement ratio.
Normally in the mixes, biochar particles are mostly finer than both
the average size of cement grains and the present macro pores in
the cement paste. Fine particles play a significant role in blocking
the macropores within mortar, therefore, resulting in a compact-
10
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
ness of hardened mortar and improved performance of stress
transfer under loading [21]. Moreover, in the mixes with lower
water-to-cement ratio, addition of biochar leads to a stiffer texture
and affects the compactness of mortar [21]. In a study carried out
by Gupta and Kua [85], a water saturated biochar was added to the
mortar mix in order not to absorb any part of mixing water during
initial stage of mortar hardening. In this case, mortar has a rela-
tively lower effective water-cement ratio which led to a more com-
pact pore structure and lower connectivity of pore network [85].
The optimum biochar content was found to be about 1–2% to
improve the hardened density of cement mortar [21]. The maxi-
mum electromagnetic shielding effectiveness also gained in the
cement pastes with 0.5 wt% hazelnut shell biochar [76]. Higher
biochar dosages may lead to the deterioration of performance of
cement composites. A drastic reduction was observed in the hard-
ened density of mortar with 5–8% biochar [21]. The same deleteri-
ous effect was observed in the ductility of concrete containing over
10% biochar [90].
Mechanical properties of cementitious composites are domi-
nated by ITZ which can be affected by biochar addition [130].
Experimental results showed that the ITZ in the cement compos-
ites containing 1% biochar are less damaged compared to the those
with no biochar. Indeed, the pore formation and damage to the bin-
der were restricted due to the biochar presence [131]. Increase of
compressive strength after addition of up to 2% food waste and
wood saw dust biochar has been reported in some studies
[20,21,37,85]. Significant enhancement of compressive strength
due to addition of 0.5–0.8% hazelnut shell and coffee powder bio-
chars was observed in the study of Restuccia et al. [59]. However,
slight reduction of compressive strength at 7- and 28-days age
after addition of 1 and 2.5% biochar from mixture of woodchips
of local forests (alder, beech, poplar, chestnut, oak and hornbeam)
was observed in the study conducted by Sirico et al. [132]. Addition
of biochar with ground biochar particles showed higher compres-
sive strength in comparison with coarser biochar due to packing
by fine particles [49]. In a study by Ahmad et al. [133], bamboo
fibres (a cheap and sustainable source for the synthesis of micro-
sized and inert carbonized particles) were pyrolyzed and used as
reinforcement particles in cement composites. Their findings show
that a small content of bamboo biochar (0.08%) can enhance com-
pressive strength and toughness of mortar matrix.
The tensile strength of mortars reinforced with 2% of pyrolyzed
sugar cane bagasse (at 200 ℃ for 2 h) showed a significant increase
of about 22% and 135% compared to mortar reinforced with raw
fibre and plain mortar, respectively [47]. This can be explained
by the results obtained in the tensile tests of untreated and treated
fibres which revealed that the pyrolysis of bagasse fibres led to a
higher tensile strength, by more than a factor of three, compared
to the untreated ones, together with the reduction of content of
extractives in the raw fibres [47]. Splitting tensile strength of
cement composite has been also reported to increase due to intro-
duction of 2% wood saw dust biochar as a filler [85].
Higher density of hazelnut shell biochar led to the higher flex-
ural strength of biochar-cement composites in comparison with
peanut shell biochar [76]. In a study by Restuccia and Ferro [59],
two biomasses of agro-food wastes including coffee powder and
hazelnut shells were pyrolyzed at 800 ℃ and added in the range
of 0.5–1% of cement weight. In their study, higher flexural strength
and fracture energy was achieved at 0.8 and 0.5% addition of hazel-
nut shell biochar and coffee powder biochar, respectively [59]. In
the study of Cosentino et al. [74], higher flexural strength and frac-
ture energy values were recorded in the specimens with 0.8 and 1%
biochar derived from softwood biomass at 800 ℃ compared to the
plain cement specimens. A very small amount of biochar addition
(0.08%) to the cement composite showed an increase of 35% and
45% in flexural strength and fracture energy, respectively [44].
 Table 2

H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.

Summary of recent studies on biochar-added mortars.

