The impact of the formation conditions and properties of the water treatment plants sludge on its usage in the ceramic bricks production

Abstract

Water treatment plants (WTP) sludge can be used in the construction industry. However, the composition and properties of WTP sludge are determined by the quality of water in the water source and the water treatment technology. At the same time, the technology for the manufacture of construction products requires a consistent quality of raw materials and reproducible characteristics of the finished products. In this paper, we studied the impact of a modifying add from WTP sludge on the properties of the clay composition and ceramic bricks. We used the WTP sludge formed in the fall and winter periods in the city of Chelyabinsk. The air-dry WTP sludge was introduced into the clay composition in an amount of 5-10% by mass. It is shown that the characteristics of the ceramic fragment are independent of the sludge collection season. It was found that the modifying add allows us to reduce the ceramics baking temperature by 50 °C without worsening the material baking index. The introduction of a 10% WTP sludge add helps to reduce the tendency of the air-dried brick to crack formation and accelerates the drying mode.