Incorporation of ash from sugar cane bagasse into clay bricks

Abstract

In the county of Campos dos Goytacazes, north of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, there is a large production of sugar, in which the sugar cane bagasse is used to generate power in boilers.This work has for objective to incorporate sugar cane bagasse ash into clay bricks, another important industrial activity of the county. Characterization of the ash was done by chemical composition, particle size distribution, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Ceramic mixtures with 0, 5, 10 and 20 wt.% of ash were prepared. Specimens were fabricated by extrusion and then fired in an industrial furnace at 970°C.Technological properties such as plasticity, water absorption, linear shrinkage and flexural strength were evaluated. Microstructural evaluation was also performed by X-ray diffraction and SEM. The results showed that the bagasse ash is predominantly composed of quartz.The ash addition made the workability easier and increased the porosity after firing. It was concluded that the incorporation of sugar cane bagasse ash into clay bricks fired at 970°C can be done up to a limit of 5 wt.%.