, III course

Clay bricks have been used as building materials for many millennia in many geographic areas. At present brick industry is investing sustainable productions that promote environmental protection and support a sustainable development of this sector. In order to obtain a complete base knowledge of the material and optimise new mix designs, these following aspects were considered in this research program: i) the chemical-mineralogical and physical-mechanical characterisation of different types of commercial bricks, with particular attention to the porosity issue; ii) the assessment of the use of waste to create new bricks which could be of interest for industry; iii) the mineralogical and textural evolution of mixtures obtained with pure phases and standard clays during firing. The results showed that the awareness of the close connections among mineralogy, porosity, physical properties and the firing process, combined with the challenge of the reuse of waste, can lead toward sustainable brick production