COMPARATIVE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT ON CLAY BRICKS, FLY ASH

BRICKS AND HOLLOW BLOCKS – A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH

AUTHORS: C. PRISCILLA HYACINTH, M. VAISHNAVI, R. VIDYA LAKSHMI

ABSTRACT:

The building industry uses great quantities of raw materials that also involve high energy and
environmental consumption. Choosing materials with high content in embodied energy
entails not only an initial high level of energy consumption, higher cost of raw material and
further an higher stress on the ecosystem in the building production stage but also determines
the future energy consumption, maintenance cost and ecological imbalance in order to fulfil
its heating, ventilation, air conditioning, repair and upkeep demands. Building materials play
a vital role in reducing these demands and adding on to the life cycle of the entire
construction system. Hence, a life cycle assessment of some of the basic building materials
would help determine the best of the sort, though each one would have its own pros and cons.
Life-cycle assessment (also known as life-cycle analysis, eco-balance, and cradle-to-grave
analysis) is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a
product's life from raw material extraction through material processing, manufacture,
distribution, use, repair and maintenance. This paper aims at portraying the results of a LCA
study by comparing the basic building materials viz-a-viz Clay bricks, Fly ash bricks, and
Hollow blocks, which would comprise the economic aspect, social demands and
environmental impacts, thereby complying with the sustainability perspective.

Keywords: Eco-balance, Energy, Environmental, Extraction, Fly ash, Life Cycle

Assessment, Sustainability

INTRODUCTION:
The building industry uses great quantities of raw materials that also involve high
energy consumption. Choosing materials with high content in embodied energy entails an
initial high level of energy consumption in the building production stage but also determines
future energy consumption in order to fulfil heating, ventilation and air conditioning
demands.This paper presents the results of an LCA study comparing the properties of fly
ash,clay and hollow blocks.
Traditionally, the term brick referred to a unit composed of clay, but it is now used to
denote any rectangular units laid in mortar. Bricks are produced in numerous classes, types,
materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produced in bulk
quantities. It uses great quantities of raw materials that also involve high energy
consumption.The most commonly used ones are the clay,fly ash and hollow block bricks.
Clay Bricks are one of the oldest building materials. Clay bricks are the most popular
and leading building materials because they are cheap, durable and easy to handle and to
work with. Clay bricks are used for exterior walls, partitions, piers, footings and other load
bearing structures. The bricks should have a uniform size, plain, rectangular surfaces with
parallel sides and sharp straight edges. Standard size of brick is 190 x 90 x 90 mm. The
Compressive strength of the brick should be minimum 3.5 N/mm2 as per IS code. Water
absorption of good brick should not exceed 20 percent of its dry weight when kept immersed
in water for 24 hours. Clay bricks are more porous than Fly ash bricks. Clay bricks are made
of clay which is collected from fertile land or the top soil.
 Fly ash bricks are manufactured by mixing Quarry Dust/River Sand,Stone
aggregates less than 6mm in Size, Cement and Fly Ash (Fly Ash quantity will be 10% to
20% of Cement ).Normally the actual cement quantity required will be replaced with 10%
to 20% Fly Ash. Any brick which contains cement will increase the heat inside building.Fly
Ash Bricks with plastering on both sides will again increase more heat .While
manufacturing one Metric ton of cement equal quantity of CO2 ( Carbon di Oxide )
will also be get generated . So we are polluting the atmosphere.Fly ash bricks are lighter in
weight and less costly than Clay bricks. Fly ash bricks are made of waste materials which
come from the combustion of coal in thermal power plants.
Inorder to reduce the total cement consumption we can use Hollow Bricks of bigger
Size like 450mm x 200mm x 200mm & 450mm x 200mm x 300mm.When using these bricks
plastering and painting is not required for the wall inside and outside. By using these hollow
blocks we can reduce the cement consumption to 25%. Electricity consumption in house also
will come down because of the cool atmosphere inside. The Hollow Parts in Bricks will give
a natural cooling inside. Hollow bricks can be used to build load bearing as well as non-load
bearing walls depending upon the compressive strengths of the material used.
This paper proceeds with comparing LCA between flyash, clay and hollow block
bricks.

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE:
Continuing use of clay bricks in the construction industry will lead to extensive loss
of fertile top soil. This could be a devastating environmental hazard. High demand for clay
bricks would result in price hike of clay bricks. To keep the cost of building materials in a
reasonable range, we should option for alternative building materials like fly ash bricks and
hollow or solid blocks.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE:
Clay Bricks: The process of making a brick has not changed much over the centuries
or across geographies. The clay is mined and stored in the open. This makes the clay soft and
removes unwanted oxides then mixed with water to get the right consistency for Moulding.
Mixing is done manually with hands and feet. A lump of the mix is taken, rolled in sand and
slapped into the mould. Initially, moulds were made of wood of size 22 X 10 X 7.5 mm (8.66
X 3.93 X 2.95 inch), now metal moulds are used. Sand is used so the brick does not stick to
the mould. The mould is emptied onto the drying area, where the bricks are arranged in a
herringbone pattern to dry in the sun. Every two days they are turned over to facilitate
uniform drying and prevent warping. After two weeks they are ready to be burnt. The green
bricks are arranged in a kiln and insulation is provided with a mud pack. Fire holes left to
ignite the kiln are later sealed to keep the heat inside. This is maintained for a week. Firing
like other operations also depends on the knowledge and experience of the brick maker. After
the kiln is disassembled, the bricks are sorted according to colour. Colour is an indication of
the level of burning. Over burnt bricks are used for paving or covering the kiln while slightly
under burnt bricks are used for building inner walls or burnt once again in the next kiln.
Fly Ash Bricks: Fly ash, cement, and sand are manually fed into a pan mixer where
water is added to the required proportion for homogeneous mixing. The proportion of raw
material may vary depending upon the quality of raw materials. After mixing, the mixture is
allowed to belt conveyor through feed into automatic brick making machine where the bricks
are pressed automatically. Then the bricks are placed on wooden pallets and kept as it is for
two days thereafter transported to open area where they are water cured for 10 -15 days. The
bricks are sorted and tested before dispatch.
 HOLLOW BLOCK BRICKS:The raw materials used for the manufacture are
cement, stone chips 0.5″, sand and stone dust. Ordinary Portland cement is the cementing
material used. The cement, stone chips, sand, etc are mixed in the ratio of 1:6 or 1:12. The
mixture is then fed into a vibrator machine and is then poured into the desired size mould.
After 24 hours of drying, the blocks immersed in the water tank for curing. The process of
curing continues for two to three weeks to give the blocks compression strength. The blocks
are used in construction process after drying.
MATERIAL AND METHODS