Review Reports - Study on Improving Physical–Mechanical Properties and Frost Resistance of Straw–Mortar Composite Wall Materials by Pretreatment

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article under review has practical significance in the production of mortars with the addition of straw. However, when reading the article, the reviewer had a number of questions:

1) for what building materials are these solutions developed?

2) the article does not indicate the geometric characteristics of the straw, as well as the technological method of introducing straw into the solution;

3) in Table 4, with increasing straw content, the density of the solution increases. As the authors explain, if the density should decrease (in accordance with the law of absolute volumes);

4) the conclusions mention the Design-Expert program, although there is no information about it in the materials and methods section;

5) the article revealed a high percentage of matches: Percentage of matches: 33%. It is necessary to increase the uniqueness of the article.

Author Response

Revision report of manuscript

Dear editor and reviewers,

Thank you for offering us an opportunity to improve the quality of our submitted manuscript sustainability-2997437. We appreciated very much the reviewers’ constructive and insightful comments. We hope the revised manuscript could meet the publication standard of Sustainability.Our point-to-point responses to the queries raised by the reviewers are listed.Reviewer #1：

Comment 1. for what building materials are these solutions developed?

Response: These solutions are all developed for mortar block and wall material

Comment 2. the article does not indicate the geometric characteristics of the straw, as well as the technological method of introducing straw into the solution;

Response: We added the“After selecting mature rice to remove straw, clean the surface dust, dry the ventilated place of the ceramic tile place, crush with the plant grinder, the straw is soaked in the concentration of 5% sodium hydroxide solution, and stir, the pretreatment time is 5, 15 and 25 min, fish out the straw after processing, and dry with a dryer for reserve.” into the solution in 2.3.1.

Comment 3. in Table 4, with increasing straw content, the density of the solution increases. As the authors explain, if the density should decrease (in accordance with the law of absolute volumes

Response: Straw yield increase, the density should be reduced, this is no problem. However, the straw content in the table and the actual concentration of the solution, is only an experimental table of the experimental parameters, which has nothing to do with the problem you mentioned before. This table shows the relationship between the three experimental parameters and the three factors experimental results. This experimental table is the data table of the experimental parameters of the experiment, which has nothing to do with the density reduction you said. The reaction in the table is the relationship between the three experimental parameters and the three factors, not only the relationship between content and density.

Comment 4. the conclusions mention the Design-Expert program, although there is no information about it in the materials and methods section

Response: Box-Behnken design, which we mentioned in 2.1“According to Box-Behnken design, 17 groups of three-factor and three-level of interactive experiments were carried out.”, is an experimental design scheme and statistical analysis in the Design-Expert program.

Comment 5. the article revealed a high percentage of matches: Percentage of matches: 33%. It is necessary to increase the uniqueness of the article.

Response: We modified the parts of the article with a higher repetition rate, but some were quoting fragments from the article and could not be modified.

Reviewer #2：

Comment 1. Line 13 and 30: better to be written as physico-mechemical.

Response: We have changed physical-mechanical to physico-mechemical.

Comment 2. Line 19 to 21 abstract: please rewrite the sentence.

Response: We have rewrited the sentence.“The results showed that the influence degree of each factor on the response values was straw content, pretreatment time and reagent concentration from high to low. When the straw content was 10%, the pretreatment time was 5 min, and the reagent concentration was 5%, the physical and mechanical properties of the straw-mortar composite wall materials were the best.” changed to “The results showed that the impact of each factor on the response value was straw content, pre-preparation time and reagent concentration from high to low. When the straw content was 10%, the preparation time was 5 min, and the reagent concentration was 5%, the physical and mechanical properties of the straw-mortar composite wall material were the best.”

Comment 3. Straw-mortar composite wall materials; pretreatment are the repeated words in title. Using new keywords would be better for the article to search/visibility.

Response: We have changed the key word Straw-mortar composite wall materials to Straw materialization application，pretreatment to NaOH pretreatment.

