Possibility of Production of Bricks using
Waste Materials & Natural Binding Materials
in Sri Lanka
Rohantha Rukshan Jayasinghe
D.M.Shanuka Jayathunge
Madujith Sagara Chandra
Outlines
1.Background of the study
2.Objectives
3.Literature Review
4.Methodology
5.Conclusion & Discussion
6.References
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Background of the study
Possibility of production of bricks using waste materials & natural binding materials
3
Background contd..
• Conventional burnt bricks are the most commonly used building
material for residential buildings in tropics
• Clay is the main material that use for the brick manufacturing process
• Clay harvesting without an reclaiming process cause resource
depletion, environment degradation
• As for a solution, researches are investigating to enhance the
properties of brick materials by proportionally replacing clay with
other materials or eco-friendly bricks from entirely waste materials
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Background contd..
• Cement, lime and gypsum have been using as binding material for
centuries (Al-Ajmi et al., 2016)
• According to “Mahavamsa” book, ancient Sri Lankan constructions
used natural glues as binding agents such as cashew tree latex, wood
apple latex
Figure 1: Clay harvesting in the Mfantsiman West District, Ghana
(Kyei, K.A, Addae, A, 2016) 5
Objectives
Possibility of production of bricks using waste materials & natural binding materials
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Objectives contd..
The main objectives are;
• To identify possible waste materials and natural binding agents that can
be used in brick production
• To determine mix proportion regarding natural binding agents
• To select the most suitable locally available waste materials
• To produce an eco-bricks by using selected waste materials
• To assess the suitability of the proposed product for contemporary
construction status under tropical climatic conditions
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Literature Review
Possibility of production of bricks using waste materials & natural binding materials
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• Burned bricks
• Unburned bricks Unburned bricks generally has
lower embodied energy and is
easier to recycle and dispose of
at end
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Literature review contd..
Waste materials used for manufacture unburned bricks
• Polyethylene
• Fly ash
• Natural waste materials (Orange peels, coconut waste)
• Construction waste (Brick debris, putty dust, cement etc.)
Figure 2: Polyethylene bricks Figure 3: Fly ash bricks
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Methodology
Possibility of production of bricks using waste materials & natural binding materials
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Literature review
1
Investigation on available methods Analyzing the most suitable locally
2
of producing eco-bricks available waste materials
Identify the concept of manufacturing bricks
Producing an Eco-brick by using
3
selected waste materials
Brick manufacturing & Suitability check
Production of bricks and test for physical
4
properties
Conclusion
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Methodology contd..
Material Selection- Drain sludge waste
• Due to the poor surface drainage and water stagnation in the town and
country areas in Sri Lanka, drain blockages and sedimentation taken
place
• Drain sludge waste was taken from a main city, “Negambo” as the
brick construction material aiming the reduction of environmental
impact
Figure 4: Drain sludge waste
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Methodology contd..
Material Selection- Cashew tree latex
• Cashew tree latex is naturally occurring glue that harden with time
• Solid state latex was collected to be used as binding agent to replace
cement and lime
Figure 5: Natural state of cashew tree latex
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Methodology contd..
Material Selection- Waste putty dust
• Wall putty is basically a white cement-based powder that is created
into a smooth mixture and applied on wall before painting
• However, during the surface smoothing, large quantity of putty dust
gets formed
• Waste putty dust collected from construction sites to be tried as an
improvement to the mix design
Figure 6: Waste putty dust 15
Methodology contd..
Material Preparation- Sludge waste & Putty dust
Drain sludge waste
• Collected sludge was air dried for 2 days
to remove odor
• Dried sample were sieved through the
4.75mm sieve
Figure 7:Sieved sludge waste
Waste putty dust
• Collected putty dust were sieved through
2.36 mm sieve
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Methodology contd..
Material Preparation- Cashew tree latex
• 500g of naturally occurred cashew tree latex was collected and added to
150-200 ml distilled water and heated
• After becoming molten glue, it was used as binding agent
Figure 8: Natural state cashew tree latex Figure 9:Heated molten glue
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Methodology contd..
Production of Bricks
• Samples were casted by changing mix ratio
(with sufficient water quantity)
Table 1: Mix ratio
Drain sludge Waste putty Molten cashew
waste % dust % tree latex %
70 20 10
70 15 15
60 20 20
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Methodology contd..
Material Testing- Physical properties
Shape and size test
• The bricks are manufactured according to the Sri Lankan standard
engineering brick size of 215 x 102.5 x 65 mm standard size
Colour test
• Colour vary from light grey to dark grey
Soundness test
Figure 10:Manufactured brick samples 19
Conclusion & Discussion
Possibility of production of bricks using waste materials & natural binding materials
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Conclusion contd..
This is the initial stage of a on going research. Therefore, the conclusions
derived from the experiments are partial conclusions.
• It was identified that bricks can be effectively produced using sludge
waste and cashew tree latex
• Further research should need to be carried out to find optimum mix design
and tests need to be carried out to find physical and mechanical properties
• Also suitability of natural binding materials need to be further developed
to minimize the use of cement based binders
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References
Possibility of production of bricks using waste materials & natural binding materials
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• Al-Ajmi, F., Abdalla, H., Abdelghaffar, M. and Almatawah, J. (2016). Strength Behavior of Mud Brick in
Building Construction. Open Journal of Civil Engineering, 06(03), pp.482-494.
• Antico, F., Wiener, M., Araya-Letelier, G. and Gonzalez Retamal, R. (2017). Eco-bricks: a sustainable
substitute for construction materials. Revista de la construcción, 16(3), pp.518-526.
• Arooz, F. R., & Halwatura, R. U. (2017). Mud-concrete block (MCB): mix design & durability
characteristics. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 39-50.
• Brunner, P.H. and Rechberger, H. (2015) Waste to energy – key element for sustainable waste management.
Waste Management. 37 pp. 3–12.
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Geomembranes. 23 (3), pp. 205–233.
• Goel, G. and Kalamdhad, A.S. (2017) An investigation on use of paper mill sludge in brick manufacturing.
Construction and Building Materials. 148 pp. 334–343.
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• Nagendran, R. (2011) Agricultural Waste and Pollution. In: Waste [online]. (no place) Elsevier. pp. 341–
355. Available from:https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780123814753100245
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Thank You !
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