archives of civil and mechanical engineering 13 (2013) 269275

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/acme

Original Research Article

Utilization of recycle paper mill residue and rice husk ash

in production of light weight bricks
S. Rauta,b, R. Ralegaonkara,, S. Mandavganec
a

Department of Civil Engineering, VNIT, Nagpur-10, Maharashtra, India

Department of Civil Engineering, YCCE, Nagpur-10, Maharashtra, India
c
Department of Chemical Engineering, VNIT, Nagpur-10, Maharashtra, India
b

art i cle i nfo

ab st rac t

Article history:

Resource recovery and utilization of industrial by-product materials for making construc-

Received 2 May 2012

tion material has gained significant attention across the world. In this research study,

Accepted 24 December 2012

recycle paper mill residue (RPMR) and rice husk ash (RHA) are utilized to improve the

Available online 5 January 2013

properties of bricks. This research study evaluated the feasibility of utilizing RPMR and

Keywords:

RHA for making construction bricks. A homogeneous mixture of RPMRRHAcement was

Recycle paper mill residue

prepared with varying amount of RHA (1020% by weight) and RPMR (7080% by weight)

Rice husk ash

and tested in accordance with the IS codes. Characterization of RPMR and RHA was

Bricks

performed using XRF, TG-DTA, XRD and SEM techniques. The SEM monographs show that

Light weight

RPMR has a porous and fibrous structure. The TG-DTA characterization demonstrated that

Compressive strength

RPMR can withstand temperatures up to 280 1C. The results indicate that RPMR-bricks
prepared from RPMRRHAcement combination are light weight and meet compressive
strength requirements of IS 1077-1992. This novel construction material serves objectives
of resource recovery through prudent solid waste management.
& 2013 Politechnika Wrocawska. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights
reserved.

1.

Introduction

Brick is one of the widely used construction materials in

India. In the past, rudimentary brick making techniques
used locally available natural materials such as clay. With
industrial revolution, economic growth and overall increase
in population, tremendous demand is exerted on natural
resources for creating new infrastructure. The increasing
demand for the construction materials especially bricks are
exploiting natural resource to the large extent. With dwindling resources and emphasis on sustainability and resource
recovery, novel approaches to utilize the waste material as a

construction material has gained widespread attention of

the scientific community, since the 1980s (http://www4.uwm.
edu/cbu). Growing environmental awareness in the building
industry has brought about the need to investigate ways to
incorporate residuals and by-products materials in place of
traditional construction material and preserve the environment while maintaining the material requirements stipulated
in the standards [1].
Brick is one of the most accommodating masonry units as
a building material in India due to its physical, chemical and
mechanical properties. Utilization of residuals and by-products
materials as a construction material could address two issues;

Corresponding author.

E-mail address: sanvan28@yahoo.com (R. Ralegaonkar).

1644-9665/$ - see front matter & 2013 Politechnika Wrocawska. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2012.12.006

270

archives of civil and mechanical engineering 13 (2013) 269275

it will not only lead to conservation of natural resources, but

will herald better ways of managing residuals and by-product
materials. As per the recent report of Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA), recycle paper mills (RPM) contributes nearly 30% of the total pulp and paper mill segment.
With 85% average efficiency of RPM, around 5% (by weight) of
total pulp and paper mill production is generated as RPMR
annually. As a by-product, often times RPMR are landfilled
without any resource recovery. Use of such recyclable materials as a raw material in the production of bricks has been an
evolving process [2]. They have been successful in creating a
brick-making material by mixing recycle paper mill waste

and cement with varying proportions (up to 20% by weight)

of cement. Their research shows that the bricks made by
using recycle paper mill waste are light weight and increased
acceptable compressive strength. Continuous efforts are
made to incorporate industrial by-products as a raw material
in the production of bricks. For example, Mucahit and Sedat [3]
developed porous and light-weight bricks by using paper
processing residues as an additive to a clay brick. They have
been successful in creating a brick-making material by mixing
brick-making raw materials with varying proportions (up to
30% by weight) of paper residues. Their research shows that
the bricks made by using paper processing residues had

Fig. 1 (a) Dry RPMR, (b) OPC and (c) RHA.

Table 1 Details of compositions.

Sr no.

Sample
name

Wt of wet
RPMR (g)

Wt of dry
RPMR (g)

Wt of
cement (g)

Wt of RHA
(g)

% Consistency of RPMR Dry

RPMR/(waterdry RPMR)

1
2
3

A
B
C

3200
3200
3200

716.8
672.0
627.2

89.6
89.6
89.6

89.6
134.4
179.2

0.23
0.22
0.21

Table 2 Material balance.