Feedstock Pyrolysis Biochar as Dosage Adopted tests in mortar Curing Main outcomes Ref
conditions condition
Mixture of woodchips 900 ℃ Filler 1%, 2.5% Density, flexural and compressive test, fracture Water-cured Slight reduction of compressive strength with increasing biochar [132]
of local forest energy dosage, increase of flexural strength and fracture energy
Hardwood 500 ℃sp* Cement 5–20% Compressive test, water retention Air- Comparable compressive strength in 5% cement replacement with [24]
repl. curedMoisture- biochar
cured
Poultry litter, rice husk, 450, 500 ℃Resting Cement 0.1–1% Compressive, flexural and splitting tensile Moist curing Effective at early age strength development of concrete [63]
PPI sludge time: 20 min repl. tests, water absorption, FTIR, XRD, SEM
Sugarcane bagasse 200 ℃, spResting Filler 2, 4, 6% Apparent porosity, thermal conductivity, 50%RH Improvement of hydration, reduction of thermal conductivity by [19]
time: 2 h isothermal calorimetry, flexural test 25% due to addition of 4% biochar
Poultry litter 450 ℃ Cement 1, 5, 10% Compressive test, FTIR, water absorption Water-cured Higher water absorption capabilities of biochar composites, [78]
repl. biochar mortar resists shrinkage
Peanut, hazelnut shells 850 ℃, residence Filler 0.025,0.05, Flexural test, fracture energy, electromagnetic Room Increase in electromagnetic radiation shielding [76]
time: 1 h 0.08,0.2, radiation shielding temperature
0.5,1%
Softwood 700 ℃ Filler 0.8, 1% Flexural test, fracture energy Water-cured Promising improvement in strength and toughness of cement [74]
composite
Coffee power, hazelnut 800 ℃, 6 ℃/min Filler 0.5, 0.8, 1% Flexural and compressive tests, fracture energy Water-cured Biochar gives a brittle behavior to the cement composite. Small [59]
shell portion of biochar can lead to substantial increment.
Dried Distillers Grain 500,600 ℃ Sand and 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, Density, compressive test, sound absorption Ambient 10 and 15% of biochar leads to better sound absorption properties, [90]
aggregate 12, 15% test, thermal conductivity condition at 2% biochar addition, thermal conductivity shows the highest
repl. reduction
Rice husk 450 ℃ Cement 0.1–0.75% Compressive and splitting tensile tests, water Fog-cured 17% reduction in water absorption, enhancement of mechanical [108]
repl. absorption, FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDS properties at optimum biochar dosage
Wheat straw 650 ℃, residence MgO + ADP 0.5, 1, 1.5% Compressive and flexural tests, water Room Development of mechanical properties with increasing biochar [141]
time: 4 h repl. absorption, porosity, water resistance, XRD, temperature content
11

SEM-EDS, FTIR
Grey Borgotaro 700 ℃ Filler, 0.8, 1, 1.5, 2, Mechanical tests, fracture energy Water-cured Increase of flexural strength and fractur energy in the optimum [142]
cement repl. 2.5% biochar percentage
Masson pine wood 500, 700 ℃10 ℃/ Filler 1, 2, 5% Isothermal calorimetry, XRD, TGA, SEM-EDS, Air-cured,CO2- Incorporation of biochar as a green additive promotes the [143]
min compressive strength cured generation of hydration products, CO2 curing of newly formed
blocks accelerates cement hydration and carbonation
Wood saw dust 500 ℃ Filler 0.25, 0.5, 1, Rheology, isothermal calorimetry, mechanical Moist-cured, Effect of coarse biochar on the rheology of mortar, reduction in [49]
2% tests, water absorption Air-cured capillary absorption in air-cured condition acceleration of cement
hydration,
Wood saw dust 300, 500 ℃ Filler 1, 2, 5, 8% Mechanical tests, density, porosity, drying Fog-cured Improvement of early age compressive strength, 1% biochar [21]
shrinkage, water absorption, SEM shows comparable drying shrinkage
Wood saw dust 300, 500 ℃ Filler 2% Internal RH,TGA, mechanical tests, water Fog-cured,Air- Higher degree of hydration by adding pre-soaked biochar, [85]

Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757

sorptivity, SEM cured Improvement of strength and water tightness
Corn stover 550 ℃15℃/min, Filler 2, 4, 6, 8% Compressive test, XRD, FTIR, SEM CO2 curing Increase of CO2 uptake due to the addition of biochar [144]
Residence time:
25 m
Wood saw dust 500 ℃10 ℃/min Cement 2, 5, 8% TGA, isothermal calorimetry, compressive Ambient curing Increase of hydration degree and the heat of hydration due to [82]
repl. biochar addition
Rice husk 500 ℃1 ℃/s Silica fume 40% Rheology, isothermal calorimetry, density, Water-cured at Plastic viscosity and yield stress of cenosphere mortar increased, [145]
repl. compressive test, capillary test 26 ℃ acceleration of cement hydration, 15–20% higher compressive
strength retention by mortar exposed to 450 ℃
Coconut shell 500 ℃10 ℃/min Cement 5% Rheology, isothermal calorimetry, TGA, Biochar with higher permeability and lower pore tortuosity [124]
repl. density, compressive test, capillary test, resulted in a higher reduction in autogenous shrinkage.
