Enhanced Sludge Brick

Brick is one of the most important and widely used construction material due to its properties. Nowadays many attempts have been made to incorporate different wastes into the production of bricks. In many countries, Sludge waste is a serious problem due to its high treatment costs and the risks to environment and human health. The sludge generated in various treatment systems around the world is discharged into the nearest watercourse. Thus, rather than disposing, the use of sludge in producing constructional elements is considered to be the most economic and environmentally sound option. The properties of STP Sludge and Fly Ash is extremely close to brick clay so, it could be a potential substitute for clay bricks. In this study the bricks were produced with sewage sludge additions ranging from 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 % by dry weight and compared the produced brick with conventional brick. The manufacturing of bricks is done by moulding clay in rectangular blocks of uniform size and then by drying and burning these blocks. Burnt clay bricks have good resistance to moisture, insects and erosion and create a good environment. Their cost is comparatively low and have medium to high compressive strength. Results of the tests performed indicated that the sludge proportion and the firing temperature were the two key factors determining the brick quality. Results showed that the loss of brick weight after ignition was mainly attributed to the organic matter content in the sludge being burnt off during the firing process. Hence sludge can be used as a replacement for clay, soil in manufacturing of bricks. Also from this investigation we can solve disposal problems completely and also construct an economical structure with easy designing.

E3S Web of Conferences

One of the results of the water treatment process is the sludge. Generally, the processed sludge from the water treatment is collected and delivered to a landfil. With the delivery of sludge waste, it requires additional cost as a levy in handling sludge waste. Therefore, it is needed to innovate on the recycling of sludge. The waste recycling process is expected to minimize the residual impact of the Water Treatment Plant. The process of waste recycling can be done by utilizing sludge from water treatment, which is brick making process. The benefits can eliminate environmental problems and also some economic problems. This study aims to determine the potential of sludge from water treatment plant to be added for brick making by investigating the physical and characteristics of sludge. The research findings show that sludge waste has the potential to become a brick raw material depending on the nature and clay microstructure

Australian Journal of Basic …, 2012

For thousands of years, bricks have been made from clay. The water treatment plant sludge is extremely close to brick clay in chemical composition. So, the sludge could be a potential substitute for brick clay. The water treatment process generates a sludge that must be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The sludge generated in most of the treatment systems around the world is discharged into the nearest watercourse, which leads to accumulative rise of aluminum concentrations in water and human bodies. This practice has been linked to occurrence of Alzheimer's disease. Among all disposal options, the use of sludge in producing constructional elements is considered to be the most economic and environmentally sound option. One of the most common agricultural wastes, which contain high silica content, and might be incorporated with sludge in brick manufacturing, is rice husk ash (RHA). So, this trend also provides an environmentally sound manner to reuse rice husk ash (RHA). The study investigated the complete substitution of brick clay by water treatment sludge incorporated with rice husk ash (RHA). In this study, three different series of sludge to rice husk ash (RHA) proportions were studied, which exclusively involved the addition of sludge with ratios 25, 50, and 75% of the total weight of sludge-RHA mixture. Each brick series was fired at 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200 o C. The physical and mechanical properties of the produced bricks were then determined and evaluated according to Egyptian Standard Specifications (E.S.S.) and compared to control brick made entirely from clay. From the obtained results, it was concluded that by operating at the temperature commonly practiced in the brick kiln, 75 % was the optimum sludge addition to produce brick from sludge-RHA mixture. The produced bricks properties were obviously superior to the clay control-brick and to those available in the Egyptian market.

Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series

Based on the need to recover various wastes such as waste from wastewater treatment plants, it is proposed to use sludge in the manufacture of various building materials as bricks. So far, bricks made of different materials and combinations of classical materials as burnt clay, cement, sand, but also of other unconventional materials, most of them coming from different wastes, are used in construction. In order to use the sludge for bricks fabrication, it is necessary to inert it and to obtain a moisture content below 80%. Also, the physico-chemical and ecological parameters must be suitable for sludge utilization and their values must be situated within the limits imposed by legislation. So, the sludge is centrifuged in order to reduce the moisture content from (90-95)% to a maximum of 80%, treated, then the sludge batches are characterised and finally the sludge is recovered by inert cement.

International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Technovation, 2019

The municipalities produce sludge of different quality and in different quantities. Sludge resulting from municipalities creates problems of disposal. Generally, dewatered sludge’s are disposed of by spreading on the land or by land filling. However, for highly urbanized cities, sludge disposal by land filling might not be appropriate due to land limitation. Incineration might be an alternative solution. However, a substantial amount of ash will be produced after the burning process and must be disposed of by other means. This paper presents the results of the utilization of sludge ash as brick making materials. The different engineering properties were also studied by conducting tests on brick specimens of various mix proportions prepared. It was seen that when percentage of sludge was increased, water requirement as well as water absorption of the bricks increased. But at the same time, compressive strength of the brick decreased. But on addition of cement and fly ash the compres...

ijetrm journal, 2022

Solid waste from textile mill has the potential for use as additive in building material. Up to 30% textile mill sludge can be used in brick making with satisfactory compressive strength. As textile mill sludge contains lesser binding capacity, cement can be added as binding material in order to make hollow bricks, paving blocks, solid blocks etc. In this study helps. To identify the solution to utilize the waste materials as a part of building material. Recommending a suitable disposal method to the hazardous sludge. To reduce the hazardous potential of sludge. To provide most economical brick to the construction industry. To use the sludge as a building material in the form of brick.

