Recycle of industrial wastes production

In this study, bricks in accordance with TS EN 771-1 standard were produced by using ferrochrome slag (F), marble dust (M) and fly ash (U) from industrial wastes in brick production in order to protect the environment and living life and to dispose of wastes in a beneficial way. In order to increase the insulating properties, expanded vermiculite (V) was added to the mixtures. In the birck mixtures, V, F, M and U are substituted by 5-30% by weight instead of clay. With the combination of raw materials, 34 different brick series were produced. Thermal behavior of raw materials and bricks, phase definitions, and microstructure analyzes were performed by TGA, XRD, SEM, respectively. In addition, the porosity variation of SEM images was digitally analyzed using Otsu and JPor thresholding method. The reaction surface method (RSM) was used to obtain the reaction surface models of the mixtures using the data obtained from the experiments. Empirical formulas of the model that best represent the properties of mixtures have been proposed. The mixture designs that will provide the desired optimum properties were determined by performing multiple optimizations with RSM. The compressive strengths of the produced bricks were obtained between 8.16 MPa and 43.4 MPa, and none of the bricks exceeded the limits given in TS EN 771-1. As a result of the tests, it was observed that the use of F in the mixture had a positive effect on the compressive strength and splitting tensile strength (STS), while reducing the flexural strength with low bond strength. The use of F increased the wear resistance of the bricks. While M had the greatest effect on the porosity of the bricks, it reduced the thermal conductivity coefficient (TC) by 46.86% compared to the reference series when used together with V. Bricks using V and U exhibited higher mechanical properties than the series in which other wastes were used by increasing vitrification in the firing process. In the series in which three wastes were used, similar mechanical and physical properties were obtained, although the types of wastes changed due to the reduction of the clay in the mixture by 45% or more. The obtained results showed that bricks with traditional brick properties in accordance with TS EN 771-1 can be produced by using V, F, M and U.