Pravina Kamini A/P Gunasekaran creator author. text my 2026 2026 monographic eng xiv, 143 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm. + 1 CD-ROM. A growing need for innovative mineral additives, coupled with the scarcity of conventional mineral admixtures, has driven recent attention to inert or low-reactivity mineral additions. Among potential alternatives including fly ash and blast furnace slag, biochar has emerged as a promising filler in cementitious materials. Produced via thermochemical conversion of waste biomass under oxygen-limited conditions, biochar is a sustainable green material. Bamboo, as a fast-regenerating and widely accessible resource with strength comparable to modern structural materials, presents a particularly suitable feedstock for biochar used in cement-based composites. Moreover, in 2023 over 40,000 tonnes per day of agricultural waste, around 95% of an estimated 14 million tonnes were disposed in landfills, underscoring the need for valorisation. This study was designed to investigate the use of bamboo biochar as a filler in cement mortar; specifically, it examined mechanical strength, the extent of CO₂ infiltration and its impact on mechanical properties, and the influence of ageing/weathering across various biochar contents. Mortars were prepared using three water-to-cement (w/c) ratios (0.45, 0.50, 0.55) and biochar in a range of 0-8%. Density and water absorption tests showed that biochar inclusion lowered density, with the 8% biochar mixture exhibiting the highest absorption (10.21%). This result attributed to its porous microstructure which increases internal surface area and capillary pathways. Compressive and flexural strengths were maximal in the mixture with 2% biochar and a 0.45 w/c ratio, at 43.18 MPa and 9.65 MPa, respectively. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) identified that 2.154% biochar with a 0.468 w/c ratio constituted the optimal mix, and this optimal point was validated. Consequently, the 2.154% biochar and 0.468 w/c mixture was used as the midpoint formulation in carbonation curing and weathering tests. Under carbonation curing, mechanical testing revealed that a 3% biochar addition resulted in the greatest carbonation depth (64.46%), along with compressive and flexural strength increases of 21.66% and 8.67%, respectively. Carbonation depth measurement and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed that the 3% biochar mixture absorbed CO₂ most effectively. In weathering experiments, the 2.154% biochar mixture demonstrated the highest flexural strength under both natural (7.37 MPa) and artificial (7.91 MPa) ageing conditions. These findings indicate that bamboo biochar significantly alters mechanical performance and offers substantial potential for carbon sequestration when used as a filler in cementitious materials. specialized Pravina Kamini A/P Gunasekaran Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology Thesis (Master of Science) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al Sultan Abdullah - 2026 Includes bibliographical references Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology Dissertations Universities and colleges Dissertations THE0010796 (Local) UMPSA 260804 20260804144205.0 eng