Basalt is a black volcanic rock produced from molten lava and known as fined grained heavy extrusive volcanic igneous rock (Taqieddin & Humidi, 2017). This rock is located hundreds of kilometers beneath the surface by cooling molten lava (Tjia, 2010). The chemical composition of basalt is related to the geographic area consisting of plagioclases, pyroxenes, and olivines. The composition also varied due to the different nature of magma derived for each case, and usually, silicon dioxide is the main component. Recently, the application of basalt as reinforcement in the different field has been explored since 1995 where basalt has been used in a broader range of civil applications. Technical processing of basalt into basalt fiber, basalt cast, and basalt ceramic has been developed in some Eastern European countries, China, and Germany (Isnugroho, Hendronursito & Birawidha, 2018). The development of basalt continues fiber (BCF) technology was conducted in the United States of Soviet Russia (USSR) for defense and aerospace application (Pandurang Kumbhar, 2014).
Previously, fiber reinforcement in composite materials was the most common such as glass fiber, carbon fiber and other plastic fibers. As glass fiber has a good strength property, its production cost is higher due to the additives added to the fiber. By using basalt fiber, the production cost is much cheaper and adapts a much higher strength compared to glass fiber (Jamshaid et al. 2019; Jamshaid & Mishra 2016; Elgabas et al. 2015). It was noticed that the steel bars are the most commonly used in concrete structures as reinforcement bars, but these bars have weaknesses due to various attacks such as corrosion, and other environmental attacks that give impact on their durability and strength parameters (Sunny & Prabhakaran, 2016). Hence, basalt fibers showed an excellent resistance to alkaline attack at both room temperatures. In the meantime, the basalt fiber has outstanding resistance to both acid and alkaline with stable chemical properties (Raj et al. 2017).
Another part, an environment-friendly and cost-effective composite, becomes the first factor to be considered. At the same time, using glass and carbon fiber has become a concern to the environment since the suitable disposal process is hard to carry out. Especially the synthetic fibers had to decompose, which had a big impact on the environmental load. So, the use of basalt fiber is the most convenient since it comes from natural resources and is known as sustainable material without any additives, pigments, or hazards in basalt fiber production (Jamshaid et al. 2019). Thus, the increase of basalt usage in many applications represents the evolution of basalt is significant in the environmental impact which can protect the environment and reduce plastic usage.
In Peninsular Malaysia, Kuantan is a city with an area distributed with bauxite deposits derived from in situ weathering and decomposition of parent rock of basalt and appear as a soil-like rock material (Raj et al. 2017). Geological Survey made the first discovery on the first founding in Kuantan, Pahang, in 1937 and its place beneath the basalt (Najwa et al. 2019). This clearly shows that basalt is the main component in forming bauxite affected by weathering, as shown in Fig. 1.
Based on Fig. 2, the outcrops of basic igneous rock in the Kuantan area have been described in detail as the main source of Basalt in Pahang, located in the north and west of Kuantan, while another area is located around Bukit Tanah Merah at Tanjung Gelang, Jabor at Kemaman district of Terengganu and Bukit Goh Estate (Nugraheni & Sunjaya, 2019). Generally, many studies of basaltic rock in the Kuantan focus on geochemistry and petrology (A.Ghani &Taib, 2007). In addition, most researchers studied bauxite compared to basalt rock. Furthermore, there is a lack of comprehensive engineering investigations that have been carried out on Basaltic rock at Pantai Batu Hitam, Kuantan,Pahang. Therefore, this study aims to investigate basalt's physical and chemical properties in Pantai Batu Hitam. So, basalt fiber production can be expanded in Kuantan due to the availability of sources.