Construction and Building Materials 29 (2012) 612–618

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Construction and Building Materials

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Using charcoal to increase properties and durability of fired test briquettes

N. Phonphuak a,b,⇑, S. Thiansem c
a
Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
b
Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University, Maha Sarakham 44000, Thailand
c
Department of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The clay composite and production process of fired clay bricks are essential for the sustainability of clay
Received 17 September 2010 bricks. The aim of this study was to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of fired test bri-
Received in revised form 22 October 2011 quettes due to the effects of charcoal addition and firing temperature. Their characteristics were carried
Accepted 24 November 2011
out with the determination by TGA/SDTA, XRF, XRD and SEM. The study yielded findings, namely, test
Available online 20 December 2011
briquettes consisting of 2.5% of charcoal additive with sizes less than 0.5 mm mixed with Hang Dong clay
specimen and fired at 950 °C achieved the most desirable mechanical and physical properties of fired test
Keywords:
briquettes because fired test briquettes were more durable, porous and stronger when compared with
Charcoal
Fired test briquettes
current commercial brick specimens that were tested. Thus, charcoal could be used as a pore former in
Fired clay bricks clay body. Conclusively, the results revealed that charcoal could be regarded as a potential addition to
Porosity raw materials used in the manufacturing of lightweight fired clay bricks.
Compressive strength Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction tested and investigated. The studies yielded unsatisfactory results

Clay bricks, which are a kind of a crystalline ceramic, are one of
the oldest known building materials and dated back to the early
civilizations [1]. Today, bricks are still being used for the same pur-
pose. As urbanization expands, demand for bricks gradually in-
creases [2]. However, the higher quality of fired bricks is
essential for modern construction. Several studies have reported
that bricks have been designed to become homogeneous, harder,
stronger and porous due to the ceramic bond from the fusion phase
of the silica and alumina clay constituents [3]. Most frequent used
pore formers in clay brick manufacturing can be classified into two
groups: organic and inorganic pore generators [4]. For organic gen-
erators, they are sawdust, coal, coke, papermaking sludge, grass
and rice husk, and inorganic ones are polystyrene, perlite and dolo-
mite or calcite. In this study, charcoal is used as a pore forming
agent for several reasons. Charcoal is locally produced from shrubs
and twigs eliminated from fruit plantations in the northern part of
Thailand. Although charcoal production is an energy requiring pro-
cess, when charcoal is used as an additive to clay, it can help save
energy in brick production. Other pore forming agents such as
waste from processed waste coffee beans and sawdust have been
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty
of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Tel.: +66 89
7916381.
E-mail addresses: nonthaphong@rmu.ac.th, phonphuak@gmail.com (N. Phonp
huak).
because the strength of bricks was inconsistent and low due to
large pores.
Thus these combustible materials including charcoal are used as
pore forming agents in the production of light weight bricks. They
also make fired bricks become an insulating material thereby sav-
ing energy. Due to the fact that energy consumption in the early
part of the firing process is reduced, the large amount of energy
is generated by the combustion of the pore forming. Thus it results
in considerable savings in fuel [5]. Firing temperature is an impor-
tant factor in clay brick making industry. It influences the mineral-
ogical, textural and physical formation of clay bricks. The density,
water absorption, strength and linear shrinkage properties are di-
rectly affected by firing temperature especially at vitrification
point [6]. Fired clay brick manufacturing is one of the possible
ways to dispose of organic and inorganic waste because, an organic
waste additive is burnt out, and it causes porosity in the structure
in brick production [7]. In this study, charcoal was used as an addi-
tive for making clay brick specimens. Charcoal is a form of amor-
phous carbon. It is produced when wood, peat, bones, cellulose,
or other carbonaceous substances are heated with little or no air
present. As a result, a highly porous residue of microcrystalline
graphite remains. Charcoal is a fuel and it had been used in blast
furnaces until coke was introduced and replaced it [8]. The main
objective of the study was to investigate the feasibility of using
charcoal as additive to clay body. The effects of firing temperature
and the charcoal content in the clay mixture were discussed in
terms of physical–mechanical properties and microstructure.

