FIRED-CLAY BRICKS PRODUCED FROM HIGH COAL-BIOMASS ASH CONTENTS

Abstract

Under the concept of green building in Thailand, clay brick is possible to use to prevent heat, moisture, and sound from permeating a building from the outside. The objective of this research was to modify ordinary clay brick, which is currently produced in small plants of across the country, and to investigate its characteristics in term of formability and physical properties. Coal biomass ash was used as a replacement for clay at 25, 50 and 75% by weight. These are appropriate mix proportions based on the specifications in the Thailand Industry Standard (TIS), inasmuch as bricks can be made and burned at temperature 600, 900 and 1100ºC with little damage to their formation. Furthermore, the burning conditions and processes were modified based on phase change concept of composite materials. The microstructure and required standard of the modified clay brick were experimentally investigated. The test results showed that coal biomass ash has great potential as a replacement for clay because the properties of fired-clay bricks were improved by using coal biomass ash.