Development of Eco-Brick Using Industrial and Agricultural By-Products

Abstract

Housing shortages in many developing countries have stimulated efforts to develop construction methods that use cheap and durable local materials. It is essential to develop technologies that use minimal resources because of the increasing shortage of energy and raw materials. Traditionally produced in a cottage industry setting, fired clay brick production plays a major role in the informal economy of such countries. On the other hand, in many countries, electricity is often supplied by coal-powered generators. In the power stations, approximately 80-90% of the ash formed from burnt coal is carried out of the furnace, then extracted from the flue gas and is known as fly ash. Large quantities of fly ash produced as a by-product of coal based power stations have been viewed as serious environmental problems. Rice husk is the by-product of the rice milling industry. Saw dust is the by-product of cutting, grinding, drilling, sanding and other pulverizing wood or other material with saw or other tool. The proposed study involves the experimental investigation of effect of rice husk ash and saw dust on the properties of fly ash bricks. The main aim is to compare the fly ash bricks over conventional clay bricks, so for this purpose percentage of saw dust and rice husk can be increased by weight and with the help of laboratory tests it will be briefly studied.

Introduction

The text describes a project focused on developing eco-friendly bricks (eco bricks) using industrial and agricultural waste materials, particularly saw dust ash (SDA) and rice husk ash (RHA), as partial replacements for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). This approach addresses environmental concerns associated with traditional clay bricks—such as topsoil depletion, deforestation, and high carbon emissions—while also providing a sustainable method for managing waste like fly ash, rice husk, and sawdust.

Key Points:

• Motivation: Large-scale conventional brick production harms the environment; industrial and agricultural wastes are underutilized and polluting. Eco bricks offer a sustainable alternative.
• Objectives:
  1. Explore industrial/agricultural by-products for brick production.
  2. Manufacture eco bricks with OPC, SDA, and RHA.
  3. Analyze mechanical and physical properties (compressive strength, water absorption, density).
  4. Determine optimum mix ratios for performance and cost efficiency.
  5. Compare eco bricks with conventional clay bricks.
• Methodology:
  • Materials: OPC 43 grade cement, fly ash, saw dust ash, rice husk ash, and fine aggregates.
  • Mix proportions example: Fly ash 55%, Cement 15%, Fine Aggregate 20%, RHA 5%, SDA 5%.
  • Brick casting: 190 × 90 × 90 mm, demolded after 24 hours, cured for 7, 14, and 28 days.
  • Tests conducted: Standard consistency, initial/final setting time, specific gravity, water absorption, and compressive strength.
• Process: Material preparation, hand mixing, manual casting, water curing, followed by evaluation of mechanical and physical properties.
• Expected Outcome: Identify optimum replacement percentages of SDA and RHA to achieve durable, lightweight, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly bricks suitable for large-scale construction.

In essence, the project demonstrates the feasibility of eco bricks as a sustainable alternative to conventional bricks, promoting waste utilization, resource conservation, and environmentally responsible construction practices.

Conclusion

The study focused on the development of eco-bricks using industrial and agricultural by-products such as fly ash, rice husk ash, and saw dust ash with cement as a binding material. The bricks were prepared, cured, and tested to evaluate their mechanical and physical properties. The experimental results indicate that the eco-bricks possess satisfactory strength and performance when compared with conventional clay bricks The utilization of waste materials in brick production helps reduce environmental pollution, conserve natural resources, and promote sustainable construction practices. Therefore, eco-bricks made with these materials can be considered a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional bricks for construction purposes.

References

[1] A.U. ELINWA & S.P. EJEH concluded that sawdust waste incineration fly ash can react with CH released by cement clinker hydration to produce secondary C-S-H gel inside the cement paste which improves the microstructure of cement paste matrix. [2] SURENDER MALIK, BHAVANA ARORA , (July-2015IJIRCST) The brick having rice husk ash as an admixture shows lower compressive strength and higher percentage of water absorption when compared to the conventional clay bricks. [3] PRASANTA GHOSH, BRATI BASU, SULAGNO BANERJEE concludes that Addition of pozzolanic material like fly ash, rice hunk ash, metakaolin, saw dust ash improves its strength properties. [4] NAVDEEP SINGH & NITISH KUMAR SHARMA(2020-IJMPERD) shows that the RHA and SDA has the potential to be used for the partial replacement of the cement when used in the concentration ranging from 5 to 10% due to cementing and pozzolana properties. [5] SENTHILKUMAR V. (2023) studied bricks with fly ash and sugarcane by-products, observing strength improvements with partial replacement. [6] OLAIYA (2025) developed sandcrete bricks using sawdust ash and banana leaf ash, achieving 4.28 MPa compressive strength with reduced CO? emissions. [7] NAGARAJU T.V. & BAHRAMI A. (2024) showed that using rice husk ash in geopolymer bricks reduces embodied CO? and improves compressive strength depending on curing and activator molarity. [8] DOGAN-SAGLAMTIMUR N. & BILGIL A. (2021) demonstrated that industrial ash in clay bricks improves sustainability, though firing temperature strongly influences durability and shrinkage. [9] ABBASS M. & HUSSAIN I. (2025) reported that geopolymer bricks made with rice husk and sugarcane bagasse showed good mechanical strength and long-term durability. [10] KUMAR P. (2024) investigated bricks incorporating coconut shell ash and found that partial replacement of cement improved thermal insulation while maintaining adequate compressive strength.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Gokul Maharaj D, Gokulraj M, Rajarajan D, Sivapriyan R. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.