MSC THESIS APPROVAL

DEVELOPMENT OF ECO-FRIENDLY UN-BURNT BRICKS USING

WASTE MATERIALS

SUPERVISOR
Dr. RIZWAN AZAM

BY
JUNAID WAHEED
(2018-MS-CES-21)

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, LAHORE
Table of Contents

1 Problem Statement............................................................................................................1

2 Objectives..........................................................................................................................2

3 Literature Review..............................................................................................................2

4 Research Methodology.....................................................................................................4

5 Work Schedule..................................................................................................................6

6 References.........................................................................................................................7
1 Problem Statement
The extensive usage of nonrenewable resources in construction industry and discharge of
there by products in environment has become a crucial issue for research in 21 st century as it
poses major threats to human life. Pakistan is being categorized as the third largest country of
South Asia in production of traditional burnt clay bricks; yielding approximately 45 billion
bricks per annum by around 20,000 kilns across the country. These figures undoubtedly
direct the importance of bricks in construction industry as it is responsible for 1.5% of
Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Production. The traditional methods of baking clay molds in
furnaces of kiln are responsible for posing the serious environmental and health problems. A
study was conducted by Environmental Protection Agency Pakistan (EPA-PAK) with the
collaboration of National Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority (NEECA) which
postulates that the impulsive use of material as a fuel in kilns is responsible for the
production of lethal gases in the atmosphere such as Carbon Dioxide (CO 2), Carbon mono
oxide (CO), oxides of sulfates (SOx) and Nitrates (NOx). Considering last a few winters,
smog emerges out to be a point of grave concern, although there are various sources but
emission of toxic gases from chimneys of brick kilns is
considered as one of major reason. According to a recent survey Lahore’s air quality index
has reached to a level of 598 which is well above the threshold value that is 300. Various
studies have proved it that these exhaust gases carry fine coal particles that causes cardio-
respiratory diseases in near regions of furnaces. Therefore there is a need to come up with
more ecofriendly brick production method. In last a few decades a lot of research is being
carried out to produce bricks from waste products of different waste materials. Majority of
this research have focused on production bricks using Fly Ash and very limited research has
been done using Bagasse Ash and Rice Husk Ash. Pakistan produces one million rice husk
and 50 million of sugarcane ash annually. The availability of fly ash in Pakistan is ever
increasing due to introduction of multiple of coal fired power generation plants. This study
will try to integrate bagasse ash and Rice Husk Ash with fly ash to devise such a composition
which has better compressive strength and is cost effective. Major focus will be carried
towards the development of such a ratio by which unburnt bricks can be formed without any

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 environmental damage and with desirable mechanical properties of compressive strength,
water absorption, density, bond etc.

2 Objectives

Main objective of this study is to develop un-burnt bricks using bagasse ash and rice husk
ash which possess mechanical and durability properties comparable to conventional burnt
clay bricks. Specific objectives are listed below:

 To investigate the feasibility of using bagasse ash and rice husk ash for production of
unburnt bricks.

 To investigate the effect of density on properties of unburnt bricks made using

bagasse ash and rice husk ash.

3 Literature Review

In order to minimize and overcome the dangerous impacts we should now shift to such
resources that are not only renewable in nature but also produces less dangerous
environmental impacts such as alternative fuels and brick materials like Rice Husk Ash,
Bagasse Ash and Fly Ash. For the production of echo friendly brick ample research has been
done by using various industrial waste products. But very few research has been done for
preparation of bricks incorporating Rice Husk and Bagasse Ash. Some of researches are
mentioned below.

Chao-Lung Hwang, Trong-Phuoc Huynh (2015)

In this research unground rice husk ash (URHA) was used to produce eco-friendly
construction bricks. Fly ash (FA) and residual rice husk ash (RHA) were the main binder
materials. Solid bricks of 220, 105, 60 mm in size were prepared in accordance with official
Vietnamese product standards in steel molds under forming pressure of 35 MPa. After
casting, the brick samples were stored at 35 oC and a relative humidity of 50% until the ages
required for testing. The brick samples were checked for dimensions and visible defects. It
was found that with the increase in the URHA content the compressive and flexural Strength

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decreases, whereas, rate of water adsorption increases significantly because of more porous
nature of URHA.

