Civil Engineering and Architecture 13(1): 331-348, 2025 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2025.130120
Mechanical Properties and Durability of Concrete
Containing Indonesian Coal Fly Ash
Fadhilah Muslim
1,*
, Rachmat Hermawan
2,3
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesi
2
Department of Metallurgical and Material Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
3
PT. PLN (Persero) Head Office, South Jakarta, Indonesia
Received July 21, 2024; Revised October 10, 2024; Accepted November 13, 2024
Cite This Paper in the Following Citation Styles
(a): [1] Fadhilah Muslim, Rachmat Hermawan , "Mechanical Properties and Durability of Concrete Containing
Indonesian Coal Fly Ash," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 331 - 348, 2025. DOI:
10.13189/cea.2025.130120.
(b): Fadhilah Muslim, Rachmat Hermawan (2025). Mechanical Properties and Durability of Concrete Containing
Indonesian Coal Fly Ash. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 13(1), 331 - 348. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2025.130121.
Copyright©2025 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract The use of cement, as the main construction
material, is a major contributor to escalating global CO
2
emissions as cement production increases. To address this
challenge and align with Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), fly ash from boiler combustion has a potential to
replace a partial percentage of cement as a waste material.
In line with Indonesian Carbon neutral’s strategy, biomass
cofiring of Coal Fire Power Plant (CFPP) also contributes
to net-balanced CO
2
emissions. This research explores the
potential benefits of incorporating fly ash derived from
coal and biomass co-firing at power plants on the
properties of concrete. This paper presents a
comprehensive investigation of the impact of co-firing on
the mechanical properties and durability of concrete.
Three concrete mixes prepared using Portland Cement
CEM I and cement replacement by 10%, 20% and 30%
fly ash (FA) were subjected to rigorous testing, including
assessments of density, porosity, sorptivity, and
electrochemical analysis. The results revealed that
replacing 10% of cement with fly ash yielded the most
optimal outcome, with the concrete exhibiting remarkable
corrosion resistance. Specifically, it exhibited a density of
2.226 kg/m
3
, porosity of 26%, sorptivity of 0.3 mm/s
0.5
,
and a corrosion rate of 0.26 mm/year. Additionally, the
Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) test
demonstrated enhanced corrosion resistance of the
reinforcing steel across all variations of concrete
specimens. This was further confirmed by the carbonation
test, which indicated the absence of carbonation (indicated
by pink areas). In conclusion, the utilization of fly ash
derived from coal and biomass co-firing in coal-fired
power plants presents a promising alternative to
traditional cement in concrete. This alternative material
offers superior properties compared to concrete composed
solely of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).
Keywords Fly Ash, Cofiring, Concrete, Mechanical
Properties, Corrosion Resistance, Durability
1. Introduction
In terms of supporting the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) to accelerate the target of the new and
renewable energy mix of 23% by 2025 [1], PT PLN
(Persero), an electricity national company in Indonesia
has conducted a strategic program CFPP. The fuel used is
based on a mixture of biomass and coal which has the
criteria of being easy, clean, sustainable, and based on
people's economy. For this reason, Suralaya CFPP uses
sawdust as a biomass base which is used with a mixture of
5% biomass and 95% coal.
In the process of burning coal, cofiring CFPP will
produce fly ash which is classified as Fly Ash and Bottom
Ash (FABA). FABA from the combustion process at
CFPP is non-B3 waste according to government
regulation number 22 of 2021 about the implementation
of environmental protection and management [2]. Fly ash
also could be utilized for construction raw materials such