Geo Polymer Brick

Published on 19 May 2022. Written by Vinay Raj

Conventional bricks are the most important construction material and used extensively throughout India. But using these bricks that are made by earth (clay) is harmful to the environment because bricks are made from clay which is good in quality and only available from agricultural fields.

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So, by using industrial waste products like fly-ash for making bricks. It gives an advantage economically and ecologically. Also, we can save the agricultural soil up to some extent. We are also utilizing the industrial waste i.e. fly-ash which is otherwise a pollutant.

Quarrying operations for producing the clay and shale are energy-intensive. It affects the landscape and produces a large amount of waste materials that rival the mountains they were created from. The brick kiln will not only consume a significant amount of raw materials but also releases a large number of greenhouse gases. Just to make matters worse, there is a shortage of clay and shale in many parts of the world and countries like China have started to limit the use of bricks made from clay and shale.

Just like using of fly ash in concrete up to the maximum of 25% replacement of Portland cement. This replacement is not only having the advantages on the cement we use but also, we can conserve the limestone for the coming generation. It is however quite suitable for the brick industry to take a similar conservative attitude.

Requirements:

Fly ash (a waste product from thermal Power plants)

Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (by-product recovered from the furnaces used in the production of iron)

Quarry Dust (residue taken from granite quarry)

Alkaline Liquid (a combination of sodium hydroxide solution and sodium silicate solution)

Water (free from suspended particles)

Project Implementation:

1. Collect the raw materials (Fly ash, Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, Quarry Dust, Alkaline Liquid)
2. Mix them in the mixer by using an adequate amount of water and proportion is made by the quality of raw materials (Generally fly ash is of 35 - 55%, 10% GGBS, 25 – 35% of Quarry Dust)
3. The mixture is transferred into the mould boxes and is compacted by using vibration or hydraulic press
4. These bricks are dried in sun for 24 to 48 hours and again cured for 7 – 21 days.
5. Perform Compressive Strength test, Water absorption, Efflorescence test, etc… and compare the results with traditional brick

Advantages:

• Utilization of waste material.
• All materials are easily available.
• Better compressive strength than traditional brick.
• No need for Kiln thus saving a lot of fuel and environment.

Conclusion:

Geopolymer bricks manufactured in this process are found to have a good strength compared to ordinary clay bricks and fly-ash bricks. Adequate curing temperature and curing time (minimum 25 hrs) can give better results. The water absorption of geopolymer brick of various mixes is found to be 15% of the weight of the brick. The presence of the salt is found to be less than 10% of the whole area. The alkaline liquid is used to form a binder between the raw materials.

Kit required to develop Geo Polymer Brick:

• Fly ash
• Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
• Quarry Dust
• Battery
• Water

Technologies you will learn by working on Geo Polymer Brick:

• Construction Management
• Modifying materials

Any Questions?