shrinkage
Sorghum, manure, 210–600 ℃ Filler 2% Compressive test, isothermal calorimetry, Fog-cured High carbon content of biochar contributes to the strength [126]
cotton stalk, algae density, water absorption development, reduction of capillary absorption, improvement of
long-term strength by32%

Bold percentage represents optimum biochar dosage, * sp: slow pyrolysis.

H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
The fracture energy of the cement pastes increased significantly
after addition of small amount of nano-sized biochar to the cement
paste [76]. An increment of the fracture energy of cementitious
paste due to introduction of biochar can be resulted from the more
tortuous path in the microstructure of biochar, leading to the high
ability of biochar-cement composites in absorbing energy before
breaking [59]. Biochars, in fact, behave as attractors of fracture
and modify the crack path (from linear pattern in plain mortar to
a tortuous pattern in biochar-cement mortar) that eventually cause
a modification of crack trajectory [59].
The effect of biochar mixing procedure on the strength of
cement paste was assessed in a study by Suarez-Riera et al.
[134]. In the first set, biochar was firstly added directly to the
water and superplasticizer mix and then mixed with the dry gradi-
ents and, in the other set, it composed of mixing all the dry parti-
cles of cement and biochar, and then adding to the mix the water
and superplasticizer. 2% of biochar added in the former state
improved the flexural strength up to 15%, while its mixture follow-
ing the second method, led to a reduction of strength by 8%.
Decrease of elastic modulus of cement composites with biochar
addition was observed [19]. This feature devotes credits to the
building materials when seismic resistance is a critical issue.
Increasing the formation of covalent carbon bonds in biochar due
to increasing pyrolysis temperature is responsible for a rise of elas-
tic modulus and hardness of biochar [135]. The enhancement of
material toughness with increasing biochar content was also
observed in the cement composites [19]. Toughness is the ability
of material to resist the crack propagation. Indeed, biochar is able
to hinder the crack propagation and fracture in cementitious mate-
rials. The fracture toughness can be increased due to occurrence of
microcrack shielding and crack deflection in the mortar [136]. The
crack propagation can be controlled by some inhomogeneities such
as pores, aggregates, fibres and voids by introducing crack devia-
tion, branching or multiplication paths. Enhancement of fracture
energy is one of the main consequences of such phenomena
[137]. The particle size and the proper dispersion of the added
material determine its effect on the toughness of cementitious
materials [59]. The lower the size of the additive particles the more
enhanced the fracture toughness of cementitious material [138]. As
a matter of fact, particles with smaller diameters possess higher
surface area which is directly correlated to the improvement of
fracture toughness.
Cement replacement by biochar also affects the mechanical
properties of cement mortar and concrete. Akhtar and Sarmah
[108] examined the effect of addition of biochar from silicon rich
sources (rice husk and enhanced poultry litter) on the properties
of concrete composed of recycled aggregates derived from con-
struction and demolition wastes. Concrete with only 0.1% rice husk
Fig. 5. Effect of biochar on the compressive strength (a) biochar as a filler (b) biochar as cement substitution, data derive from [20,21,37,49,59,78,85,132] (biochar as filler)
and [24,63,93,108] (biochar as cement substitution). No data provided for the biochar production temperature in [24] (black dots in (b)).
