Eco-BLAC Bricks: Masonry from Industrial Waste

By 2050 the population in India is expected to reach 1.5 billion people, surpassing China as the largest country in the world. It is anticipated that this increase in population will place a substantial demand on the housing stock and need for building materials. For centuries, the clay fired brick has been the most popular building material in India due to its local availability and low cost. However, negative environmental and social impacts surrounding its production have raised concerns about its future use. In parallel with the growing population is a growth in industry, and a number of industrial wastes are being generated which are often disposed of in harmful ways to the population and the environment.

This research seeks to solve both problems by recycling industrial waste into masonry construction materials. The primary industrial waste which will be utilized is boiler ash, a byproduct of combustion during energy production at small and medium sized factories. Currently, this ash has no application due to its variability in physical and chemical properties. For this reason we see opportunity in creating a robust design which can account for these variabilities by using alkali-activation technology.

We are striving to create a product which is both economically and environmentally sustainable. Thus, the aim is to produce low-cost masonry units offering the added benefits of reduced energy demands, a smaller carbon footprint, and less natural resource consumption than traditional masonry. This solution is scalable all over India as there are factories producing boiler ash throughout the country. Current work is being done in Muzaffarnagar, U.P., where we are partnering with the owner of a paper mill to implement a pilot plant on site.