Manufacturing of Clayey Bricks by Synergistic Use of Waste Brick and Ceramic Powders as Partial Replacement of Clay

Anwar Khitab,Waqas Anwar,Raja Bilal Nasar Khan,Seemab Tayyab,Mehmet Serkan Kirgiz,Zeesshan Tariq,Muhammad Saqib Riaz,Riaz Akhtar Khan,Affan Jalil,Muhammad Tausif Arshad

doi:10.3390/su131810214

Anwar Khitab, Waqas Anwar + Show 8 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810214

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Abstract

Clay bricks are extensively used as building material worldwide. Natural soil deposits are in constant reduction due to the frequent use of clay to manufacture bricks. About 1600 billion bricks are produced annually by the consumption of millions of tons of natural resources. The prime focus of this study is to assess the feasibility of using a composite mixture of waste brick powder (WBP) and waste ceramic powder (WCP) as a replacement for depleting natural resource “clay” in brick manufacturing. Based upon the previous studies, the replacement levels were kept as (4 + 5)%, (8 + 10)%, and (12 + 15)% of WCP and WBP, respectively. The brick specimens were evaluated in terms of compressive strength, modulus of rupture, density, water absorption, efflorescence, apparent porosity, resistance to chemical attack and sulfate attack, and freeze-thaw resistance. The study reveals that about 27% of clay can be replaced with ceramic waste powder and waste brick powder, which can preserve a massive amount of natural clay without compromising the quality of the bricks.

Highlights

Clay was collected from local natural resources, and the wastes were ground to a fine powder in the laboratory milling machine
XRD analysis of the brick specimens was carried out to determine the changes in mineralogical composition and crystal structure after sintering at high temperatures (850 ◦ C)
Only (C12 and C4, containing 12% and 4% waste ceramic powder (WCP), respectively) and the other containing a blend of WCP and waste brick powder (WBP)—exhibited different peaks in the X-Ra diffractograms

Summary

Introduction

The construction industry plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of any country [1]. It is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and depletion of natural resources. Bricks are extensively used as they possess beneficial properties like ease of handling, high durability, and low cost [2]. They are used in almost every type of civil engineering project, including commercial, industrial, and residential. The primary raw material used for the manufacturing of bricks is clay.

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