# Performance of Molasses Waste as a Cement Replacement to Study Concrete Compressive Strength
## 1 Introduction  
Construction is an ongoing process whose history dates back to ancient times. With the evolution of mankind, the requisite for modern structures to meet the needs of the growing population, by making use of the best available resources and technologies, has attained worldwide consideration [1]. With the desire to lighten the burden of humanity and provide living space for the growing population, human effort has continued to develop tools and machinery to make the best use of available resources. From time to time, the discovery of various raw materials for construction purposes has completely transformed the construction principles and practices, involving possible technology to provide a more productive and effective construction environment [2]. To date, evidence of such developments in structural engineering exists in the form of diverse structures such as dams, barrages, bridges, highways, freeways, skyscrapers, airports, etc. [34]. In the present era, the construction industry mainly relies on concrete as its main component, of which cement is the most prevalent ingredient. The characteristic of cement lies in the fact that it is a binding material that reacts with water to form a gel (or adhesive mass) that binds the fine and coarse aggregates together and provides strength to the concrete upon hardening [5; 6]. Although cement represents only 10% to 15% by volume of the total concrete mix, the immense use of concrete itself is accompanied by the large-scale production of its most important ingredient, cement [7; 8; 9]. From small-scale construction such as compact houses to large-scale construction projects such as high-rise buildings, dams, highways, nuclear facilities, etc., the use of concrete/cement is widely observed, and it is expected to continue in the near future. The construction of a typical house generally consumes 14 tons of cement, while one kilometer of a highway requires 2500 tons of cement, making concrete the most widely used material after water, with three tons of concrete per person per year [10]. The abundant availability of cement raw materials in almost every country around the globe, such as limestone and clay, encourages its large-scale manufacturing [11; 12]. It was estimated that the worldwide production of cement stretched to 4100 megatons in 2019, with China being the largest producer; however, cement production is an extremely energy-intensive process, and the energy utilization of this industry is about 5% of the total worldwide energy consumption of industries [13]. Nowadays, global concern about human activities is increasingly rising. Almost all aspects of modern society, from the process industry to transportation to agricultural practices, strongly affect the surrounding environment, often causing the direct or indirect release of organic and inorganic pollutants [14]. These practices, too often accompanied by improper waste disposal policies without adequate resource recovery [15; 16], end up having increasingly significant effects on the ecosystem and human health [17]. The need to contain these problems as much as possible has led to the development of a wide range of physicochemical and biological approaches for the recovery of contaminated water [18; 19; 20; 21] and soils [22; 23; 24; 25]. Fortunately, the rapid development of technology has also accelerated the desire for modern development. Increasing population growth and the high consumption of natural resources have led us to focus attention on green technology and sustainable development [26; 27; 28]. This approach has brought the concrete industry into the field of sustainable structures. Construction has taken place at a rapid pace to make room for the growing population to live and expand businesses. The depletion of non-renewable resources is a serious concern as energy consumption and environmental impacts increase [29]. In fact, due to the excessive use of cement in the production of concrete, the construction sector is also facing growing environmental issues.