12
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
and enhanced poultry litter biochar showed the highest compres-
sive strength having an increment of 17.5% and 3.7%, respectively
in comparison with plain concrete. However, substitution of
0.75% cement with biochar led to the highest reduction of com-
pressive strength [108]. An increase of 10% and 6% was also
observed in the compressive strength of concrete containing 0.1%
biochar from paper and pulp mill sludge and rice husk, as a cement
replacement, respectively [63]. 7-day compressive strength of
cement composite was found to be reduced by 11% and 22% after
replacing 4 and 6% of cement with mixed wood biochar, respec-
tively, while cement composite with 6% replacement of food waste
biochar showed 10% increase [93].
In terms of flexural strength, enhanced poultry litter and rice
husk at 0.75% replacement exhibited an optimum flexural strength
[108]. The anhydrous cement in the concrete was modified after
inclusion of enhanced poultry litter biochar, leading to the
enhancement of the long-term strength of material. In another
study of the same authors, replacement of cement with biochar
from paper and pulp sludge, up to 0.1%, led to the higher flexural
strength compared with control specimens [63]. They justified
the observation by the available flexibility due to biochar presence
in the concrete composition, which acts as a link between biochar
particles and hydrated cement to avoid earlier fracture [63]. Fur-
ther increase of biochar concentration in the concrete can be asso-
ciated with an increased number of unfilled pores which tend to
absorb more water and form a less compact structure with lower
strength [63]. Besides, macropores in the cross section area play
a driving role in the flexural strength of concrete [139]. Air voids
and pores which are formed in the tensile plane due to the extra
biochar addition, would open up during flexural test and result
in a reduced energy for crack propagation and flexural load bearing
capacity [140]. Splitting tensile strength of biochar-added concrete
at 7 days age was also observed to be enhanced through addition of
paper and pulp mill sludge biochar and price husk biochar at the
replacement rate of 0.1, 0.5 and 1% [63]. Table 2 summarizes the
recent studies on the biochar-added cement mortars.
The results of compressive and flexural tests of biochar-added
cement mortar and paste at the age 28 days are collected from
14 studies and presented in terms of strength change (%) in Fig. 5
and Fig. 6, respectively. The figures also show the correlation
between biochar production temperature and the changes of
mechanical strength of cement composites. Based on the Fig. 5
(a-b), it can be suggested to limit the addition of biochar to 2%
and 5%, as filler and cement replacement, respectively when the
improvement of strength is desired. In Fig. 5 (a), 18% of cement
composites had less than 1% biochar in their composition, in which
almost all were associated with the strength development (the
maximum value of 72% registered in the composites containing
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
Fig. 6. Effect of biochar on the flexural strength, data derived
[20,21,37,49,59,74,85,108,132,142].
biochar produced at 800 ℃). 56% of the test samples contain 1–2%
biochar, where 77% of that had an improved compressive strength
comparing to plain cement composite. The rest of data was associ-
ated with the significant strength reduction in the samples con-
taining 5–10% biochar (as filler). Only 18% of biochar-cement
composites (biochar as a cement replacement) exhibited an
increase (up to 17% at the lowest addition rate) in the compressive
strength.
Fig. 6 shows the effect of biochar addition on the flexural
strength of cement composite. Only one study (out of 10) investi-
gated the changes of flexural strength due to the cement replace-
ment with biochar. Despite a negative effect of cement
replacement with biochar on the flexural strength, addition of bio-
char as filler (at lower dosages, i.e. less than 2%) led to the improve-
ment of strength, with the highest values registered in the samples
containing biochar produced at higher temperatures.
5. Incorporation of biochar with other additives in cement
composites
Due to the recent perspective of application of biochar as an
additive in building materials, some researchers have tried to
extend its application to cement composites along with other addi-
tives. In this section, special attention is given to the review of a
few available works relating to the incorporation of biochar in
the cement composites containing other additives, and effect of
biochar addition on their durability, mechanical and physical
properties.
