Production of eco-friendly hybrid blocks



                                          Fig. 16. Blocks appearance after the efflorescent test.  

As the Earth’s population continues to rise, the need for more housing rises with it. This leads to a constantly increasing production of materials and the use of resources to make essential elements for the home’s infrastructure, such as building blocks. The typically used blocks may harm the environment as they are not eco-friendly, are energy exhausting, and are contamination emitters. Researchers have identified a way to have blocks made from waste materials to be more environmentally sustainable. Materials such as palm oil fuel ash, palm oil clinker powder, and quarry dust were used to construct the blocks. This is an effective manner to clean up the environmental contamination caused by palm oil as well as decrease the use of natural resources such as clay and sand. The idea of using environmentally friendly blocks is important not only for the environment but the economy as they will consume less energy and will not emit greenhouse gas emissions. The properties of the blocks not only matched the performance of a traditionally used block but also exceeded expectations. Researchers tested the blocks in areas such as water absorption, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, and weight to conclude that the blocks were a good enough substitute for traditional construction blocks. They were created and produced with 90% recycled waste matter and proved to protect the earth’s resources and reduce the waste gathered in landfills that may become dangerous to the environment.

Reference: 

Shakir, A. A., Wan Ibrahim, M. H., Othman, N. H., Ahmed Mohammed, A., & Burhanudin, M. K. (2020). Production of eco-friendly hybrid blocks. Construction and Building Materials, 257, 119536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119536




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