Properties of bricks with waste ferrochromium slag and zeolite Osman Gencel a, * , Mucahit Sutcu b , Ertugrul Erdogmus c , Vahdettin Koc d , Vedat Veli Cay e , Mustafa Sabri Gok f a Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bartin University, 74100 Bartin, Turkey b Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Izmir Katip Celebi University, 35620 Izmir, Turkey c Department of Environmental Engineering, Bartin University, 74100 Bartin, Turkey d Department of Metallurgy, Faculty of Technical Education, University of Adiyaman, Adiyaman, Turkey e School of Aviation, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbakir, Turkey f Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Bartin University, 74100 Bartin, Turkey article info Article history: Received 15 March 2013 Received in revised form 30 June 2013 Accepted 30 June 2013 Available online 11 July 2013 Keywords: Clay Brick Zeolite Ferrochromium slag abstract Effect of ferrochromium slag, zeolite and combinations on physical, mechanical, thermal conductivity and microstructure properties of bricks was investigated. They were substituted to brick raw material. Semi-dry mixtures were compressed with 20 MPa. Samples were fired at rate of 5  C/min until 900  C for 2 h. Characterization of fired bricks, density, porosity, water absorption, weight loss, compressive and bending strength, thermal conductivity properties and microstructural and phase analysis of bricks were determined. Mechanical strengths of bricks were higher than 7 MPa. Thermal conductivity of samples decreases 42.3%. Results showed that bricks with zeolite and slag could be used as construction material. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Energy consumption of fossil origin and pollution due to the same one, mainly CO 2 , represent a strategic, economic and envi- ronmental problem in a country. The Kyoto Protocol is an agree- ment made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (del Coz Diaz et al., 2008a). Countries ratifying this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases. This protocol now covers more than 160 countries globally and over 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Lau et al., 2012; Viguier et al., 2003). These government organizations are working closely with their major utility, energy, oil and gas and chemicals conglomerates in order to decrease the global greenhouse gas emissions. At present time, energy consumption of buildings in Turkey and the countries of the EU is a high-priority subject. Buildings sector has been studied as part of a broader examination in relation to a rational fuel use and emissions in countries (del Coz Diaz et al., 2008b). Economic and environmental constraints are bound to increase in coming years and one effect of this on construction industry will be the need to obtain more energy efficient buildings and construction materials. Buildings are considered as open systems, and in that sense they interact with the environment. Part of this interaction includes thermal energy transmission carried out by the heat transfer mechanisms of conduction, convection and radiation. En- ergy use in buildings is a significant factor in world’s overall energy consumption and a major contributor to greenhouse gases. Nowadays, approximately 25e30% of the total energy consumed in the world is used in buildings (Wouter, 2004). An important way of achieving better energy efficiency in buildings is to improve their thermal insulation properties. Reduction of heat loss in buildings decreases consumption of energy and thus reduces the cost of heating and cooling (EN 832, 1998). Energy saving can be obtained by insulation since a significant part of heat losses or heat gains occurs through walls and ceilings (Wouter, 2004; EN 832, 1998; Koksal et al., 2012). European standard EN 832 states that, depending on the location and climate, walls should be made of material with a heat transfer coefficient of 0.4e0.7 W/m 2 K, the lower the better. Hence many brick manufacturers are seeking to produce such materials (Sutcu and Akkurt, 2009). Clay based bricks are the most widely used building materials for many purpose such as decorative, load carrier wall and isolation * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ90 378 223 5360; fax: þ90 378 223 5258. E-mail address: osmangencel@gmail.com (O. Gencel). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Cleaner Production journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro 0959-6526/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.06.055 Journal of Cleaner Production 59 (2013) 111e119