Sustainable production of commercially viable alkali-activated bricks

Abstract

The use of industrial waste in alkali-activated materials is promoted widely across the world, as it unlocks the potential to produce sustainable and cost-effective products to meet increased construction demand. The physical and chemical properties of raw materials are studied in order to check its feasibility for the development of geopolymer bricks. The present study concentrates on developing energy-efficient low-cost geopolymer bricks by varying the alkali concentration (0–4 M) to make them economical. These bricks were heat-cured at a low temperature to study the effect of the curing temperature on the strength parameter. The geopolymer bricks were evaluated for various physio-mechanical and mineralogical properties and compared with clay bricks and existing geopolymer bricks. Analysis of variance was carried out to study the significant difference in strength parameters. The developed geopolymer bricks are claimed to be cost effective and energy efficient compared with clay and existing geopolymer bricks.