Comment 4. Line 49: A full stop is to be added. It increases... enhances...

Response: We have changed “.chemical substances [7-11], increase the surface roughness of fiber, enhance the” to “chemical substances [7-11]. It increase the surface roughness of fiber, enhance the.”

Comment 5. Line 64: reached a CONCLUSION and that...

Response: We have added a conclusion in “conclusion reached that” .

Comment 6. Line 76, 84: Similarly as suggested for line 30.

Response: We have changed physical-mechanical to physico-mechemical.

Comment 7. Line 108 Table 3: It is important to add SD values, if the chemical composition of Rice straw is taken in three replicates.

Response: Whether the changes after freeze-thaw meet our experimental requirements is not considered, so the SD value is not analyzed.

Comment 8. Line 108 Table 3: The chemical composition of Rice straw was taken on dry weight basis or wet weight basis? please mention it

(S) It is important to mention the protocols through which the chemical composition of Rice straw was analyzed.

(Q) why the author did not analyse the chemical composition of pretreated rice straw?

Response: Table 3 is not considered in the scope of the experiment, so the reference significance of this paper is not great. So we removed table 3

Comment 9. Line 113: PH should be written as pH

Response: We have recomposed PH with pH.

Comment 10. Line 120 Pretreatment: at what temperature the pretreatment was carried out? please mention it

Response: We were carried out pretreatment at room temperature.So we changed “The crushed straw was soaked in NaOH solution at a solid-liquid ratio of 1:15 according to the set time and mass fraction [31].”to” The crushed straw was soaked in NaOH solution at room temperature at a solid-liquid ratio of 1:15 according to the set time and mass fraction [32].”

Comment 11. Line 122: Once the word "pretreatment" was used, it should be consistently written accordingly rather than using "treatment."

Response: We have changed all "treatment" to "pretreatment".

Comment 12. Line 124: Please ensure a punctuation mark is added at the end of the respective captions.

Response: We have added a punctuation mark at the end of the respective captions.


(a) Samples during pretreatment.	(b) Pretreated samples.

Comment 13. Line 183: And...?

Response: We have deleted and.We changed “The increase of pretreatment time was positive to compressive strength and dry density, and negative to water absorption rate.”to“The increase of pretreatment time was positive to compressive strength,dry density, and negative to water absorption rate.”

Comment 14. Line 235 and line 236: Please use different transitional words to identify various dimensions of the two aspects, avoiding ambiguity.

Response: We have changed “On the one hand, as straw fiber replaced part of cement into cement mortar, cement dosage decreased and mortar porosity increased; On the other hand, after the straw was mixed with cement, the hydration reaction between the straw and cement occurred, the dissolved matter released by the eroded straw was converted into sugar acid, forming calcium sugar acid shell on the surface of cement particles, which had a certain retarding effect on cement mortar [34].” to” As straw fiber replaced part of cement into cement mortar, cement dosage decreased and mortar porosity increased; Besides, after the straw was mixed with cement, the hydration reaction between the straw and cement occurred, the dissolved matter released by the eroded straw was converted into sugar acid, forming calcium sugar acid shell on the surface of cement particles, which had a certain retarding effect on cement mortar [34].” .

Comment 15. Figure 9, 10, 11: If the results are carried out in triplicates then add SD values with all the figures. Additionally it will support your results.

Response: Whether the changes after freeze-thaw meet our experimental requirements is not considered, so the SD value is not analyzed.

Reviewer #3：

Comment 1. it is worth supplementing the theoretical introduction with a discussion of the mechanism (physical and chemical processes) of the straw treatment used.

Response: We added a paragrap”It is found that the chemical modification of straw can effectively improve the surface chemical characteristics and adsorption properties.[30] At present, the common modification methods mainly include acid-base modification, grafting modification and acid-base grafting modification.” in the introduction section of the article to discuss the physical and chemical processes in the straw treatment mechanism.