Sample: no of samples

A:60

B:60

C:60

Weight (wt) of wet RPMR, g

Wt of dry RPMR, g
Wt of cement, g
Wt of RHA, g
Water, g
Wt of wet brick after P1, g
Amount of water removed during P1, g
Amount of water removed by partial solar drying, g
Wt of wet brick before P2, g
Wt of wet brick after P2, g
Amount of water removed during P2, g
Wt of dry brick, g
Amount of water removed by partial solar drying, g
Wt of dry material, g
Wt of water in brick, g
Wt of water removed by pressing, g
Wt of water removed by evaporation, g

3200
716.8
89.6
89.6
2304
2630
570
325
2305
2089
216
973
1179
896
77
786
1504

3200
672
89.6
134.4
2304
2725
475
376
2349
2142
207
1006
1136
896
110
682
1512

3200
627.2
89.6
179.2
2304
2794
406
394
2400
2179
221
989
1221
896
93
627
1615

% Average

2474n
1573n

1072n
4275n
872n
3575n
5775n

0.1
0.1

Sr %

0.67

0.12

Mn %
0.41

0.03
0.6
0.05
0.22
0.13
0.92
1.69
0.16
2.44
0.15
0.32
1.07
0.67
3.59
0.37
2.06
3.31
60.57
34.46
14.94
1.44
15.83
46.36

Si %

Al %

Mg %

S%

Ti %

K%

Fe %

Na %

Cu %

P%

Cl %

S%

RPMR
RHA

Recycle paper mill residue (RPMR) and the RHA were obtained
from the industries in the vicinity of study location (Nagpur,
India). Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) (43-grade) conforming
to IS 8112-1989 was purchased from a local vendor. Fig. 1
shows the photographs of the raw materials procured. The
RPMR was added to varying proportions of RHA (weight basis)
and cement (Table 1). The characterization of RPMR and RHA
has been carried out. Various batches of mix of RPMR, cement

Ca %

Materials and methods

O%

2.

Table 3 Elemental analysis of RPMR.

reduced thermal conductivity and increased acceptable compressive strength. Demir et al. [4] investigated the utilization
potential of Kraft pulp production residues in clay bricks. Due
to the organic nature of pulp residue, the authors investigated
the pore-forming ability in the clay bricks by increasing the
amount of residue from 0% to 10% by weight and mixing it
with the clay mixture for making bricks. Furthermore, the
authors also investigated the effect of increasing the pulp
residue on shaping, plasticity, density and mechanical properties. They demonstrated that 2.55% residue additions were
effective for the pore forming in the clay bricks with acceptable mechanical properties in accordance with the requirements of Turkish Standards.
In 2007, the worldwide production of rice husk was
estimated to be 130 million tons with China and India alone
accounting for more than half of the entire production [5].
This enormous amount of rice husk is difficult to manage in
an effective way primarily because it has very low nutritional
value and cannot be used as animal feed, it takes a long time
to degrade and is not suitable to use as compost [6]. Often
times the rice husk is landfilled or used as a supplementary
fuel in a kiln which in turn generates rice husk ash (RHA).
Depending on the incineration temperature the RHA could
have as much as 8095% reactive silica [7]. When RHA is
mixed with cement and water, it forms calcium silicate
hydrate gel by consuming calcium hydroxide during the
hydration of cement. Saraswathy and Song [8] reported that
incorporating 25% RHA in concrete results in better corrosion
control with reduced chloride penetration, decreased permeability and increased strength. Off-white RHA (OWRHA) which
is considered an improvement over traditional RHA because
it has no crystalline SiO2 or toxic metal can improve concrete
compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and overall
performance just at 15% replacement level [9]. These studies
have demonstrated the effectiveness of RHA in producing
high strength concrete.
The present research work focuses on development of bricks
using RPMRRHAcement combinations, which would be useful
for the sustainable development of the brick-construction
industry. In order to manufacture the bricks under laboratory
conditions, a low-cost, hand operated mixing and molding
machine was specially designed and fabricated. Optimal composition of the bricks with respect to RPMRRHAcement
compositions was determined using various proportions by
evaluating the physical, chemical and mechanical properties.
Most of the performance tests recommended by the Indian
Standards were performed to make sure that the bricks conform
to the standards stipulated for conventional burned clay bricks.