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.11.018
 N. Phonphuak, S. Thiansem / Construction and Building Materials 29 (2012) 612–618 613

2. Materials and methods 10 100

2.1. Properties of brick raw materials

9 90
8 80

cumulative volume (%)

Charcoal and Hang Dong clay (HD) used as raw materials were obtained from
Hang Dong district in Chiang Mai province, Thailand. The charcoal used in this re- 7 70

Volume (%)
search is a form of amorphous carbon and highly porous residue of microcrystalline 6 60
graphite remains (Fig. 1). Chemical analysis and loss on ignition (LOI) of HD clay
were carried out prior to characterization by X-ray fluorescence technique (XRF: 5 50
Mesa-500W, Horiba, Japan). The chemical composition of Hang Dong clay is given
in Table 1. The average particle size distribution of Hang Dong clay was analyzed
4 40
by diffraction (Mastersizer 2000 + Hydro2000 MU, Melvern Instrument Ltd., UK), 3 30
as shown in Fig. 2. The mineralogical composition of raw brick clay and charcoal
were achieved using an X-ray diffractometer technique (XRD: X’ Pert PRO MPD, Phi- 2 20
lips, Netherland). The major crystalline phase found in charcoal contained quartz 1 10
and cristobalite (Fig. 3a and b), while Hang Dong clay were quartz, muscovite, kao-
linite, feldspar and hematite. Microstructures of the fired clay bricks were examined 0 0
using SEM (JEOL JSE-5410 LV) and a TGA/SDTA (851e STARe Thermobalance, Mettler 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Toledo, Switzerland). Coefficients of expansion (COE), of fired clay brick were mea- Particle size (micron)
sured as a function of temperature using a dilatometer (DIL 420 C, Netzsch, Ger-
many). COE was calculated between 25 and 575 °C by using the following Fig. 2. Particle size distribution of Hang Dong clay.
equation [9]:

COE ¼ DL=ðL0  DTÞ ð1Þ

where DL = the dimension change of fired clay brick, L0 = the original dimension of
fired clay brick and DT = the temperature change.
2.2. Preparation of test briquettes
air dried at room temperature for 24 h, and then over dried at 110 ± 5 °C for another
24 h to remove water content. Then, each group of green specimens was fired at
four different temperatures: 900, 950, 1000 and 1100 °C with 2 h soaking time in
gas kiln furnace. The specimens were naturally cooled down to room temperature
in the furnace.

In order to determine the extent of the pore-forming effects of charcoal, char-
coal additive was dry sieved step by step through meshes No. 35, 40 and 45 and fi-
nally the charcoal particle sizes obtained were less than 0.5 mm. Then charcoal
additive was added into raw brick clay and divided into five different batches of
specimens mixed with 5 different percentages of charcoal additives: 0%, 2.5%,
5.0%, 7.5% and 10%. Each batch of specimens was mixed in a porcelain ball mill in
order to ensure homogenous mixing. Then, each was mixed with 20–30% of water
to enhance plastic condition of mixture in order to obtain the desired shape when it
was formed with brick hand molding into soft-mud rectangular test briquettes
whose internal dimension was 5.0 cm  9.5 cm  3.0 cm. The test briquettes were
2.3. Testing method for the physical and mechanical properties of fired test briquettes
In this study, the shrinkage of fired test briquettes was determined by direct
measurement of a specimen length before and after firing at 900–1100 °C. The lin-
ear drying shrinkage and total linear shrinkage of fired test briquettes were mea-
sured and compared to the length of green test briquettes before firing in accord
with the standard of ASTM C362-82 (2002) [10].
Archimedes method based on ASTM C373-88 (2002) was used to determine the
water absorption, bulk density, apparent density and apparent porosity [11]. The
compressive strength, of fired test briquettes was measured in accord with the
standard of ASTM C773-88 (2002) [12].

