Energy efficiency of waste reformed fired clay bricks-from manufacturing to post application

High energy consumption in building construction and operation threatens the socio-environmental sustainability of many nations due to elevated carbon footprint and energy crisis. Hence, research into alternative materials that can effectively reduce energy with less CO2 emissions is highly significant and timely required. This study examines the energy efficiency of waste reformed clay bricks which are produced from municipal solid waste incinerated (MSWI) fly ash, industrial waste ash, and waste glass. A number of thermal properties were first explored on a technically verified brick, such as thermal conductivity, calorific value, specific heat capacity, emissivity and reflectivity, by utilising state-of-the-art instrumentation. Having characterized the thermal behaviour, extended studies have been performed to evaluate the theoretical energy consumption during the firing process and the post-application energy, while investigating the corresponding CO2 emissions and the economic benefits. The results demonstrate that the novel brick production enables less energy consumption (average 21% energy savings compared to control brick) with reduced carbon footprint (2 tonnes per year) compared to the conventional brick production. Results further revealed an enhanced thermal performance of the manufactured novel brick, most notably with respect to decreased thermal conductivity (11.7–37% less than control brick) which is beneficial to reduce the energy consumption in the post-application stage. Outcomes from the study have strong implication in saving energy from both during production and operation for manufacturers and households respectively, while enabling authorities to embed sustainable construction principals in practice.