Zr %

archives of civil and mechanical engineering 13 (2013) 269275

271

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archives of civil and mechanical engineering 13 (2013) 269275

with varying amount of RHA were prepared. Sixty (60)

samples, each comprising of varying percentage of RPMR,
RHA and cement were prepared (Table 2). Sample set A has,
80% RPMR, 10% RHA and 10% of cement by weight, sample
set B has 75% RPMR, 15% RHA and 10% cement by weight
whereas sample set C has 70% RPMR, 20% RHA and 10% of
cement by weight. All sample compositions were prepared
with uniform consistency (2271%). The RPMR weight percentage in the final composition of the mix was observed to be in
the range of 7080%.

3.

Test methods

The compressive strength of bricks was determined using

Compression Testing Machine (CTM). Three samples of
each composition were subjected to a compressive strength
test, and the average strengths were recorded. Compressive
strength test, water absorption test and efflorescence were
performed according to IS 3495 (Part 13): 1992. Physical
properties such as specific weight, voidage and equilibrium
moisture content and dimension change on drying were
determined following the IS 1077:1992 guidelines. Block
density and moisture movement for the hollow and solid
blocks were measured according to the IS: 2185(Part 1): 1979.

4.

Results and discussion

4.1.

Characterization of RPMR and RHA

Elemental analysis (Table 3) shows that pozzolanic silica

content in RPMR and RHA were 60.57% and 34.46% respectively. Pozzolanic silica participates in pozzolanic reaction to
form cementitious material. Heavy metals copper (Cu), strontium (Sr), zirconium (Zr) and manganese (Mn) were present
in traces (less than 0.1%). Therefore, the possibility of leaching heavy metals is insignificant. From proximate analysis
(Table 4) it is observed that RPMR mainly contains ash (40.6%)
and volatile materials (44.7%). Silica present in RPMR appears
as ash, whereas, short length carbonaceous material like
paper fibers contributes to high volatile content. The presence of carbonaceous material (22.7%) is confirmed by
ultimate analysis (Table 5). 23.6% oxygen content is due to
presence of oxides of various components.
Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) of RPMR was carried out
to measure the amount and rate of change in the weight of a
material as a function of temperature or time in a controlled
atmosphere. Measurements were used primarily to predict
thermal stability at temperatures up to 1000 1C. The results
from thermogravimetric analyses are usually reported in the
form of curves relating the mass loss from the sample against
temperature. In this form the temperature at which certain

processes begin and are completed are graphically demonstrated. TGA curve obtained from heating a sample of RPMR
from 30 1C to 1000 1C is shown in Fig. 1. The curve shows the
loss in weight that occurred at different temperatures.
According to the TG curves shown in Fig. 2, RPMR samples
showed the mass loss of 45% between 29 1C and 300 1C. It
should be noted that this mass loss was observed on the
samples which were not thermally pre-treated. This curve
reveals the appearance of three distinct mass loss regions.
The first loss (7.5%) occurred between 30 1C and 280 1C which
is premature loss and could be attributed to the removal of
superficial water molecules that may be present in the solid
pores. The second mass loss occurs beyond 280 1C where the
material gets thermally degraded and gets sintered. Based on
the TG curves, it can be concluded that the bricks made from
RPMR can withstand at the minimum of 300 1C. The third
mass loss beyond 300 1C is due to combustion of solid organic
matter present in RPMR.
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) (Fig. 2) measures
Specific Heat Capacity, Heat of Transition, Temperature of
Phase Changes and Melting Points. In the present case DSC
thermal analysis was carried out to determine the phase
change. DSC measures the rate of heat flow. DSC compares
differences between the heat flow rate of the test sample and
known reference materials. Vertical axis denotes rate of heat
liberated per unit mass of RPMR (mW/mg). From TGA and
DSC second mass loss coincides with maximum heat liberated. It confirms that phase change of RPM takes place at
280 1C and it gets thermally degraded.
The diffraction patterns shown in Fig. 3 were obtained
by continuously scanning from 201 to 801 as 2y angle. The
diffractograms of virgin (0%) and varying composition of
cement mixed RPMR material shows that the samples exhibited amorphous patterns based on small reflection angles
and 2y peaks between 251 and 301 which is a typical characteristic of commercial cement (43 grade). The nature of
materials did not show any significant change even after
different amounts of cement were added to RPMR (520 %wt).
X-ray diffraction analyses were also performed to identify
amorphous or crystalline silica of RHA. A qualitative assessment of the crystallinity of the samples can be ascertained
from the intensity of the narrow reflections as compared to
the broad band around 221 (2y) as shown in Fig. 4. The intense
broad peak observed for the RHA samples indicates the
amorphous nature of silica.
SEM monograph (Fig. 5) for RPMR clearly indicate the
presence of irregular pores and fibrous nature of RPMR. The
Table 5 Ultimate analysis of RPMR.
Sr. no.

