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Performance of industrial sludge-amended bricks manufactured in

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Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-020-01080-9

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Performance of industrial sludge‑amended bricks manufactured

in conventional kilns
S. M. Habib Ullah1 · Mehedi Hasan1 · Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad1 · Tanvir Ahmed1 

Received: 2 November 2019 / Accepted: 9 July 2020

© Springer Japan KK, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
Dyeing sludge (DS) from textile industries are toxic in nature and have the potential to become a serious environmental bur-
den for Bangladesh due to lack of safe disposal options. The huge brick manufacturing industry of Bangladesh is a potential
avenue for sludge disposal as well as stabilization of DS through incorporation in clay bricks. We performed experiments to
assess the engineering properties (strength, water absorption, firing shrinkage, weight loss on ignition and bulk density) of
sludge-amended clay bricks manufactured in conventional kilns as well as to determine the leaching potential of toxic heavy
metals from such bricks. Results of the tests indicated that the sludge proportion is the key factor in determining the brick
quality. The compressive strength of DS bricks reduced from 24.5 to 9.93 MPa when DS content increased from 10 to 50%.
Water absorption, weight loss in ignition and total shrinkage varied between 11.4% and 25.3%, 10.8% and 24.7%, 11.6% to
15.3%, respectively, for the same DS% range. 10% DS-amended kiln-manufactured bricks exhibited engineering properties
which were superior to similar bricks tested in lab-scale studies and conformed to Grade A and S bricks as per Bangladesh
Standard (BDS 208). 10% DS bricks also showed minimal loss during drying and burning in the manufacturing process.
The TCLP test results indicated that the leaching concentrations of As, Cr, Cd, Cu and Pb from DS-amended bricks are far
below the USEPA standard limits. Results from this study indicate that textile dyeing sludge can be sustainably stabilized
in clay bricks manufactured in traditional brick kilns in Bangladesh.

Keywords  Dyeing sludge · Clay bricks · Compressive strength · TCLP

Introduction
Exports of textiles, clothing, and  ready-made gar-
ments (RMG) are the principal source of foreign exchange
earnings in Bangladesh accounting for 80% of total national
exports and 15 percent of GDP [1–3]. Textile manufacturing
involves a combination of processes including dyeing, print-
ing, finishing, bleaching, washing, dry cleaning, weaving
slashing/sizing, spinning etc. and uses many chemical sub-
stances such as dyes, solvents, optical brighteners, crease-
resistance agents, flame retardants, heavy metals, pesticides,
Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this
article (https​://doi.org/10.1007/s1016​3-020-01080​-9) contains
supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Tanvir Ahmed
tanvirahmed@ce.buet.ac.bd
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University
of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka 1000,
Bangladesh
and antimicrobic agents [4]. There are around 1500 textile
mills (yarn and fabric manufacturing, dyeing–printing–fin-
ishing) in Bangladesh which are estimated to generate 2.82
million ­m 3 wastewater every day [5–8]. Conventional
Effluent Treatment system applying biological–chemical
processes, which is installed in 52% of the dyeing–print-
ing–finishing mills has the potential to generate 1.14 kg solid
sludge per m­ 3 of wastewater [7, 8]. Harmful heavy metals
frequently found in sludge include Cd, Zn, Cu, Cr, Co, Pb,
Mn, Ni, Hg, etc.[4]. Most of these metals are very toxic
because of their non-biodegradable nature, long biological
half-lives and their tendency to accumulate in human and
animal tissues if exposed through various pathways [9–11].
Toxic substances from textile dyeing sludge discarded into
the environment without additional treatment poses risks to
the environment including leaching to groundwater, accu-
mulation in soil and subsequent uptake by plant roots etc.
[12–15]. Landfilling, which is the current practice of dis-
posing textile dyeing sludge in Bangladesh, is now under
increased scrutiny not only because of highly polluting

