Development of eco-friendly fired clay bricks incorporating recycled marble powder

This study explores the development of eco-friendly burnt clay bricks incorporating recycled waste marble powder (WMP). Waste marble powder was collected from the local marble industry and used to manufacture brick specimens at a local brick manufacturing facility with dosages ranging from 5 to 25% by clay weight. The mechanical and durability performance of bricks incorporating WMP were investigated. The WMP produced lighter weight bricks with reduced linear shrinkage. It also decreased the compressive strength of bricks because of enhanced porosity, as shown by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. However, bricks incorporating up to 10% of WMP achieved compressive strength values within the specified limits of the local building code. All tested bricks satisfied the minimum standard flexural strength requirements. Using 5% WMP in fired clay bricks yielded similar efflorescence and resistance to sulfate attack compared with control bricks without WMP. Leaching tests on brick specimens indicated that leached species from WMP-modified bricks were well below regulatory thresholds. Full-scale implementation of WMP in burnt clay brick manufacturing could mitigate the landfilling of this by-product and lead to the development of eco-friendly, nonhazardous and economical masonry construction