A revolutionary new ‘green’ brick, made from lime kiln dust and waste materials, may help to reduce the construction industry's environmental impact.
“With rapid industrialisation and population growth, there is a need for new building materials that are cost effective and environmentally friendly,” explains lead researcher, Joy Oke.
“It’s also critical that we minimise the depletion of natural resources such as clay, sand and gravel – the common ingredients in bricks and mortar – by replacing them with alternative aggregates.”
Joy’s research aims to tackle this issue through the development of new eco-friendly brick-making materials.
“Ordinary Portland cement – the most common type of binding material used in the construction industry – accounts for about 36% of global energy use and up to about 40% of carbon emissions,” she says.
“As part of my research, I have developed an alternative material to cement, which is a blend of lime kiln dust, and ground granulated blast furnace slag wastes, which are by-products of lime and iron production.”
“I am also investigating ways to speed up the curing process by using CO2 gas instead of water or steam.”
And when it comes to bricks, Joy has developed a rubberised solution made up of lime kiln dust, ground granulated blast furnace slag and crumb rubber from old tires.
“These bricks have been shown to be durable, which means they are a potential replacement for the conventional clay brick.”
“It will help reduce the depletion of clay soil and the amount of CO2 gas generated during the firing of the bricks in kilns.”
“I hope my research will help develop new materials that, in turn, help to address some of the construction industry's sustainability challenges”.
