Valorisation of GRP Dust Waste in Fired Clay Bricks

Alessandra Mobili,Chiara Giosuè,Francesca Tittarelli

doi:10.1155/2018/5256741

Abstract

In Europe, the total amount of Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) waste is increasing. In order to valorise GRP dust (GRPd) waste and to reduce the consumption of nonrenewable resources in building materials, GRPd has been already investigated in cementitious materials where it gives even an improvement in some performances of the final products. Valorisation of GRPd waste in the production of bricks can be considered as a further alternative. In this paper, GRPd waste was substituted to the clay volume at 5% and 10% for the manufacturing of fired clay bricks. All specimens were subjected to a firing temperature of 850°C for 6 hours, then tested and compared in terms of porosity, compressive and flexural strengths, density, and water absorption. Despite a decrease in compressive strength up to 46% with 10% of GRPd substitution and an increase of water absorption from 14% to 29% with 5% and 10% of GRPd substitution, respectively, an increase in terms of lightness (about 10%), maximum flexural strength (up to 31%), and deflections at the maximum load (up to 130%) has been registered by specimens with 10% of GRPd substitution.

Highlights

For reducing construction sector impacts, the development of more environmentally friendly building materials must consider operational requirements [4, 5], and their manufacturing process
The pore size distribution and total porosity a ect the bulk density of specimens (Figure 6(b)) that shows the same trend of water absorption. e lower density value of GRP dust (GRPd) compared to that of clay and the additional decomposition of polymeric part of GRPd during the ring process implies a decrease in the density of the nal product [37] from 1500 to 1400 kg/m3 because of the volumetric substitution of the natural raw material with the waste
Results demonstrate that GRPd addition in Fired clay bricks (FCBs) production valorises GRPd waste and increases sustainability of FCBs, but can lead to an improvement of some final performances of bricks

Summary

Introduction

For reducing construction sector impacts, the development of more environmentally friendly building materials must consider operational requirements (e.g., thermal properties, mechanical performance, and water absorption) [4, 5], and their manufacturing process (e.g., energy consumption, GHG emissions, and amount of raw materials). Results have shown that the addition of organic residues always reduces compressive strength, bulk density, and thermal conductivity but increases the water absorption of bricks.

Results

Conclusion