Comment 2. the composition of the tested mortars should be given (only the straw content is given)

Response: After sorting out the experimental data, we added “The mix ratio of straw mortar composite block is as follows: cement and sand ratio is fixed value m(cement): m(sand) = 1: 3, straw content 10%, water-cement ratio 0.85, water consumption is 408.92 kg∙m-3.” in 2.3.2 Determination of Compressive Strength.

Comment 3. in line 113 there should be pH instead of ‘PH’,

Response: We have recomposed PH with pH.

Comment 4. please specify under what conditions the samples were stored for 28 days before the water absorption test. Were the samples dried to a constant mass? Before or after immersion in water?

Response: The sample is dried before soaking in water, and the sample is dried to constant mass, and then the water absorption experiment is conducted.

Comment 5. on line 247 it is written ‘generation of early calcium’ - which compound are you referring to - calcium hydroxide or hydrated calcium silicate?

Response: The compounds we mentioned were hydrated calcium silicate.We changed “In addition, pretreatment could promote the hydration reaction of cement [38], accelerate the generation of early calcium and ettringite, shorten the setting time, and thus improved the early strength of the materials.” to “In addition, pretreatment could promote the hydration reaction of cement [38], accelerate the generation of early calcium (hydrated calcium silicate) and ettringite, shorten the setting time, and thus improved the early strength of the materials.”

Comment 6. on line 270 it is the phrase ‘polymerisation between fibre and matrix’ - please clarify which compounds polymerise.

Response: We stated in 3.2.2 that glass fiber and high density polyethylene polymerize.We changed “[41] found that increasing pretreatment time could increase the friction properties of fiber surface, which was conducive to the polymerization between fiber and matrix, thus reducing the water absorption rate of composites.”to “[42] found that increasing pretreatment time could increase the friction properties of fiber surface, which was conducive to the glass fiber and high-density polyethylene by isopolymerization thus reducing the water absorption rate of composites.”

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Line 13 and 30: better to be written as physico-mechemical.

Line 19 to 21 abstract: please rewrite the sentence.

Keywords Line 32: Straw-mortar composite wall materials; pretreatment are the repeated words in title. Using new keywords would be better for the article to search/visibility.

Line 49: A full stop is to be added. It increases... enhances...

Line 64: reached a CONCLUSION and that...

Line 76, 84: Similarly as suggested for line 30.

Line 108 Table 3: It is important to add SD values, if the chemical composition of Rice straw is taken in three replicates.

Line 108 Table 3: The chemical composition of Rice straw was taken on dry weight basis or wet weight basis? please mention it

(S) It is important to mention the protocols through which the chemical composition of Rice straw was analyzed.

(Q) why the author did not analyse the chemical composition of pretreated rice straw?

Line 113: PH should be written as pH

Line 120 Pretreatment: at what temperature the pretreatment was carried out? please mention it

Line 122: Once the word "pretreatment" was used, it should be consistently written accordingly rather than using "treatment."

Line 124: Please ensure a punctuation mark is added at the end of the respective captions.

Line 183: And...?

Line 235 and line 236: Please use different transitional words to identify various dimensions of the two aspects, avoiding ambiguity.

Figure 9, 10, 11: If the results are carried out in triplicates then add SD values with all the figures. Additionally it will support your results.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

I have observed some typo errors and gramatical mistakes

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript is interesting and carefully prepared. I only have a few criticisms:

- it is worth supplementing the theoretical introduction with a discussion of the mechanism (physical and chemical processes) of the straw treatment used,

- the composition of the tested mortars should be given (only the straw content is given),

- in line 113 there should be pH instead of ‘PH’,

- please specify under what conditions the samples were stored for 28 days before the water absorption test. Were the samples dried to a constant mass? Before or after immersion in water?

- on line 247 it is written ‘generation of early calcium’ - which compound are you referring to - calcium hydroxide or hydrated calcium silicate?

- on line 270 it is the phrase ‘polymerisation between fibre and matrix’ - please clarify which compounds polymerise.