Improved Magnesium Cement for Durable Hemp Composite Boards

Hemp concrete is a well-known bio-based building material, but due to its relatively low compressive strength is mainly used as an insulation material with a load-bearing wooden frame. There are possibilities to expand hemp concrete application in construction by substituting traditional lime with magnesium cement. Magnesium oxychloride cement is a material already known for some time and nowadays used in building board production. Strength, lightweight, ease of use are advantages that highlight relatively new magnesium oxychloride type boards compared to traditional sheeting materials such as plywood, gypsum plasterboard and fibre-cement board. Therefore, similar parameters are thought to be reached by producing magnesium oxychloride hemp board. In this work, magnesium cement water resistance was studied and possibilities to improve it was examined by adding fly ash and nanosilica. Among the nanomaterials used in building materials, nanosilica has gained significant interest by performing a beneficial effect in improving the mechanical properties of concretes. In addition, due to its ultrafine size and high chemical reactivity, the performance of nanosilica is much better with a lower amount of admixture required. Results show that applied nanosilica slightly reduced the compressive strength of magnesium cement in a dry state, but at the same time significantly increased its water resistance. Hemp magnesium oxychloride cement board prototype samples were produced and demonstrate promising results for further manufacturing of hemp composite boards.