Crushed Bricks: Demolition Waste as a Sustainable Raw Material for Geopolymers

Demolition activity plays an important role in the total energy consumption of the construction industry in the European Union. The indiscriminate use of non-renewable raw materials, energy consumption, and unsustainable design has led to a redefinition of the criteria to ensure environmental protec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2021-07, Vol.13 (14), p.7572
Main Authors: D’Angelo, Gigliola, Fumo, Marina, Merino, Mercedes del Rio, Capasso, Ilaria, Campanile, Assunta, Iucolano, Fabio, Caputo, Domenico, Liguori, Barbara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy sources
Building materials
Caustic soda
Cement
Ceramics
Construction
Construction industry
Construction materials
Crushing
Demolition
Emissions control
Energy consumption
Environmental protection
Geopolymers
Mechanical properties
Mineralogy
Porosity
Raw materials
Sodium
Surface resistance
Sustainability
Sustainable materials
Waste materials
Water absorption
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Summary:Demolition activity plays an important role in the total energy consumption of the construction industry in the European Union. The indiscriminate use of non-renewable raw materials, energy consumption, and unsustainable design has led to a redefinition of the criteria to ensure environmental protection. This article introduces an experimental plan that determines the viability of a new type of construction material, obtained from crushed brick waste, to be introduced into the construction market. The potential of crushed brick waste as a raw material in the production of building precast products, obtained by curing a geopolymeric blend at 60 °C for 3 days, has been exploited. Geopolymers represent an important alternative in reducing emissions and energy consumption, whilst, at the same time, achieving a considerable mechanical performance. The results obtained from this study show that the geopolymers produced from crushed brick were characterized by good properties in terms of open porosity, water absorption, mechanical strength, and surface resistance values when compared to building materials produced using traditional technologies.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su13147572