Background

Bleaching earth refers to clays that in their natural state or after activation which have the capacity to adsorb coloring matters and undesirable residues from oils in the processing of edible oils and also during the production of oloechemicals. Thus, the main thask of bleaching earth is to improve the appearance, favour, taste and stability of the final product. They mainly consist of bentonites or montmorillonites, which are finely crystalline silicate of aluminium with various amounts of alkali metals and transition metals. Spent bleaching earth (SBE) is an industrial waste, mainly generated from the edible oil processing. It often contains between 20 and 40 weight (wt) % oil which is not removed during a final filter pressing process. As a result, SBE can be posed a fire hazard, for example spontaneous combustion. Untreated SBE cannot be dispose to landfill due to its high organic content which exceeds the 6 % limit of the waste acceptance criteria (WCA) for hazardous waste landfills under the EU Landfill Directive. Warner summarized some alternatives to landfill disposal. These include burning, utilization in cementation furnaces, utilization in brick industry, soil improvement, extraction for oil recovery, regeneration, utilization in biogas digesters, utilization in water treatment plants, addition to animal feed and addition to bitumen products. Among these alternatives, most researches on SBE reclamation focused on the oil left in the spent clay or the clay reused in other fields; that is, the clay itself is not regenerated to its adsorption capacity. In recent years, the rising costs of landfill and associated utilization methods have shifted the emphasis from oil reclamation to added-on values of SBE waste in the environmental applications. Kalam and Joshi indicated that SBE was regenerated with the pretreatment of hexane extraction, and then reclaimed by an autoclave with the methods of wet oxidation or of heating in aqueous medium. Waldmann and Eggers noted that SBE was de-oiled and thus regenerated by high-pressure extraction with supercritical CO2. Pollard et al. reported that SBE was used as a precursor material for the production of clay-carbon adsorbent under chemical and physical activation methods. Low et al. pointed out that SBE was carbonized with the methods as reported by Pollard et al., and then used as a sorbent. Ng et al. indicated that SBE was first de-oiled by the solvent (i.e. hexane, methanol, and supercritical CO2) extraction, and then regenerated by acid and heat treatments. Hou et al. investigated that SBE was thermally regenerated in a box furnace and thermogravimetric

analysis system, respectively. Boukerroui and Ouali reported that SBE was regenerated by thermal processing followed by washing with a solution of hydrochloric acid. Clay is the most common material, with modern clay bricks formed in one of three processes - soft mud, dry press, or extruded. The soft mud method is the most common, as it is the most economical. It starts with the raw clay, preferably in a mix with 25-30% sand to reduce shrinkage. The clay is first ground and mixed with water to the desired consistency. The clay is then pressed into steel moulds with a hydraulic press. The shaped clay is then fired ("burned") at 900-1000 C to achieve strength. The dry press method is similar to mud brick but starts with a much thicker clay mix, so it forms more accurate, sharper-edged bricks. The greater force in pressing and the longer burn make this method more expensive. For extruded bricks the clay is mixed with 10-15% water (stiff extrusion) or 20-25% water (soft extrusion). This is forced through a die to create a long cable of material of the proper width and depth. This is then cut into bricks of the desired length by a wall of wires. Most structural bricks are made by this method, as it produces hard, dense bricks, and suitable dies can produce holes or other perforations. The introduction of holes reduces the volume of clay needed, and hence the cost. Hollow bricks are lighter and easier to handle, and have thermal properties different from solid bricks. The cut bricks are hardened by drying for 20 to 40 hours at 50 to 150 C before being fired. The heat for drying is often waste heat from the kiln. European-style extruded bricks or blocks are used in single-wall construction with finishes applied inside and outside. Their many voids are a greater proportion of the volume than the solid, thin walls of fired clay. Such bricks are made in 15, 25, 30, 42 and 50-cm widths. Some models have very high thermal insulation performance suitable for zero-energy buildings.

