Improving the Thermal Performance and Energy Efficiency of Buildings by Incorporating Biomass Waste into Clay Bricks

Abstract

Excessive urban construction is primarily driven by uncontrolled population growth, which has serious consequences for the environment, energy, cost, and human life in general when building materials are massively used. In terms of energy and economic efficiency, buildings that make use of sustainable construction materials and technologies perform better. This is because building in an eco-friendly way results in less waste. Agro-industrial by-products and insulating materials are two examples of sustainable materials that have been put to good use in the climate change mitigation effort and to preserve the environment. Precast components are emphasized as a viable option that is suitable for this purpose and may potentially fulfill the need for housing units. Thus, this study investigated the viability of employing agricultural waste consisting of pomegranate peel waste to produce fired clay bricks. Results demonstrated that the optimum amount of pomegranate peel waste was determined to be 15%, and the optimal firing temperature was determined to be 900 °C. The thermal conductivity of all test samples was lower than that of conventional brick. Furthermore, when compared to conventional wall brick, all the tested samples of manufactured brick reduced energy consumption by 17.55% to 33.13% and carbon dioxide emissions by 7.50% to 24.50%. In addition, the economic feasibility of employing each synthetic sample was evaluated by computing the simple payback time (SPP). It was determined that 1.88-10.74 years were required for the brick samples to provide a return on their initial investment. Due to its ability to decrease heat gain, preserve energy, minimize CO2 emissions, and shorten the payback time, burned clay bricks manufactured from pomegranate peel waste are regarded as a feasible building material. Hence, manufactured bricks are usually considered an exceptional contribution to environmental sustainability.