Ravi Kumar et. al. (2014)

In this research fly ash is partially replaced with constant percentages of sand, lime and
cement (0-5%). Gypsum was added to accelerate the pozzolanic reactions and to reduce
overstressing of molds in press. After the preparation of samples of standard size by
following conventional methods of production tests were performed according to Indian
Standards. It was found that compressive strength was increased by 40% as compared to
conventional burnt clay bricks. While value of compressive strength ranges between (13.5-
15) MPa. It was also found that rate of water absorption was reduced from 11% to <6%. The
efflorescence area was reduced with an increase in the cement content.

Mangesh V Madurwar, Sachin A Mandavgane and Rahul V Ralegaonka (2014)

In this research Sugarcane Bagasse Ash was characterized using particle size distribution,
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD),
and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). SEM monographs show the rough surface with
plenty of fine pores. XRF, XRD, and physicochemical properties of the SBA prove its
suitability as a pozzolanic or cementitious material. Through experimentation it was found
that percentage weight of SBA have inverse relation with density, thermal conductivity and
compressive strength of brick have inverse relation.

Javad Torkaman, Alireza Ashori b, Ali Sadr Momtazi (2014)

In this study light weight concrete building blocks were made by replacing Portland cement
with wood fiber waste (WFW), rice husk ash (RHA), and limestone powder waste (LPW). It
was found that with the decrease in cement content the compressive strength and bulk density
decreases but it was also noted that 25 weight% replacement was the optimized value which
do not exhibit a sudden brittle fracture thus depicting a high absorption capacity. Moreover,
recycling of WSW, RHA, and LPW appears to be viable solution not only to the
environmental problem but also to the problem of the economic design of buildings.

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Sivakumar Naganathan et. al. (2015)

In this research work to successfully eliminate traditional manufacturing methods twelve

different compositions were made by using fly ash, bottom ash and cement, with maximum
of 80% of combined fly, bottom ash and 20% cement. After the all stages that were dry
mixing, wet mixing, pouring and curing multiple tests were performed on the molds. It was
observed that by increasing quantity of fly ash and cement compressive strength of brick was
increased from the ordinary burnt clay. Water absorption of these bricks were high so they
were recommended for the inner walls. It can be observed that minimum value of modulus of
rupture (MOR) for fly ash brick is better than the maximum value of MOR for conventional
burnt clay brick. Fly ash bricks were found more durable as they were resistant towards
acidic and alkaline conditions.

Dayananda et. al. (2016)

In this research work waste product of iron industry was used to replace some portion of
cement and large chunk of fly ash in brick preparation. GBFS is like a sand particle in fly ash
brick which occupies good ability of fire resistance and water absorption. Conventional
procedure of mixing, molding and curing was used to prepare the specimen of bricks and
were tested in both dry and wet conditions. It was observed that compressive strength
increases linearly with amount of GFBS and it becomes maximum when fly ash is totally
replaced with it. Water absorption was highly reduced with an increase in GBFS.

Venkatarama Reddy et. al. (2011)

In this study the effect of different activities like curing technique, time, and varying
percentages of mix etc. on the mechanical properties of fly ash concrete and fly ash masonry
unit was investigated by varying fly ash, lime and gypsum percentages. It was determined
that steam curing not only accelerate pozzolanic action but it also increases compressive
strength to a larger extent irrespective of lime content. It was also revealed that once an
optimum density is achieved by any composition then percentage of lime doesn’t remain
effective. Maximum compressive strength was achieved with 12-17.5% lime.

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 From the above-mentioned research works it can be seen that few work is done by using
bagasse ash and rice husk ash. My course of study will be mainly focusing in the preparation
of industrially used un burnt bricks that are ecofriendly and as well as cost effective.

4 Research Methodology

As this research covers experimentation on vast range of mixes so following steps will be
made to find the final product.

Step1:

Detailed study of previous work on utilization of industrial waste products like fly ash,
bagasse ash and rice husk ash in bricks. Other constituents and their optimum percentage will
be shortlisted based on literature guidance.

Step2:

Small cylinders (1.5” x 3”) of shortlisted mixes will be prepared to determine optimum mix
proportions of different wastes will be determined which gives maximum compressive
strength and lowest water absorption.