IRJET, 2023

The disposal of sewage treatment plant waste, specifically sewage sludge, has raised significant environmental concerns. This research focuses on investigating the suitability of different soil types (Kanota soil, Samodh soil, and Black cotton soil) obtained from diverse locations, in combination with wet and dry forms of sludge collected from Dehlawas (unit-1), ASP(Activated Sludge Process) based ,Sewage treatment plant Jaipur. The objective is to identify optimal clay-sludge combinations that can be utilized as environmentally friendly construction materials. The study evaluates six distinct scenarios encompassing various combinations to determine the most viable clay-sludge combination. Challenges encountered in the experimentation include cracking during the drying process and the onset of anaerobic decomposition, etc. Notably, the second scenario involving Kanota soil with dry sludge demonstrated significant issues, with all 70 bricks exhibiting cracks, emitting odor, and experiencing breeding problems. Conversely, the third scenario utilizing fresh wet sludge with Kanota soil yielded favorable outcomes. In the fourth scenario, the utilization of burnt sludge with Black cotton soil led to a shrinkage problem, causing a substantial reduction in brick length of approximately 1 inch, attributable to the nature of the clay, i.e., Black cotton soil. The sixth scenario, involving fresh wet sludge with Samodh soil, also proved successful, as bricks with 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% wet sludge replacement (by weight) exhibited no cracks, while minor cracks were observed with a 30% wet sludge replacement. Furthermore, it was observed that the compressive strength of the bricks decreased as the sludge content percentage increased.

Sludge dewatering and disposal form important steps of water treatment processes. The rising costs of raw material and limitations in resources have led to increasing interest in waste reuse solutions. The main objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using water treatment plant sludge in brick making. For this purpose, samples of bricks with different sludge to clay ratios were prepared for analysis. Results show that higher sludge/clay ratios led to increasing number of bricks pores and enhanced water absorption capacity while the compressive strength, density, and brick weight reduced. The recommended minimum brick compressive strength of 80 Kg/m 2 was achieved with a sludge/clay ratio of 42%, which also led to a brick water absorption of 24% while its acceptable maximum limit is 20%. This rather small excess water absorption can be ignored in the case of load-bearing walls for the favorable compressive strength achieved although water absorption is an important parameter for face bricks. In another part of this study, different sludge/clay ratios were tested to obtain a variety of brick colors suitable for use as face bricks. A final advantage of the bricks made is the reduced brick weight and, thereby, building weight which.

Textile industry is one of the oldest and largest sectors in India. The exports for the year 2007-08 stood up to $20.5 billion. Even it is a value adding industry, it has several environmental impacts causing land and water pollution with toxicity. Effluent sludge waste management becomes a big problem nowadays. Except engineered landfills, rest of the methods for dumping, leads ground water contamination and there by other socio-economic impacts.

Sludge collected from Lower Usuma Dam Water Treatment Plant (LUDWTP), Abuja, Nigeria was investigated for use as brick material. The reuse of sludge as brick material is a long-term approach to sludge disposal for economic and environmental sustainability. Characterisation and laboratory trials demonstrated that LUDWTP sludge could be used as a colorant and clay supplement in brick making. Five different mixing ratios of sludge at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 per cent of the total weight of sludge-clay mixtures were studied. Each batch of hand-mould produced green bricks was fired in a heat controlled furnace at elevated temperatures of 850 o C, 900 o C, 950 o C, 1000 o C, and 1050 o C respectively. The physical, mechanical and chemical properties of the produced sludge-clay burnt bricks (SCBB) were determined and evaluated according to Nigerian Standard Specifications (NIS 74:1976) and British Standard specifications (BS 3921: 1985) while various Indian Standard Code of Specification for burnt clay bricks were used for the performance evaluation as engineering materials. The results showed that LUDWTP sludge can be used to produce good quality brick for various engineering applications in construction and building. Also, the results of tests indicated that the firing temperature and the sludge proportion were the two key factors that determine the quality of bricks. Increasing the sludge content results in decreased compressive strength, decreased density and increased water absorption. The result also showed that increasing the sludge content improved workability and physical appearance (colour) of sludge-clay burnt bricks. Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) tests of the sludge-brick showed that the metal leaching level is within the acceptable limits of Nigerian Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and US Environmental protection Agency (USEPA) limits.