13
Vol.:(0123456789)

emissions (leaching) from raw sludge in unlined sites, but
also because of the low recovery of energy in landfills, scar-
city of land for new sites and limited capacity of existing
land-fill sites [16, 17].
Several research has been conducted to determine the
potential of stabilizing textile sludge by various means.
Stabilization indicates the process or techniques which
reduce the harmful effect of waste chemically and release
the residual in a safe and environment friendly manner. The
solidified product can be disposed off to a secured land-
fill site or it can be reused as construction materials if the
resulting product meets the specific strength requirement
and the leaching of toxic pollutants within acceptable limits
[18, 19]. Thermal treatment of sludge, which involves incin-
eration, gasification, and pyrolysis as a means of disposal,
can potentially recover energy from waste but the process
can be cost-prohibitive, may contribute to air pollution and
generation of residues though the disposal of this can be
relatively easily accomplished compared to untreated sludge
[20]. Techniques were adopted by several researchers to treat
or stabilize hazardous waste as partial replacement of clay
in fried clay brick and ceramic tiles as well as cement in
concrete and concrete blocks.[21–25]. Laboratory-scale
experiments showed promising results in all of these cases
and confirm that toxic sludge can be successfully stabilized
in construction materials without significantly diminishing
their engineering properties. However, large-scale use of
such industrial sludge can be recommended if similar per-
formance can be obtained under field conditions. Using very
limited samples prepared in kilns, Juel et al. [26] showed
that tannery sludge-amended bricks conforms to the desired
engineering properties of a Grade S brick in Bangladesh.
The brick manufacturing sector in Bangladesh is of sig-
nificant importance to its national interests. Around 7,000
brick kilns produce 23 billion pieces of burnt clay bricks
from around 3 billion cubic feet of topsoil annually which
contributes about 1% of Bangladesh’s GDP [27, 28]. Due
to inadequate supply of stone, brick has become the major
building material for construction industry of the country
and the demand will continue to rise in future. Though
mechanized kilns are entering the market, most kilns still
operate in a conventional manner with involvement of man-
ual labour and low-level workmanship. Recycling the indus-
trial sludge in brick manufacturing appears to be a viable
option as evidenced in laboratory experiments [21, 22, 26],
yet it needs to be explored whether the operating conditions
in the kiln could yield bricks of desirable quality. Further-
more, apart from having favorable engineering properties
and desirable leaching behavior, the viability of wholesale
production of waste-incorporated bricks needs to be investi-
gated. Here in this study, experiments are performed to dem-
onstrate that textile dyeing sludge can be stabilized in clay
bricks manufactured in conventional kilns. Large numbers
13
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management
of clay brick specimens were prepared with different pro-
portions of textile dyeing sludge in field conditions and its
suitability as an engineering material was assessed based on
its strength, deformation, shrinkage and absorption charac-
teristics. The effectiveness of waste stabilization technique
was assessed based on leaching potential of heavy metals in
the environment. And finally, we quantified the damage or
loss of bricks during the production process in kilns under
different proportions of sludge amendment.
Materials and methods
Collection of sludge and clay samples
Sludge samples were collected from the Effluent Treat-
ment Plant (ETP) of Savar Dyeing and Finishing Industries
Ltd, a renowned textile dyeing factory in Savar, within the
Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ). This ETP applies a
chemical and biological treatment process, where Alum [Al
­(SO4)2.18 ­H2O)] and Lime [CaO] are used as coagulants.
Raw sludge cake was collected from the filter press of the
sludge processing unit, conveyed and stored in polythene
bags. Soil samples were collected from Ms. Mir Bricks Ltd.
situated at Sujabad, Shahjanpur, Bogura.
Characteristics of sludge and soil
The characteristics of sludge and soil were evaluated. For
this study, Moisture content of sludge, pH, organic matter,
chemical composition and heavy metals were determined.
Moisture content and pH of raw sludge were determined
using British Standard (BS) 1377 Method [29]. The organic
matter sludge was measured using the Dry Combustion
Technique adopted for measuring organic carbon in soil. The
Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) of sludge–clay mixtures
were determined following AASHTO T-99 Method [30].
Atterberg limits (Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit) and Plastic-
ity Index (an index of plasticity of sludge–clay mixtures)
were determined following ASTM D4318 [31]. The chemi-
cal composition of dyeing sludge and soil was determined
by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) using fundamental parameter
approach. 1 gm of oven-dried sample is mixed with 0.25 gm
of boric acid to make tablets which is placed in HERZOG
Pressing Unit to make 15 mm diameter tablets by applying
40 KN of compressive force for 60 s. Tablet made from pow-
dered sludge and binder was analyzed for elemental compo-
sition in an XRF spectrophotometer (Shimadzu XRF-1800)
and the output is generated in the form of oxides of major
elements. For heavy metal analysis, sample preparation was
carried out according to EPA 3050B with a slight varia-
tion. 5 gm. of dried sample was digested with acid (­ HNO3:
HCl = 1:3 volume ratio) for 24 h. After adding 350-400 ml
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management

