Journal of Building Engineering 27 (2020) 100965 Available online 21 September 2019 2352-7102/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Infuence of fuxing oxides from waste on the production and physico-mechanical properties of fred clay brick: A review Munib Ul Rehman, Madiha Ahmad, Khuram Rashid * Department of Architectural Engineering and Design, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Fluxing waste incorporated brick Molding pressure and soaking time Physical and mechanical properties Optimization ABSTRACT The Construction industry can act as a major receptor for different kinds of agro-industrial and municipal wastes due to the high demand for construction materials. Therefore, various researchers have conducted studies on recycling and reuse potential of solid wastes coming from different sources. This summary reviews the wide range of investigations (1998–2019), which have explored the addition of many types of fuxing waste into fred clay bricks. The current study offers a comprehensive guideline on the infuence of fuxing oxides on production (molding pressure, soaking time and fring temperature), physical properties (water absorption, bulk density, fring shrinkage) and mechanical properties (compressive and fexural strength) of clay bricks. The optimum amounts of different wastes for effective waste usage in brick fabrication were extracted from experimental results of a large database. Optimization was also done analytically by applying the multi-criteria decision- making technique considering shaping method, physical and mechanical properties, simultaneously. It is sum- marized that incorporation of fuxing waste benefts the manufacturing process by optimizing plasticity and reducing fring temperature through early sintering. In addition, it also enhances the physical and mechanical properties of bricks within the optimum replacement levels. The outcomes of this work may guide to establish codes and standardize fuxing waste incorporation in the manufacturing of bricks. 1. Introduction World population is rapidly increasing, and various activities asso- ciated with humans are ultimately resulting in the generation of waste at an alarming rate. Different types of waste have been generated in various countries and remedial measures were proposed by researchers to mitigate the infuence of waste on the environment and land. It has been noticed that only global municipal contribution in solid waste production is two billion tons per year. In 2006, 750 kg/capita/year municipal solid waste (MSW) was disposed of in the United States, and for European Union, corresponding fgure was 560 kg/capita/year [1]. In 2002, China produced more than one billion ton of industrial waste (mine tailings, coal ash, slag, etc.). The waste generation rates are 2.2, 1.5 and 0.81 kg/capita/day in the United States, European Union, and Malaysia, respectively [1,2]. Southern Asia (China, Pakistan, and India) and Eastern Asia roughly contribute about 26% to the global waste [3]. The construction industry is considered as the biggest consumer of waste materials which can ensure sustainability by contributing to the conservation of natural resources and can reduce the negative effects of wastes on the environment. The demand of construction materials in large quantities, diversifed composition of raw materials and their fexibility to incorporate various wastes have made it easy for re- searchers to explore the potential of reusing waste in the form of con- struction products. Various types of alternative materials and by- products have been incorporated in concrete and comprehensive sum- mary on the properties of waste incorporated concrete has been pre- sented in books [4,5]. Author’s research group is also working on the exploitation of waste material in innovative concrete design from the last few years [6–11]. The clay-brick is another construction material which is extensively used in small and large scale construction projects worldwide. Almost all residential buildings in the sub-tropical region are being made of brick masonry, and globally, 1391 billion bricks are produced every year [12]. China being at the top, produces about 700–800 billion units of brick annually and other South Asian countries (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam) with their 260 billion bricks production per year when combined with that of China cater for about 75% of global fred clay brick’s demand [13]. By using waste into brick making not only can * Corresponding author. Department of Architectural Engineering and Design, University of Engineering and Technology, Main GT Road, 54890, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail address: khuram_ae@uet.edu.pk (K. Rashid). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Building Engineering journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jobe https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2019.100965 Received 23 July 2019; Received in revised form 19 September 2019; Accepted 20 September 2019