Production of eco-friendly permeable brick from debris

In this study, eco-friendly high-performance permeable bricks were studied using three kinds of common debris (dredged mud, waste glass, discarded porcelain) as raw materials. The structure of permeable brick is composed of a large void connecting small pores, which achieves an optimal balance between water permeability and compressive strength. The large void is formed by the accumulation of discarded porcelain, and the small pores are produced by the combustion of organic matter in the dredged mud. The effects of aggregate gradation, aggregate content, weight ratios of dredged mud to waste glass, forming pressure and sintering temperature on porosity, permeability and compressive strength of the prepared permeable bricks were systematically investigated. With the optimal process conditions determined in the experiments (aggregate gradation = 2.675-3.530 mm, discarded porcelain = 70 wt%, ratio of dredged mud to glass powder = 3:1, forming pressure = 15 MPa, and sintering temperature = 1140 °C), the prepared permeable bricks have a high permeability (approximately 0.15 cm/s) and exhibit considerable compressive strength (approximately 33 MPa). The leaching of heavy metals was in line with industry standards.