Incorporation of untreated rice husk ash and water treatment sludge in masonry unit production

Abstract

Conventional masonry units are made of clay with high temperature kiln firing or Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete mix. However, these conventional masonry unit production methods require intensive energy inputs and abundant raw materials. This predicament has led the researchers to look for sustainable methods of producing masonry units. Subsequently a research has been carried out to develop cement masonry unit incorporating Untreated Rice Husk Ash (URHA) and Water Treatment Sludge (WTS). Especially an attempted has been made to partially replace OPC and Quarry Dust (QD) by URHA and WTS, respectively. Totally nine different mix proportions of OPC, URHA, WTS and QD were used. The mechanical and durability characteristics of those masonry unit specimens were investigated to verify the suitability of the proportions. No significant changes in the mechanical and durability properties were noted in replacing OPC by URHA up to 15%. However, replacement of QD by WTS considerably deteriorated the mechanical and durability properties. Therefore, it was proposed to incorporate maximum of 15% URHA and WTS for the production of masonry unit as it complies with the strength requirements of

Effects of expanded vermiculite on the properties of fired bricks from water treatment sludge

“…Multiple studies have been conducted on the use of WTS in combination with agricultural waste in the manufacture of fired clay bricks 14,16–18 . Chiang et al 14 .…”

“…Multiple studies have been conducted on the use of WTS in combination with agricultural waste in the manufacture of fired clay bricks. 14,[16][17][18] Chiang et al 14 explored the use of WTS and 0%-20% rice husk to produce lightweight bricks. The raw samples were fired at temperatures ranging from 900 to 1100 • C, and it was found the addition of rice husk resulted in a reduction in bulk density and compressive strength in the fired clay brick samples.…”