Step3:
Preparation of brick samples with determined ratios of constituents will be made and brick
will be allowed to be soaked in burlaps for curing. Following physical and mechanical tests
will be performed to analyze specimen behavior.
Mechanical tests
 Compressive Strength (ASTM C67 / C67M )
 Modulus of Rupture/ Flexure test (ASTM C1583, IS4680)
 Prism test (ASTM C1314)
 USPV (ASTM C597-09)
Durability tests
 Sulphate Resistance (IS4860)
 Water absorption (ASTM C20)
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 Efflorescence (ASTMC20, IS3495)
 Initial rate of Water absorption (IRWA)

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5 Work Schedule

Month, Year 2020

Activities Apri Ma Jun Jul Septembe
March August October
l y e y r
 
Literature
             
Review

Pre casting  
specimen              
Test
Casting and  
testing of              
specimens
Analysis of
Results
Thesis  
Review by              
Supervisor
Incorporatio  
n of              
Comments
Submission  
of Final              
Thesis

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6 References
1. Sivakumar Naganathan, Almamon Yousef Omer Mohamed, Kamal Nasharuddin Mustapha
(2015) “Performance of bricks made using fly ash and bottom ash” Construction and
Building Materials VOL, 96 PAGES 576–580.
2. Ravi Kumar, Vandana Patyal, Balwinder Lallotra and Deepankar Kumar Ashish (2014)
“Study Of Properties of Light Weight Fly Ash Brick” International Journal of Engineering
Research and Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 PAGES 49-53.
3. C. Antony Jeyasehar, G. Saravanan A.K. Ramakrishnan and S. Kandasamy (2013)”Strength
and Durability Studies on Fly Ash Based Geo-polymer Bricks” ASIAN JOURNAL OF
CIVIL ENGINEERING (BHRC) VOL. 14, NO. 6 PAGES 797-808.
4. Ling Wang He Sun Zhihui Sun Enqing Ma (2016)” New technology and application of brick
making with coal fly ash”J Mater Cycles Waste Manag VOL, 18 PAGES 763–770.
5. Murugesan T Bahurudeen A Sakthivel M Vijay Ra, Sakthivel S (2017) “Performance
evaluation of Burnt Clay-Fly Ash Un burnt Bricks and precast paver blocks” Materials
Today Proceedings 4 PAGES 9673–9679.
6. P.P. Gadling, Dr. M.B. Varma(2016) “Comparative Study on Fly Ash Bricks and Normal
Clay Bricks”. International Journal for Scientific Research & Development (IJSRD) ISSN:
2321-0613 PAGES 673-677.
7. Monalisa Priyadarshini, Manaswinee Patnaik, Jyoti Prakash Giri (2018)” A probabilistic
approach for identification of compressive strength of fly ash bricks” Innovative
Infrastructure Solutions 3:56 PAGES 1-8.
8. Obada Kayali (2015)”High Performance of Brick from fly-ash” Conference of World of Coal
Ash (WOCA) 11-15 April.
9. Haken Cengizler, Tayfun Cicek, Mehmet Tanriverdi (2012)” A brief overview of fly ash
production” Proceedings of 13th International Mineral Processing Symposium.
10. Er. Rinku Kumar, Er. Naveen Hooda (2014)”An Experimental Study on Properties of Fly
Ash Bricks” International Journal of Research in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering
ISSN: 2321-3051 PAGES 56-67.

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11. Jun Zhou, Hui Gao b, Zhu Shu b, Yanxin Wang b, Chunjie Yan a
Utilization of waste phosphogypsum to prepare non-fired bricks by a novel Hydration–
Recrystallization process
12. Javad Torkaman, Alireza Ashori, Ali Sadr Momtazi c
Using wood fiber waste, rice husk ash, and limestone powder waste as cement replacement
materials for lightweight concrete blocks.
13. Mangesh V Madurwar1; Sachin A Mandavgane and Rahul V Ralegaonkar
Development and Feasibility Analysis of Bagasse Ash Bricks.
14. Chao-Lung Hwang, Trong-Phuoc Huynh & Yogie Risdianto; An application of blended fly
ash and residual rice husk ash for producing green building bricks

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