Fly ash block containing limestone and glass powder wastes

Abstract

The necessity for recycling of waste materials is becoming crucial not only due to the general need of solid waste volume reduction, but also owing to the strict European legislation. In this study, limestone powder, class-C fly ash and glass powder were used to produce masonry blocks without Portland cement. Limestone powder, class-C fly ash and glass powder were mixed, humidified, compacted and cured for periods of 7, 28 and 90 days. The compressive and flexural strengths, density, water absorption and thermal conductivity of the blocks were measured. The compressive and flexural strength of the blocks containing glass powder was found to increase significantly when the glass powder content in the mixtures was increased. The masonry block proved promising in respect to its fundamental engineering properties (physico-thermal and mechanical characteristics). At the 30% glass powder content, the compressive strengths of masonry blocks without Portland cement at the 28 and 90 days curing time, was 25 and 34 MPa, respectively. The environmental benefits of this study were two-fold: reduced impacts from the manufacturing of building materials and reduced need for stockpiling of common waste products. Preliminary results show that fly ash may be used to produce a masonry block without Portland cement.