Recycling of ash from biomass incinerator in clay matrix to produce ceramic bricks

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of incorporation of ash from biomass incinerator as raw material on the production of ceramic bricks for their application in construction. So, for the fabrication of bricks, compositions were prepared with addition of increasing amounts of waste ash (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% in wt.) in the clay body. The mixed samples were sintered using conventional powder processing based on powder compaction at 54.5 MPa and firing them at 950 °C without the addition of additives. Effect on apparent density, water absorption and mechanical properties were investigated. The results showed that water absorption increased and apparent density and compressive strength decreased with higher amounts of ash. Bricks with an ash content up to 20% meet the UNE standards compressive strength. As a result, since interesting performances were observed, the potential use of ashes from biomass incinerator up to 20 wt.% in ceramic formulations of industrial interest was confirmed. In this sense, incorporating ashes into clay body reduces environmental problems and total cost of raw material disposition.