distilled water, sample was boiled for 2.5 h and a 500 ml
solution was prepared. Then, solution was filtered through
0.45 µm pore size filter paper and filtrate were collected to
determine the concentration of seven heavy metals (As, Cd,
Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) using Atomic Absorption Spec-
trophotometer (AAS) (Shimadzu AA 6800).
The pH of sludge samples was found 6.9 and so, the
sludge can be regarded as neutral. The moisture content of
the sludge sample was 72%. The organic contents of sludge
were 4.3%. The elemental composition in the form of major
oxides present in sludge and clay to be used for brick manu-
facturing, as determined by XRF, is shown in Table 1. The
compounds of Al and Si have been found to govern the com-
position of both sludge and clay. This confirms that using
textile dyeing sludge will not cause a major change in com-
position of the brick if the clay is partially replaced.
Brick preparation and testing
A set of sludge-incorporated bricks was prepared in Ms. Mir
Bricks Ltd using traditional methods. There are two types of
brick molding process mostly used in Bangladesh, by hand
molding (manual) and by automatic pressed molding. In this
study the sludge-amended clay bricks were hand-molded
using their conventional wooden molds. Then molded brick
samples were kept for 7 days for natural drying. Bricks sam-
ples (length 254 mm, width 127 mm and height 76 mm) of
sludge–clay mixture in varying proportion (10%, 20%, 30%,
40% and 50%) as well as 100% clay bricks (as a reference
specimen) were prepared. 200 brick samples were prepared
for each proportion. The firing temperature of the brick kiln
was 1100 °C. The engineering tests that were conducted on
the bricks are summarized in Table 2.
Leaching test of bricks
The toxicity and leachability tests were carried out to ensure
the environmental compatibility of these fired bricks to be
used as building materials. Toxicity Characteristic Leaching
procedure (TCLP) test of the sludge samples was carried
out according to USEPA 1311 method [37]. In TCLP test,
dried samples are ground and passed through 9.5 mm stand-
ard sieve. An acetic acid solution (0.57% v/v) was added to
samples at a constant ratio of liquid: solid (20:1). The pH of
the extraction fluid was 2.88 ± 0.05. After 18 h rotating with
rotary mixture at 30 ± 2 rpm, the leachate was filtered with
0.45 µm pore size filter paper and analyzed for As, Cd, Cr,
Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn using Atomic Absorption Spectros-
copy (AAS) (Shimadzu AA 6800).
Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
To confirm the existence of pores and compared internal
structure the brick samples were analyzed. First, powdered
brick samples (10 µm) were positioned on a carbon tape.
Then samples were studied with an SEM (JEOL JSM-6490,
USA). Photographs were obtained at an accelerating voltage
of 5.0 kV with a magnification of 2000X.
Results and discussion

Table 1  Chemical composition (dry weight, %) of dyeing sludge and Characteristics of sludge–clay mix
soil
Analyte Result in % Standard The behavior of soil is related to the amount of water in the
brick clay system. The effect of moisture on the plastic behavior of the
Textile sludge Soil sample [32] pulverized materials is evaluated by the Atterberg Limit test
Al2O3 40.2 15.3 30.0 [31]. The results of Atterberg tests of sludge–clay mixture
SiO2 26.2 63.0 55.0 shown in Table 3 indicate that the value of Plasticity Index
SO3 22.0 0.10 0.00 (PI) decreases when sludge content increases in the mix-
CaO 3.82 1.59 1.00 ture. With the increase in sludge content, the plastic nature
P2O5 2.66 0.20 0.00 of the mixture (denoted by the Plastic Limit) is decreased
Fe2O3 2.20 8.79 8.00
MgO 1.42 3.02 5.00
Table 2  Analytical methods for characterization of bricks
TiO2 0.43 1.28 0.00
ZnO 0.32 0.02 0.00 Name of the test Methods References
BaO 0.27 0.00 0.00 Compressive strength ASTM C 67 [33]
Cr2O3 0.18 0.00 0.00 Water absorption ASTM C 67 [33]
K2O 0.16 5.34 0.00 Weight loss on ignition ASTM D 2974–00 [34]
MnO 0.10 0.09 0.00 Firing shrinkage of bricks ASTM C 210–95 [35]
ZrO2 0.00 0.04 0.00 Bulk density ASTM C 20–00 [36]
Leaching test of bricks USEPA 1311 [37]