Basic Advantages of Brick 1. Aesthetic Appeal 2. Thermal & Acoustic Insulation 3. Zero Maintenance Cost 4. Fire Resistance 5. Flexible in Application 1. Aesthetic Appeal Brick possesses natural and infinite pleasant colors of burnt clays. Its color formation is achieved through a complicated physio-chemical reaction during the firing process. In contrast to the color of stained body, brick color is permanent and will not fade during weathering process. Different clay compositions, firing temperatures, or kiln atmosphere can lead to different colors. By proper control of these factors, bricks can be made to exhibit endless variety of natural and attractive colors. Bricks' natural colors combined with the extreme flexibility in applications produce aesthetic results which are always personal and everlasting. 2. Thermal & Acoustic Insulation

Thermal Insulation: Brick generally exhibits better thermal insulation property than other building materials like concrete. Perforation can improve the thermal insulation property of bricks to some extent. Besides, the Thermal Mass and moisture that the brick has absorbed can help to keep the temperature inside the house relatively constant. In other words, brick absorbs and releases heat slowly and thus keep the house cool during day-time and warm during night-time.

Acoustic Insulation: As far as acoustic insulation is concerned, brick wall provides good sound insulation property due to its dense structure. The thickness and density of brick will deaden noise transmission and will deflect noise from streets, neighbouring homes, and jet

planes. The sound insulation of brick work is generally accepted as 45 decibels for a 4 1/2 inches thickness and 50 decibels for 9 inches for the frequency ranges from 200 to 2,000 Hz. Know more about Noise Control.

3. Zero Maintenance Cost

Clay bricks do not require maintenance. When you build a home, you might save a few hundred dollars by using a substitute wall material. However, major exterior maintenance such as painting can cost as much as several thousand dollars, depending on your home size. Clay brick may cost a little bit more cost initially, but the very first time that you paint, you might well spend more than the additional cost of the brick. In addition, you do not need to worry the clay brick from rotting, denting, warping, rusting, splitting, peeling, fading, and termites. As your home gets older, it naturally becomes more beautiful. 4. Fire Resistance The fire resistance of a building material refers to the length of time a walling element is about to resist a fully developed fire. In every case, clay brick walls obtain maximum fire ratings. To the owner of a clay brick building, this means peace of mind and substantial savings over time on insurance premiums. Please refer to the table below for Design of Clay Brickwork for Fire (extracted from YourHome).

DESIGN OF CLAY BRICKWORK FOR FIRE Fire resistance period, minutes 30 60 90 120 180 240

Required material thickness for insulation Mm

Maximum slenderness for structural adequacy

60 90 110 130 160 180

25.0 22.5 21.0 20.0 18.0 17.0

One incident, The Great Fire of London, dated back to 1666 has influenced/transformed the building code since the medieval period by replacing the wooden houses with brick and stone buildings.

5. Flexible in Application The high compressive strength of fired clay bricks has been exploited for millennia to build structures ranging from single-storey huts to massive public buildings and enormous bridges and viaducts. In particular, it can be used for load bearing structures which greatly simplify the construction process so as to save materials, time, and labour. Besides, brick can be made into convenient shape and size to facilitate the construction work.

COMPETITOR

Kia Lim Berhad, the leading clay brick manufacturer in Malaysia, was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1965 on 8 May 1995 as a public limited company and was subsequently listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia in May 1996. The two wholly owned subsidiary companies, namely Syarikat Kia Lim Kilang Batu Bata Sdn Bhd (SKL) and Kangkar Raya Batu Bata Sdn Bhd (KRBB) are principally involved in the manufacturing of clay common bricks, facing bricks, block bricks, M211 bricks, brick tiles, chamfered paving bricks, H-shape pavers, EconBlocks, and roofing tiles, which are marketed under the brand name of Clayon (Kia Lim Group). In Kia Lim Group, quality is always given prominence in all products manufactured and our products, namely clay bricks, pavers and roofing tiles have already been certified by ISO 9001:2008and SIRIM Berhad. The production capability is approximately 180 million pieces of bricks per annum (approximately 400,000 tons of clay per year or 15 million pieces per month). Such a remarkable achievement is attributed to the new production lines for clay roofing tiles, facing bricks and pavers which are using the state-of-the-art Spanish and German technology that has significantly improved the production efficiency and productivity of the Kia Lim Group.