Wt. (g)

C%

H%

N%

S%

O%

1.

420

22.7

2.5

0.3

0.4

23.6

Table 4 Proximate analysis of RPMR.

Sr. no.

Wt. (g)

Moist %

Ash %

Volatile materials %

Free carbon %

GCV kJ/kg

1.

420

5.8

40.6

44.7

8.9

9924.4

archives of civil and mechanical engineering 13 (2013) 269275

273

Fig. 2 TG-DTA of RPMR.

Intensity (A.U)

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%

(3550 mm) appearing in parallel rows. It is evidenced from

SEM monograph that RHA has porous and amorphous structure with a good amount of active silica.

4.2.

20

40

60

80

2 theta

Fig. 3 XRD pattern of RPMRcement (020%wt).

Counts

300

200

100

0
20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

2 Theta

Fig. 4 Broad peak at 2h 22 1C shows amorphous, active

silica, RHA (450 1C, 12 h).
RPMR holds the moisture in the pores and the fibrous
structure of RPMR encapsulates the moisture thereby creating a barrier for moisture to move towards the surface. Fibers
of RPMR are intern woven and spread uniformly in the RPMR
RHAcement mix that gives better deformability and hence
energy absorption. Presence of pozzolonic silica in RHA and
RPMR gives higher binding property and hence compressive
strength.
SEM monographs of RHA sample (Fig. 6) indicate more
porous structure of active silica. SEM monograph also
shows the regular spherical structure of almost equal size

Brick analysis

Three brick samples each from A, B and C compositions were

used for conducting the compressive strength tests. Additional three samples were also used for conducting the
specific weight, voidage, and water absorption tests. The test
results shown in Table 6 indicate that the bricks conform to
the minimum compressive strength requirements stipulated
in IS 1077 (Part 1):1992.
Initial moisture content of RPMR is approximately 75%.
The final moisture content of the brick is approximately 10%.
On drying, the space occupied by moisture is occupied by air.
Voidage fraction is the ratio of volume occupied by the
dry solid (dry RPMRRHAcement) to the total volume of
the dry brick (length  breadth  height). From the results it is
observed that with increase in RHA proportion the voidage
fraction decreases. It was also observed that voidage of the
brick sample increased with an increase in RPMR content.
Voidage fraction impacts water absorption property of
brick. For water absorption test, brick is sample is soaked in
water for 24 h. Water molecules enter into the bulk of the
brick and occupy the void. It is observed that with decrease
in voidage fraction from 0.2 to 0.1, the water absorption
decreases from 100% to 61%. Thus with increase in proportion of RHA, voidage fraction and % water absorption
decreases. Swelling of bricks i.e. dimension change on water
absorption is less in RHARPMRcement brick than in RHA
cement. RHA acts as filler.
It is also observed that with increase in RHA, volume
change on drying decreases. The reason for decrease in
dimensions on drying is removal of almost 60% moisture
on drying (initial moisture content 77% and final moisture
content is 10%). Hence when moisture is removed by drying
the brick shrinks and volume of the brick decreases.

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archives of civil and mechanical engineering 13 (2013) 269275

Fig. 5 SEM monograph of virgin RPMR sample.

Fig. 6 SEM monograph of RHA sample.

The probable reason for decrease of voidage fraction,

decrease of % water absorption and decrease in volume change
with increase in % RHA is that, RHA acts as a filler material.
Moisture content of dry brick samples of A, B, and C was
observed in the range of 612%. The plus/minus bracket in
Table 6 stands for the maximum/minimum from the results
on three samples per test per used material. Moisture content
of sample A in Table 6 is reported as 872%, it means that
moisture contents of three samples of A varies between 6%
and 10%. The higher water absorption for bricks with higher
RPMR content is due to the voids.
Specific weight of RPMRcement is 0.65 g/cc. RHA is lighter
than RPMR hence with increase in proportion of RHA, specific
weight of RPMRRHAcement brick decreases. Thus with
increase in proportion of RHA, bricks become lighter. Specific
weight of burnt clay brick is 1.7 g/cc.
Pozzolanic activity of RHA is also explored in the present work. Compressive strength of RPMRcement brick is
9.9 MPa. Keeping cement proportion constant at 10% when
RHA was added to RPMR, the overall compressive strength
of RPMRRHAcement brick was increased and found to
be more than 11 MPa in all the three samples. All brick
samples had excellent compressive strength (1115 MPa)
which is nearly five times higher than the compressive
strength of the conventional burnt clay brick (370.5 MPa).
The bricks under compressive strength test shrunk but did