A novel mixture of bentonite clay with poultry litter biochar
would compensate, to some extent, for a noticeable reduction of
compressive strength in poultry litter biochar-mortar due to the
interlocking bonding properties of the novel biochar-mortar [78].
In 2017, Gupta et al. [106] used biochar as a coating material on
the polypropylene (PP) fibers to explore the effect of biochar on
the properties of fiber reinforced cementitious composites. Biochar
offered a better mechanical performance to the mortar reinforced
with PP fibers. Compressive and flexural strength of mortars with
coated PP fibers increased by 20% and 19% respectively compared
with mortars reinforced with uncoated PP fibers. Although the PP
fiber reinforced cementitious mortar suffered from the agglomera-
tion and weak bonding at the interface between fibres and matrix,
biochar coating with a better fibre dispersion avoided agglomera-
tion thanks to the hydrophilic nature of biochar. Furthermore, fibre
coating with biochar led to a higher residual strength and better
post-cracking ductility. This was because biochar coating provided
an improved surface toughness of fibres, thus a better adhesion to
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
the surrounding mortar [106]. Interestingly, coated PP fiber rein-
forced mortar showed a significant increase of 45% in the peak
pull-out load in comparison with uncoated fiber samples.
Combination of rice husk biochar and industrial rice husk ash
(iRHA) and its effect on the properties of cement mortar have been
investigated [10]. Addition of 8% biochar along with 12% of iRHA to
the cement mix as a partial replacement of cement results in an
improvement of compressive strength (up to 17%) of mortar con-
taining only iRHA. Autogenous shrinkage was mostly eliminated
through combination of rice husk biochar and industrial rice husk
ash during six months of study and the early-age shrinkage crack-
ing was prevented due to the porous nature of biochar releasing
adsorbed water during hydration [10]. The effect of combination
of biochar with other additives on the autogenous shrinkage of
mortar has been also studied in [118]. In this study, weed tree bio-
char produced at 600 ℃ was mixed with MgO expansive additive to
from
partially replace cement. A significant reduction of autogenous
shrinkage was achieved via combination of MgO with biochar (only
2%) due to the internal curing capacity of biochar [118].
Gupta and Kua [93] explored replacement of cement (up to 10%)
with a blend of silica fume and biochar derived from wood and
food wastes. In this study, biochars were produced at 500 ℃ in a
muffle furnace. These authors reached the conclusion of using food
waste biochar as an alternative to silica fume at low dosages of
cement replacement. Nevertheless, addition of wood waste biochar
and food waste biochar can lead to a reduction of silica fume by
60% and 20%, respectively to achieve higher compressive strength.
Biochar showed a higher producibility to replace silica fume in the
cement mortar to impart a higher mechanical strength as well.
Combination of biochar and silica fume resulted in a higher
early-age strength compared to the mortar containing only silica
fume. The optimal blend of silica fume and biochar could improve
structural efficiency of cement mortar up to 30%. It was observed
that cement replacement by combination of biochar and silica
fume, the performance of mortar could be improved when it is sub-
jected to elevate temperature, 500 ℃. The lower loss in weight and
strength was attributed to the mortars with 6% silica fume and 4%
biochar (regardless of feedstock type) [93]. Due to the pozzolanic
action of silica fume, more CH can be converted to C-S-H in the
cement mortar. Decomposition of C-S-H gel can occur between
100 ℃ and 400 ℃ [146–148], thus higher weight loss is expected
in the silica fume containing-mortar exposed to 500 ℃ [93]. The
effect of biochar particles on the performance of silica-cement con-
crete under higher temperatures has been also studied in [131]. In
this research, a lower strength loss and higher residual compres-
sive strength were observed in the biochar-added concrete
Fig. 7. Changes in compressive strength of cement mortar containing biochar
exposed to elevated temperatures [131].
