Development of stabilised brick and mortar using biomass waste

Abstract

This paper reports the potential of using cereal ash and bottom ash waste generated from biomass combustion plants for the manufacture of stabilised bricks and sustainable masonry mortar for brick joints and plaster. For the stabilised brick production, the cereal ash waste and bottom ash waste were used as full substitutes for primary clay, while magnesium oxide ash was used as a partial substitute for conventional stabilisers. The blending for the production of the masonry mortar was accomplished by the partial replacement of Portland cement, quicklime or hydraulic lime with large volumes (up to 70%) of cereal ash waste. The properties investigated under this study include material characterisation and compressive strength and durability using freeze–thaw tests. The results obtained suggest that there is potential for the manufacture of sustainable construction materials such as bricks and mortar from cereal ash, bottom ash and magnesium oxide ash waste streams.