Towards the use of yellow clay in fired bricks

Abstract

This chapter deals with the study of the possibility of using yellow clay - which was only used in pottery so far- in the civil engineering field as building materials, especially in the field of fired bricks. With the aim to improve the technological properties of yellow clay based bricks, two wastes were used as secondary raw materials. The first one is a mineral waste - pyrrhotite ash - this waste was neither characterized nor valued before by any other author. While the second waste is an organic waste - cedar sawdust - which is from the artisanal sector. Clay bricks containing yellow clay and different content of wastes were prepared and tested to evaluate their technological properties: water absorption, bulk density, porosity and mechanical strength… The test results indicate that the addition of wastes to clay bricks improves their technological properties and highlights the possibility of wastes reuse in a safe and sustainable way. clay bricks; waste recycling; properties