i ti f c n e C i o c n S f l e a r n e o n i c t e a 2 n r 0 e 1 t 1 n I ISC 2011 Proceeding of the International Conference on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology 2011 Hotel Equatorial Bangi-Putrajaya, Malaysia, 14 - 15 January 2011 ISBN 978-983-42366-4-9 ISC 2011 International Conference on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology ICASEIT 2011 Cutting Edge Sciences for Future Sustainability Hotel Equatorial Bangi-Putrajaya, Malaysia, 14 - 15 January 2011 Organized by Indonesian Students Association Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Proceeding of the Possibility of Lime as a Stabilizer in Compressed Earth Brick (CEB) Fetra Venny Riza 1 , Ismail Abdul Rahman 1 , Ahmad Mujahid Ahmad Zaidi 2 1 Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineerin, UTHM Parit Raja, 86400, Johor, Malaysia Tel.:+60142468038, E-mail: fetravenny@gmail.com 2 Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UTHM Parit Raja, 86400, Johor, Malaysia Tel.:+6017478139, E-mail: mujahid@uthm.edu.myz Abstract— This paper highlights the production of lime, chemical reaction during the production process, lime reaction with the soil and the prospective use of lime in the future. The research works that has been carried out showed lime has superior properties than cement in enhancing soil structure and also exhibits less embodied energy than cement. The lime through its chemical composition, calcium hydroxide, able to reacts with the pozzolanic materials that presents in the clay soil. This pozzolanic reaction resulted to the formation C-S-H cementitious gel that will further stabilize the soil. The application of lime will also promote healthier environment since carbonation process that occur during carbonation period absorb carbon dioxide in the air. The production of compressed stabilized earth brick using lime will also contributes to greener environment as compared to normal brick production method which consumed extensive energy. Keywords— Lime, hydraulic, hydrated, pozzolanic, clay. I. INTRODUCTION The earliest used of lime can be traced back to 4000 B.C. when it was used in Egypt for constructing pyramids [1]. The Egyptian utilized gypsum (calcium sulfate) mortars to lubricate the beds of large stones when they were being moved into position [2]. First documentation on the usage of lime in construction on road stabilization was during the Roman Empire. The document was written by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80 BC – 15 BC) an architect, engineer and writer, and known as the world first known engineer [3]. Lime has proven performances and played important role in masonry construction which has lasted for centuries such as Great Wall of China. Originally, construction materials beside stone and metal were made up from mud or clay because its availability and low cost, but these materials have poor performance in the presence of water and high level humidity. Then it was discovered that limestone when burnt and combined with water created material that harden with age. Roman people were the pioneers in applying pozzolanic materials such as volcano ash to the lime mortars to create hydraulic mortars for the purpose of building aqueducts, cistern, fish pond etc [4]. Basic characteristics of pozzolan are able to react with lime and able to form insoluble products with binding properties, in other words pozzolan is all inorganic substances that harden in the water when combine with calcium hydroxide or material that produce calcium hydroxide [5, 6]. In the 18 th century, it was discovered that burning limestone containing clay would produce hydraulic lime that will exhibit hydraulic properties once introduced to water. An Italian pozzolanic earth was added to provide better performance in strength [7]. Roman cement also known as natural cement was patented by James Parker in 1796 which produced from burning limestone and clay together in the kiln. Naturally, this kind of cement contains higher clay content than hydraulic lime and used where the construction subjected to moisture and required high level of strength [2]. Portland cement (PC) was patented by Joseph Aspdin in 1824. The earlier PC was produced by blending limestone, clay and other minerals in carefully controlled proportion 582