Feasibility for the Recovery of Excavated Soils in Compressed Earth Blocks as a Sustainable Building Material
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Published:2023-08-01
Issue:8
Volume:10
Page:131
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ISSN:2076-3298
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Container-title:Environments
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Environments
Author:
Hussain Mazhar1, Zmamou Hafida2, Provost Antony3, Mahieu Angélique1, Leblanc Nathalie2ORCID, Levacher Daniel4ORCID, Chenot Elise5, Kane Abdoulaye1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. UniLaSalle-Ecole des Métiers de l’Environnement, Cyclann, Campus de Ker Lann, 35170 Bruz, France 2. UniLaSalle, Univ. Artois, EA7519—Transformations & Agro-Ressources, Normandie Université, 76130 Mont Saint Aignan, France 3. GENDROT TP, Z.A. de Bel-Air, 35320 Crevin, France 4. Unicaen, UMR 6143 CNRS—M2C, Normandie Université, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000 Caen, France 5. Institut Polytechnique Lasalle Beauvais, 60000 Beauvais, France
Abstract
Soil is continuously excavated for development activities in urban and rural areas and treated as waste. This study investigates the characteristics of urban soils excavated from earthworks of buildings in the Brittany region of France for their perspective reuse in earthen construction materials to valorize soil waste and provide a sustainable building material locally. Excavated soil from earthwork activities was taken from the Brittany region of France from three different locations. Soil suitability for compressed earth blocks was investigated based on their granulometry, consistency limits, and mineralogy. Finally, compressed earth blocks with dimensions of 4 × 4 × 16 cm3 were manufactured with different formulations and compacted dynamically. Flexural and compressive strength tests were performed on bricks to observe their mechanical behavior. Grain size analysis of soil samples shows that the percentage of clay in the landfill stockpile of excavated soils varies between 13% and 16%, while at some local sites, the percentage of clay goes up to 57%. The grain size of soils varies from the recommended zone. The plasticity of soil samples ranges from 17.3% to 20.4%. The plasticity index and clay content of the soil show that these soils are inactive clays with a lesser possibility of swelling and shrinkage. Mineralogical analysis of soil shows the absence of water-sensitive clay minerals, while quartz, kaolinite, and illite are major minerals present in soils. Linear shrinkage in bricks ranges from 0.6% to 2.2% and is considerably higher for clayey soils. Mechanical testing of earth bricks shows that the compressive strength of earth blocks ranges from 0.92 MPa to 2.22 MPa while the flexural strength ranges from 0.25 to 0.74 MPa. A mixture of sandy and clayey soils shows good strength due to improved granulometry. Earth bricks with soils from some stockpiles, excavation sites, and soil mixture show compressive strength higher than 1 MPa, which is recommended strength by international standards, and offer the opportunity to produce sustainable building materials locally.
Funder
European Union project, NextGenerationEU under France Relance progam
Subject
General Environmental Science,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
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