Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Bagasse-ash is an agricultural material obtained after squeezing out the sweet juice in sugarcane and incinerating the residue to ash. Bagasse is the fibrous residue obtained from sugarcane after the extraction of sugar juice at sugarcane mills or sugar producing factories (Osinubi and Stephen, 2005). The climatic and soil conditions favourable for the production of sugarcane are present in the Northern part of Nigeria and consequently, there is abundant production of it in the area. Sequel to the foregoing is massive generation of sugarcane residue waste which constitutes disposal problems and requires handling. There is yet no adequate awareness about the usefulness of the sugarcane residue in the country, in other words very little value has been attached to it. In some cases, the residue is being utilized as a primary fuel source for sugar mills and also for paper production. However incinerating it to ash and adopting it as admixture in stabilized soils because it has been found to be a good pozzolana, adds to its economic value.
The major part of Nigeria is underlain by basement complex rocks, the weathering of which had produced lateritic materials spread over most part of the area. It is virtually impossible to execute any construction work in Nigeria without the use of lateritic soil because they are virtually non-swelling (Osinubi, 1998a). The climatic and geological position of Abia state with her alternating humid and dry periods enhanced the rich deposition and formation of lateritic soils which have been very often utilized as fill materials in road construction and other civil engineering works.
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