not break indicating greater tolerance for failure due to

rupture.
Though the overall compressive strength of RPMRRHA
cement is higher than RPMRcement brick, it is observed that
with increase in proportion of RHA in RPMRRHAcement
brick, the compressive strength decreases. The probable
reason is the different nature of RPMR and RHA. RPMR is
fibrous in nature whereas RHA is porous powder. Higher
proportion of RHA impacts the rheology of RHARPMR and
yields non-homogeneous mixture. As gm RHA/gm dry RPMR
increases the degree of homogeneity decrease which adversely
affects compressive strength.
Another factor influencing compressive strength is amount
of fibrous material in raw material. From sample A to C
amount of fibrous material decreases from 80% to 70%. RHA
and cement are non fibrous materials. Therefore, compressive
strength of A (80% fiber: 20% non-fiber) was observed to be
15 MPa whereas that of C (70% fiber: 30% non-fiber) is 11.9 MPa.
Thus compressive strength is directly proportional to fibrous
material present.
Results of the water absorption test indicated water absorption was directly proportional to the RPMR content. This
could be attributed to the high voidage and cellulosic nature
of the RPMR. Water absorption increased by almost 100%
(by mass) as the RPMR content increased from 70% to 80%.
The high water absorption of RPMR can be reduced by
applying water proof coating over the brick surface without
compromising other physical and mechanical properties of
the brick material.
RHA acts as filler and pozzolanic material. At higher
proportion of RHA predominantly acts as filler materials and
at lower proportion predominantly as pozzolanic material.

5.

Conclusion

The physical and mechanical properties of brick samples

prepared from paper pulp, rice husk ash and cement were
investigated under laboratory condition. It is concluded from
the results that the RPMRRHAcement combination can be
potentially used in the production of new brick material. The
new brick material resulting from the varying composition of
RPMRRHA was observed to be lighter and weighing nearly
50% less compared to the conventional bricks. The brick
composition with RPMR (7080%), RHA (1020%) and cement

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archives of civil and mechanical engineering 13 (2013) 269275

Table 6 Brick testing results.

Sample

Volume of RPMR, cm3

Volume of cement, cm3
Volume of RHA, cm3
Volume of solid, cm3
Voidage, %
Specific wt., g/cm3
Dimension change on drying, %
g cement/g dry RPMR
g RHA/g dry RPMR
Moisture content of the bricks, %
Compressive strength, MPa
Water absorption, %
Dimension change on water absorption, %
Density of brick, g/cm3
Efflorescence

1076.2
28.44
298.66
1403.3
0.20270.01
0.5570.02
671
0.125
0.125
7.9272
15.0070.5
100.5275
771
0.58870.01
NIL

1009
28.44
448
1485.44
0.15670.01
0.6470.02
571
0.133
0.20
10.9372
14.8470.5
85.475
671
0.5670.01
NIL

942
28.44
597.33
1567.77
0.10970.01
0.5670.02
4.571
0.143
0.28
9.4072
11.9070.5
61.275
671
0.5470.01
NIL

(10%) demonstrated high compressive strength of 1115 MPa,

which is five times greater than the compressive strength of
the conventional burnt clay bricks (3 MPa) (IS 1077:1992)
and as such the newly brick meets and surpasses the
requirements of IS 3495 (Part 1): 1992 for building materials
generally used in the indoor structural applications. With
further increase in the amount of RHA beyond 10% did not
yield any appreciable improvement in the physical and
mechanical properties of the bricks. Instead, increase of
RHA amount beyond 20% resulted in significant deterioration
of the quality of the brick. The bricks were observed to be
highly fragile with very low binding strength. In summary,
after testing 60 samples each of three different compositions,
results suggests that the optimum mix, both in terms of the
strength parameters and overall physico-chemical characteristics will be 80% RPMR, 10% RHA and 10% cement.

Acknowledgment
The authors are thankful to the funding agency, Department
of Science and Technology, Government of India for the
ongoing project. Authors would also like to acknowledge
Dr. B.D. Kulkarni (Distinguished Scientist, CSIR, India) and
Dr. S.S. Bhagade, (Retd. Prof. LIT, Nagpur, India) for constructive technical inputs and Prof. H.T. Thorat and Mr. Mayur Birla
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, VNIT, Nagpur, India)
for designing the brick moulding and mixing machine.

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