3. Results and discussion

The results of the properties of five batches of fired test bri-

quettes are summarized in Table 2. The physical and mechanical
properties investigated and reported are firing shrinkage, water
absorption, bulk density, apparent porosity, apparent density,
compressive strength, thermal behaviors, and microstructure anal-
ysis vitrification. The fired test briquettes were formed from HD
clay with the average particle size distribution of 1–200 lm, D
[4,3] was 7 lm while charcoal particle sizes were less than 0.5 mm.

3.1. Effects of charcoal addition on properties of fired test briquettes

3.1.1. Firing shrinkage

In general, shrinkage used in shaping clay bricks occurs due to
Fig. 1. SEM micrograph of charcoal.
the leaving of water from clay body. In other words, when water
between clay particles leaves, particles come closer and shrinkage
occurs. To minimize shrinkage, firing temperature which is an
Table 1
Chemical composition of Hang Dong clay used important parameter affecting the degree of shrinkage must be
in the experiments. controlled during the firing process [4]. An increase in the temper-
ature results in an increase in shrinkage. Normally, a good quality
Composition Wt.%
of bricks exhibits a shrinkage below 8% [14]. In this study, test bri-
SiO2 59.94
quettes were fired at the temperatures between 900 and 1100 °C.
Al2O3 20.84
Fe2O3 4.90
The results indicated that shrinkage occurred in the test fired bri-
CaO 0.20 quettes was in the range of 2.00–4.47%. As shown in Table 2, the
K2O 2.20 percentage of shrinkage rises with an increase in the amounts of
TiO2 0.84 charcoal addition.
Mn2O3 1.60
LOI* 9.30
3.1.2. Density of fired test briquettes
Total 99.82
The density of clay bricks depends on several factors which are
*
LOI (loss on ignition). specific gravity of the raw material used, method of manufacturing
614 N. Phonphuak, S. Thiansem / Construction and Building Materials 29 (2012) 612–618

Fig. 3. X-ray diffraction patterns of: (a) charcoal and (b) Hang Dong clay used in experiments.

Table 2
Average values physical and mechanical properties of fired test briquettes produced under different firing temperatures and varying charcoal concentrations (fired at the
temperatures between 900 and 1100 °C).

Percent charcoal additions by weight

Properties Temperatures (°C) 0% 2.5% 5.0% 7.5% 10.0%
Firing shrinkage (%) 900 2.00 2.26 2.50 2.75 3.05
950 2.15 2.57 2.70 2.85 3.10
1000 2.53 2.81 2.94 3.30 4.23
1100 3.05 3.43 3.97 4.25 4.47
Water absorption (%) 900 17.38 18.90 20.6 25.16 35.98
950 17.18 18.27 19.98 24.34 33.21
1000 16.96 16.89 19.36 23.49 30.56
1100 12.89 13.54 18.67 22.32 28.67
Bulk density (g/cm3) 900 1.79 1.65 1.55 1.50 1.48
950 1.80 1.68 1.63 1.57 1.49
1000 1.83 1.73 1.68 1.63 1.58
1100 1.84 1.80 1.78 1.68 1.65
Apparent porosity (%) 900 31.16 31.56 35.68 41.09 47.96
950 28.96 31.45 35.14 38.93 46.85
1000 22.56 23.96 32.45 37.76 42.29
1100 20.38 20.27 29.73 32.51 36.34
Apparent density (g/cm3) 900 2.46 2.22 2.19 2.12 2.04
950 2.58 2.30 2.24 2.13 2.07
1000 2.65 2.32 2.30 2.24 2.15
1100 2.75 2.38 2.34 2.27 2.18
Compressive strength (kg/cm2) 900 97.63 66.96 35.58 32.27 31.77
950 152.66 143.45 90.57 85.70 78.59
1000 173.09 147.31 123.25 119.78 105.59
1100 265.87 152.42 128.96 120.62 110.52

