Study on use of Industrial Waste in Preparation of Green Bricks

Background/Objectives:The present generation of fly ash in the country is about 90 million tonnes and quarry dust is about 65 million tonnes. The utilization of fly ash in cement and other related industries is less than 10%. Safe disposal of remaining fly-ash and quarry dust has become a challenging problem. It is therefore necessary to utilize fly-ash and quarry dust in structural elements. The most basic building material for construction of houses is the usual burnt clay brick. A significant quantity of fuel is utilized in making these bricks and the burning of these fossil fuels liberate green house gases which cause depletion of ozone layer. Also, continuous removal of topsoil, in producing conventional clay bricks, creates environmental problems. Methods/Statistical Analysis: A feasibility study was undertaken on Fly ash-Lime-Gypsum (FaL-G) bricks and Quarry dust-Fly ash-Lime-Gypsum (QuFaL-G) bricks to use as a building element. The bricks of size 220 x 100 x 75mm were casted to study the strength and durability characteristics. Results shows that the compressive strength of FaL-G bricks was 8.2 N/mm2 on the 28th day, which is much higher than the conventional burnt clay bricks (>3.5 N/mm2). Findings:The water absorption property of FaL-G brick is lesser than the water absorption of normal good quality burnt clay bricks (20%). Applications/Improvements: In view of the strength and durability characteristics of these bricks, it can be used in place where the fly ash and quarry dust available more in quantity to solve the consequences of pollution and at the same time to build houses economically by utilizing industrial wastes.