Eco-friendly fired clay brick manufactured with agricultural solid waste

Abstract

Green building materials have attracted attention recently due to sustainability issues. Agricultural waste used as alternative raw materials in the manufacturing of building products, fired clay bricks in particular, is an innovative way of waste utilisation. Large quantities of waste are produced in grain processing. New ways of utilising this waste are required for solving this problem. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of agricultural solid waste (oat husk and barley husk and middlings) on the physical and mechanical properties and porosity of fired clay bricks. Brick moulding compounds were prepared by adding 5%, 10% and 20% of oat husk or barley husk and middlings and fired at 900 °C and 1000 °C temperature, keeping them at the highest temperature for 1 h. Oat husk, barley husk and middlings incinerate at 500 °C temperature, thus forming a porous structure in the clay body. The addition of 5–10% of oat husk or barley husk and middlings into brick moulding compound produces eco-friendly fired clay brick having the density of 1300–1800 kg/m3, compressive strength of 3.3–9.5 MPa, total open porosity of 34–49%, water absorption 14–28%. Oat husk or barley husk and middlings reduce the compressive strength of eco-friendly fired clay brick.