13
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
Fig. 8. Microstructure of biochar in cementitious mixture (a) before and (b) after exposure to elevated temperature. Taken from [131] with the permission.
samples exposed to the elevated temperature (the best result
observed in 1% biochar) in comparison to the plain concrete (see
Fig. 7) and concrete containing 10% silica fume. Additionally, 2%
biochar led to an improvement of impermeability by 45% after
exposure to 550 ℃. The reason behind this observation is the mit-
igation of internal thermal damage within concrete due to the
incorporation of biochar that itself result in a reduced capillary
porosity and movement of water vapor in the concrete mix. Water
penetration depth and capillary adsorption showed a reduction of
37% and 35%, respectively compared to the plain mortar subjected
to the elevated temperatures [131].
Fig. 8 clearly illustrates a destructive effect of elevated temper-
ature on the structure of concrete containing 1% biochar. One can
observe that the exposure causes damages to the biochar pore
walls and the attached cement paste, however, the bulk paste
around biochar particle remained intact. Biochar pores provide
interconnected space within the concrete to facilitate the move-
ment of induced steam due to the elevated temperature, thus
avoiding damage to the bulk paste [131]. Chemical changes includ-
ing desiccation of pore system, partial destruction of C-S-H and
decomposition of CH occur in cementitious materials during the
exposure to 500–600 ℃. The main consequence is internal and
surface micro-cracking within the matrix [53]. Decomposition of
CH can be occurred between 425 and 580 ℃ [148,149]. Reduction
of pH can be a result of further decomposition of CH. However, it is
not solely contributed to the strength loss in the matrix, while lime
expansion during the cooling period showed the most defective
role in internal damage [150]. Besides, decomposition of C-S-H
which contributes to the strength evolution in cementitious com-
posites, may cause a significant reduction in the strength and stiff-
ness after exposure to elevated temperature.
In another study, the effect of addition of pre-soaked biochar
(from mixed saw dust pyrolyzed at 500 ℃) along with silica fume
as cement replacement in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC)
has been examined [82]. The effect of biochar particle size on the
hydration and compressive strength was also assessed. Fine bio-
char (<125 mm) showed the highest impact having accelerated
hydration peak by 5 h and 9 h at 5% and 8% replacement, respec-
tively [82]. Cement replacement by biochar also resulted in an
increased cumulative hydration heat in comparison with control
samples. In terms of compressive strength, unlikely to the samples
with 8% biochar which showed a significant drop of 30%, the sam-
ples with 5% cement replacement with biochar had a comparable
strength.
Elsewhere, the efficiency of silica fume replacement by rice
husk biochar, produced at 500 ℃, in cenosphere-based cement
composite has been evaluated in [145]. The authors suggested that
the combination of biochar, silica fume and cenosphere can be
considered as a sustainable lightweight concrete. The plastic
viscosity and yield stress of mortar with 40% cenosphere has been
14
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
significantly increased after substituting 40% of silica fume with
rice husk biochar [145]. Acceleration of hydration was also
observed in this composite after addition of biochar. Combination
of cenosphere, silica fume and rice husk biochar with the aim of
cement substitution up to 40%, caused higher dilution and thus
accelerated hydration in the first 6 h. Higher packing density of
cementitious materials was reported as a result of combination
of biochar and silica fume, leading to acceleration of hydration
[145]. Not only in the normal condition, the filler effect of rice husk
biochar caused a better performance of mortar against elevated
temperature (450 ℃). Higher compressive strength retention
(15–20%) was observed in the specimens with rice husk biochar
exposed to 450 ℃. Furthermore, rice husk biochar could lead to a
reduced internal damage and porosity of cenosphere mortar during
thermal damage [145].
Most recently, application of biochar derived from wheat straw
in magnesium phosphate cement has been explored [141]. In this
study, biochar was added to the formulated binder containing dead
burned magnesium, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate cement
(ADP) and fly ash (with the fixed ratio of 3:1:1 stands for MgO:
ADP:FA) to replace MPA (Mg + ADP). Inclusion of 1.5% biochar
improved mechanical strength of mortar up to 17.3% and 15% in
terms of compressive and flexural strength respectively. Biochar
addition also affected positively the overall sorptivity and water
absorption of the mix, as well as reduction of microcrack width
[141].
