Housing crisis: Waste glass-stabilized clay for use as fired clay bricks

Abstract

Scarce and expensive housing and consumer waste disposal are global challenges in today’s world. This study investigated the engineering properties of a clay stabilized with three waste glass sizes (less than 75 μm, greater than 150 μm but less than 75 μm, and less than 300 μm but greater than 150 μm) for the production of burnt clay bricks for earth building construction. Laboratory tests (sieve analysis, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, and compaction tests) were conducted on the clay soil sample, while firing shrinkage, water absorption, unit weight and compressive strength tests were conducted on the fired clay bricks. The unit weight, firing shrinkage and compressive strength decreased with an increasing particle size of the waste glass in the fired clay bricks, while the fired clay bricks absorbed more water as the particle size of its waste glass content decreased. The use of waste glass with particle sizes less than 75 μm for stabilizing the clay was found to produce fired clay bricks with the highest compressive strength. The compressive strength of the fired clay bricks containing less than 75 μm particle sizes of waste glass was increased by 43.9% when compared with the compressive strength of the fired clay bricks having no waste glass. Consequently, waste glass with particle sizes of less than 75 μm is recommended for use in the production of fired clay bricks. The use of waste glass, which could have been a nuisance to the environment, is a potential way of improving the strength of bricks and making them more affordable bricks and consequently, making housing more affordable.