IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE) e-ISSN: 2278-1684,p-ISSN: 2320-334X, Volume 11, Issue 4 Ver. III (Jul- Aug. 2014), PP 70-73 www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 70 | Page Utilization of sludge in manufacturing Energy Efficient Bricks Mary Lissy P N 1 , Dr. M S Sreeja 2 1 (Department of Civil Engineering, Muthoot Institute of Technology & Science, Varikoli, India) 2 (Department of Science & Humanities, Toc H Institute of Science & Technology, Arakkunnam, India) Abstract: The bricks are obtained by moulding clay in rectangular blocks of uniform size and then by drying and burning these blocks. Burnt clay bricks have good resistance to moisture, insects and erosion and create a good room environment. They are medium in cost and have medium to high compressive strength. In brick making the major input is fuel followed by labour. Bricks manufactured from dried sludge collected from textile wastewater treatment plant were investigated. Results of tests indicated that the sludge proportion and the firing temperature were the two key factors determining the brick quality. Results showed that the brick weight loss on ignition was mainly attributed to the organic matter content in the sludge being burnt off during the firing process. With up to 6.66% sludge added to the bricks, the strength measured at temperatures 500 0 C met the requirements of the National Standards. This study showed that the pulverized sludge could be used as a brick material in reducing the firing temperature for the production of energy efficient bricks. The bonding strength can be further enhanced by controlling operating conditions. Keywords: Energy Efficient bricks, Oven dried bricks, Casting, Recycling, Sludge. I. Introduction Rapid Industrialization and Urbanization is causing serious environmental problems. One of the major concerns amongst these is safe and sound disposal of solid wastes. There is a strong demand for environmentally safe reuse and effective disposal methods for sludge due to the increasing amount of sludge generated by the wastewater treatment plants. While sanitary landfills are commonly used for disposal or sewage sludge, rapid urbanization has made it increasingly difficult to find suitable landfill sites. Therefore, Sugar, paper pulp and Textile are three major agro based industries in India which produce large quantity of solid and liquid wastes after consuming greater amount of fresh water. Textile mills are one of the largest and oldest sectors in India. Every year textile exports generates large amount of revenues for Indian economy. The proposed method for the manufacture of energy efficient bricks using the sludge from textile industry, thus suggests a means for the waste disposal also. II. Literature Review Textile mill uses large amount of fresh water for wet operations such as Desizing, bleaching, dyeing etc. The wastewater generated from these processes is treated in effluent treatment plant by adding chemicals such as Alum, Ferric chloride, Lime and Polyelectrolyte to remove traces of cotton and dyes. During the treatment sludge gets accumulated in the primary and secondary clarifiers, which is further dried in sludge drying beds. Sludge generated in effluent treatment plants is not only troublesome to that industry but also affects the environment adversely. Many textile mills practice ultimate disposal options like Landfilling. Therefore, there is a growing need to look for various reuse options of waste materials for sustainable development. On the other hand, building construction sector consumes conventional materials such as clay, sand, gravel, cement, timber, etc which are generated directly or indirectly from natural resources. Fast growth of building construction industry is putting enormous load on the natural resources leading to environmental degradation[1]. Oven dried sludge obtained from domestic wastewater treatment plant [2] and sewage sludge ash [3] can be used as additive in building materials. Also Industrial Sludge such as Paper mill Sludge can be used in brick making-[4], for making green composite pallet making[5], in producing low cost concrete[6]. Waste lime sludge[7], Petroleum plant sludge[8] also can be used as building material. Solid waste from textile mill has the potential for use as additive in building material[1,9]. Balasubramanian[10] used up to 30% textile mill sludge in brick making with satisfactory compressive strength. As textile mill sludge contains lesser binding capacity, cement can be added as binding material in order to make hollow bricks, paving blocks, solid blocks etc. Baskar et al.[11] reported that oven dried textile mill sludge can be used as replacement to clay in manufacturing of clay bricks. Studies revealed that at a low temperature of 100 °C, any moisture remaining in the bricks is removed. The first irreversible reactions start at approximately 450-500 °C, when dehydroxylation takes place. Part of the actual clay structure (the hydroxyl groups) is driven off as steam, resulting in a very small expansion of the brick. Carbonaceous organic matter (derived from plants, etc.) in the soil will burn off in the temperature range