and degree of burning [4]. As the density of a clay brick decreases,
its strength also decreases, while its water absorption increases. In
this study, the bulk density of fired test briquettes was inversely
proportion to the quantity of charcoal added in the mixture. The
bulk density of specimens decreased with an increase in the
amounts of charcoal ranging from 2.5% to 10%. The bulk density
of specimens increased with an increase in firing temperature. As
a result, they caused bulk density in the ranges of 1.48–1.84 g/
cm3 (Table 2). The bulk density is related to durability and water
absorption of bricks.
Water absorption is an important factor for the durability of
clay bricks. When water infiltrates bricks, it decreases the durabil-
ity of bricks. Thus, the internal structure of bricks must be dense
enough to void the intrusion of water. To increase density and de-
crease water absorption of bricks, the firing temperature must be
raised. In this study, the amount and size of charcoal additive in
test briquettes fired at lower temperature (900 °C) increased the
water absorption rate in a linear manner. On the contrary, when
test briquettes with higher amounts and smaller sizes of charcoal
additive were fired at a high temperature (1100 °C), the water
absorption of fired test briquettes decreased. According to Table
2, the water absorption of test briquettes fired at the temperatures
between 900 and 1100 °C was in the range of 12.89–35.98%.
Water absorption was directly proportional to the apparent
porosity. Therefore, similar trends were observed in water absorp-
tion and apparent porosity. The study yields the results that fired
test briquettes showed various apparent porosity depending on
the amount of charcoal addition. The highest porosity was
47.96% with 10% of charcoal addition, and the lowest 20.27% with
2.5% charcoal addition. This result revealed that the higher per-
centage of charcoal addition was added in specimens, the higher
porosity in specimens occurred (Table 2). Thus porosity in fired test
briquettes was caused when charcoal additive was burnt out dur-
ing firing process. These results were in agreement with the liter-
 N. Phonphuak, S. Thiansem / Construction and Building Materials 29 (2012) 612–618 615

Fig. 4. TG-DTA curved of specimens with various amounts of charcoal: (a) original Hang Dong clay, (b) 2.5%, (c) 5.0%, (d) 7.5% and (e) 10%.

ature reviewed. Conclusively, the apparent density varied depend- firing temperature. Thus charcoal was an appropriate agent used
ing on the amount and size of charcoal addition in clay body and as an organic additive which yielded briquettes with smooth sur-
616 N. Phonphuak, S. Thiansem / Construction and Building Materials 29 (2012) 612–618
Fig. 4 (continued)
face finish and other demanded properties. The results shown in
Table 2 indicate that the apparent density of specimens varied
from 2.04 to 2.38 g/cm3 fired at 900–1100 °C.
3.1.3. Compressive strength of fired test briquettes
The compressive strength is a mechanical property used in clay
brick specifications. It has assumed great importance for two rea-
sons. Firstly, with a higher compressive strength, other properties
like flexure, resistance to abrasion, etc., are also improved. Sec-
ondly, while other properties are relatively difficult to evaluate,
the compressive strength is easy to determine [13]. The compres-
sive strength test is the most important test for assuring the engi-
neering quality of a building material [14]. In this study the result
indicated that the strength of test briquettes greatly depended on
the amount of charcoal additive and the firing temperature. The re-
sults of compressive strength (Table 2) indicated that compressive
strength of fired test briquettes increased with increasing firing
temperature. An increase in compressive strength was due to a de-
crease in porosity and an increase in bulk density with an increas-
ing temperature. The results revealed that the compressive
strength was in the ranges from 31.77 to 265.87 kg/cm2 when
charcoal addition varied from 0% to 10% and firing temperatures
from 900 to 1100 °C (Table 2). Generally, in traditional ceramic sys-
tem, as the porosity increases, the strength properties decrease [7].
3.2. Thermal behaviors of fired test briquettes
3.2.1. TGA/SDTA
Thermal analysis of fired test briquettes was carried out using
Mettler TGA/SDTA 851e. Specimens were heated at 3 °C/min under
50 ml/min air flow up to 950 °C. The specimens were cooled to
room temperature in the furnace. Fig. 4a–e shows the TG-DTA
curves of specimens mixed with 0%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10% of
charcoal additive by weight respectively. Fig. 4a–e shows the evap-
oration of physical water in the specimens occurring at the tem-
peratures between 50 and 100 °C. This result is in agreement
with [15]. Then the beginning of burning was observed at the tem-
peratures between 200–280 and 350–500 °C. This might be largely
due to the burning of organic matter, charcoal and the removal of
chemical water [16]. Fig. 4b–e show specimens mixed with char-
coal in DTA curve; there was mainly one large exothermic reaction
at the temperatures from 300 to 500 °C corresponding to the burn-
ing of carbon in charcoal.
The results from TGA/SDTA tests confirmed the optimal temper-
ature, 950 °C, for firing process that could make charcoal additive
 N. Phonphuak, S. Thiansem / Construction and Building Materials 29 (2012) 612–618 617