In an investigation conducted by Praneeth et al. [144], the corn
stover biochar-added cement-fly ash composites (3-day age) were
exposed to an accelerated carbonation for 2 h to evaluate the
potential of biochar in carbon dioxide uptake in the cement-fly
ash mortars. Two distinct observations were detectable in their
experiments, one is a reduction of CO2 uptake with increase of
cement substitution by fly ash and the second is the increase of
CO2 uptake with the rise of biochar addition up to 4%. Carbonated
samples showed higher early age compressive strength compared
to the uncarbonated mortars, with the highest increase in the sam-
ples containing 8% and 2% biochar and cement substitution of 20%
and 50% with fly ash, respectively.
6. Activated biochar in cementitious materials
Information relating the effect of using activated biochar on the
properties of cementitious materials is very few and is limited to
the CO2 saturation action [20,143]. It has been observed that the
slow pyrolysis can strongly impact the efficiency of CO2 adsorption
of biochar due to the existence of micropores in their structures,
which are responsible for adsorption of gases and solvents
[33,151]. Gupta et al. [20] examined the effect of addition of bio-
char that was already saturated with CO2 on the cement mortar
H. Maljaee, R. Madadi, H. Paiva et al.
performance. Of the impacts of biochar activation with CO2, it can
be indicated to the longer initial and final setting time compared to
the cement paste with unsaturated biochar, due to the transforma-
tion of Calcium Hydroxide (CH) to CaCO3 through reaction with
adsorbed carbon dioxide and loss of bond between biochar parti-
cles and paste. This inner carbonation results in a lower heat evo-
lution during hydration due to a lower heat for solution of calcium
carbonate than that of calcium hydroxide [152]. This can be also
confirmed from FTIR test results which showed an increase of
88% and 170% in the formation of calcium carbonate compared
with unsaturated biochar-mortar and plain mortar, respectively
[20]. Chemical and physical properties of biochar remained
unchanged after CO2 saturation. Reduction of compressive and
flexural strength by 15% and 7% was observed in the mortar sam-
ples with saturated biochar at the age of 28 days compared with
mortar containing unsaturated biochar. Likely, Wang et al. [143],
found out that the CO2 curing of biochar prior to addition into
the cement can have an adverse effect on cement hydration and
strength development. The results revelated an efficient influence
of CO2 curing of newly formed blocks having 1% biochar on the
cement hydration and carbonation, following an enhancement of
bonding strength and densification of microstructure [143].
7. Conclusions and future research
This review gives an insight into the proper selection of biochar
as a secondary material in the cementitious composites as well as
its optimum content, depending on what aspects of cementitious
material are desired to be improved. The review shows the high
dependency of moisture transfer and mechanical properties of
biochar-added cementitious materials on the type of feedstock,
biochar production conditions, physicochemical properties of bio-
char, mix formulation, particle size of biochar and the state of
added biochar. All the biochar key features influencing the perfor-
mance of cementitious materials were profoundly reviewed in this
paper. Apparently, a wide range of experiments are still demanded
to be conducted in this field to draw a better conclusion on the
effect of each factor on the cement composite performance. Water
retention capacity of biochar is observed to promote internal cur-
ing of mortar and early-age hydration. High chemical stability of
biochar was perceived in the literature. Although, its clear effect
on the long-term behavior of cementitious materials remain
unclear. The future research should focus fairly on the durability
of biochar-added cementitious materials under severe environ-
mental conditions. The future research should take an advantage
of high CO2 adsorption capacity of biochar in the cement-lime
matrices because it may trigger inner carbonation of lime.
This review also revealed necessity of the extend of studies
respecting the biochar application as a partial cement replacement.
There is an open issue regarding the use of biochar as a partial
cement replacement in large quantities due to its detrimental
effect of biochar addition on the cement hydration and strength
development. Therefore, the authors suggest the development of
biochar particles with improved properties through synthesis of
biochar-carbon nanotubes or graphene-like biochar nanosheets.
Concerning high sustainability and impressive environmental ben-
efits of biochar application in cementitious materials, an in-depth
life cycle analysis is demanded.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
15
Construction and Building Materials 283 (2021) 122757
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the
H2020 EU Research and Innovation programme for the funding
of the Paperchain project under grant agreement n° 730305.
Thanks are due to the Portuguese Foundation for Science and
Technology (FCT) / Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher
Education (MCTES) for the financial support to CESAM
(UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds.
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