Improvements in the thermal behavior in the manufacture of the H10 block using coffee husks as an alternative industrial additive

Abstract

Industrial organic waste reuse in product manufacturing processes is a strategy that strengthens the circular economy. Thanks to materials science, the coffee husk is considered a sustainable alternative that promotes industrial processes optimization in the ceramic industry and contributes to the energy efficiency of buildings. This paper summarizes the behavior of H10 blocks on a laboratory scale in 2 mixtures of clay and coffee husk fired in 3 different temperatures: 900 °C, 1000 °C, and 1100 °C, at the “Centro de Investigación en Materiales Cerámicos, Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander”, Colombia; and evaluates the relationship of physical and mechanical properties with thermal behavior by heat transfer and heat fluxes, simulated in the analysis system software through the finite element method. The results support the improvement of thermal insulation capacity. Due to this, coffee husk combustion generates internal air chambers that increase the porosity of the product. In spite of, physical and mechanical properties contrast thermal benefits with increasing water absorption percentages and thus decreasing the compressive strength of samples. In conclusion, new materials development is a technological advance that expands possibilities to create new solutions for buildings and even improves standardized designs in the ceramic industry.