Fig. 5. Scanning electron micrograph images (left magnified: 50 and 100, right magnified: 1000) of specimens with various amounts of charcoal were fired at 950 °C: (a
and b) original Hang Dong clay; (c and d) 2.5%; (e and f) 5.0%; (g and h) 7.5% and (i and j) 10%.

completely burnt out to yield highest compressive strength of the
fired test briquettes.
3.2.2. Coefficient of expansion of fired test briquettes (COE)
Thermal expansion analysis had been repeatedly performed
three times on specimens mixed with charcoal 0%, 2.5%, 5.0%,
7.5% and 10% by weight and fired at 950 °C. The thermal expansion
was calculated when specimens were observed at the tempera-
tures from 25 to 575 °C. The results from three tests were averaged
and indicated the thermal expansion in specimens mixed with
charcoal 0%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10% were 8.8, 6.4, 8.9, 9.3 and
9.8  106 °C1 respectively. Higher COE value of specimens mixed
with charcoal 10% could be possibly due to decomposition of char-
coal. This indicated that the higher percentage of charcoal added
cause higher porosity in fired bricks. It was likely that the charcoal
burning out during firing might leave plenty of pores in a speci-
618 N. Phonphuak, S. Thiansem / Construction and Building Materials 29 (2012) 612–618
men. Thus, structural changes of crystalline phase, especially
quartz conversion could possibly influence the coefficient of ther-
mal expansion of the specimens.
3.3. Microstructure analysis vitrification of fired test briquettes
The SEM results of the vitrification specimens at 950 °C and dif-
ferent amounts of charcoal additive are shown in Fig. 5a–j. The
images show that as charcoal contents increase, the micropores of
the specimens also increase. This is the main reason of an increase
in water absorption. Thus when the firing temperature increased
the water absorption of the specimens decreased. However, com-
pressive strength was reduced when the amounts of charcoal in-
creased because compressive strength was increased due to a
decrease in porosity and an increase in bulk density with increasing
firing temperature [17].
4. Conclusions
The characteristics and analysis of physical and mechanical
properties of charcoal additive to clay content for the production
of fired test briquettes are reported. Charcoal additive was mixed
with clay in different proportions to investigate good qualities of
clay briquettes and, potentially, clay bricks as modern construction
material. In fact, the study on the effects of charcoal addition was
mainly aimed to produce lightweight and more porous burnt clay
bricks. While the, value of apparent porosity and water absorption
for specimens increased linearly with an increase in the amount of
mixed charcoal and decreased with an increase in firing tempera-
ture. At a certain temperature, compressive strength decreased
with an increase in the amount of charcoal. Conversely, at a certain
charcoal amount, compressive strength increased with an increase
in firing temperature. Generally as the porosity amount increases,
the strength properties decrease in the traditional ceramic system.
In this study, 950 °C was the most appropriate firing temperature
for test briquettes because fired test briquettes were more durable,
porous and stronger when compared with current commercial
brick specimens that were tested. Thus, charcoal could be used as
a pore former in clay body. Conclusively, the results revealed that
charcoal could be regarded as a potential addition to raw materials
used in the manufacturing of lightweight fired clay bricks.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the Office of the Higher Education Com-
mission, Thailand for supporting by Grant fund under the program
Strategic Scholarships for Frontier Research Network for the Ph.D.
Program Thai Doctoral degree for this research.
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