13
 Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management

Table 3  Effect of moisture Parameters Sludge content (% by dry weight)

content on OMC, Dry density,
Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and 0 10 20 30 40 50
Plasticity Index of sludge-clay
mixtures Optimum moisture content (%) 17.1 22 25 28 32 38
Dry density (gm/cm 3) 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5
Liquid limit (%) 33.6 36.3 38.4 42.2 45.7 48.2
Plastic limit (%) 15.2 18.7 21.4 26.9 33.0 38.0
Plasticity index (%) 18.4 17.6 17.0 15.3 12.6 10.2

Fig. 1  Effect of sludge addition on optimum moisture content and Fig. 2  Average compressive strength of bricks prepared with different
bulk density of mixtures proportions of DS. The error bars indicate the standard deviation of
three samples

which also indicates a decrease in bonding ability. The Plas-

ticity Index of the soil used in brick manufacturing process
is 18.42 (without sludge) and it can be classified as a highly
plastic material. The Plasticity Index of sludge–clay mixture
was 17.6, 17.01, 15.32, 12.63 and 10.21 for sludge propor-
tions of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%, respectively. Accord-
ing to Panjaitan [38], both 10% and 20% DS-amended clay
mixture can be used in brickmaking without losing major
plastic behavior.
Moisture content has the potential to affect the properties
of bricks. Up to a certain point, additional water replaces
air from the soil voids, but after a relatively high degree of
saturation is reached, the water occupies space which would
otherwise be occupied with soil particles [39]. Therefore, an
optimum amount of mixing water in brick manufacturing
process is usually sought which would give the maximum
level of compaction for a given amount of soil sample. This
will result in increased bulk density, lower tendency of water
absorption and eventually higher compressive strength.
The results of the compaction test from Fig. 1 shows that
the Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) increases with the
increase of sludge incorporation into the mixture. On the
other hand, dry density of sludge–clay mixture decreased
with the increase of sludge content to the mixture.
Engineering properties of DS‑amended bricks
The compressive strength test is the key test for ensuring the
engineering quality of a building material. The strength of
a material, in general terms, is its ability to resist forces at
failure. The results of the average compressive strength test
of 3 bricks from each composition are shown in Fig. 2. The
compressive strength of DS incorporated bricks ranged from
101.281 kg/cm2 (9.93 MPa) to 249.92 kg/cm2 (24.5 MPa).
It appears that the content of sludge has a profound effect
on the compressive strength of bricks. Compressive strength
has been found to be inversely proportional to the sludge
content. This implies that the sludge itself has less strength
compared to soil and consequently, reduces the total com-
pressive strength if incorporated in brick raw material. Other
lab-scale studies also showed that compressive strength
reduced with increasing sludge content [23, 40–44]. Con-
sidering the compressive strength requirements stated in
Bangladesh Standard [BDS 208 (2009)] (Table 4), 10% DS

13
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management

bricks can be considered as Grade S category, whereas 20%

and 30% DS bricks can be considered as Grade A category.
40% DS bricks can be considered as Grade B category. 50%
DS brick samples have failed to meet the both ASTM [45]
and Bangladesh standards [46] which set out the minimum
criteria of compressive strength to be at least 87.69 kg/cm2
(8.6 Mpa) and 105 kg/cm2 (10.3 Mpa), respectively.
The degree of firmness and compaction of bricks, as
measured by their water absorption characteristics, vary con-
siderably depending on factors such as the type of clay and
methods of production [47]. Water absorption is a key factor
affecting the durability of brick. If less water infiltrates into
the brick, the more durable it is and hence more resistant to
natural weathering action [48]. Thus, the internal structure
of the brick must have a dense arrangement such that the
intrusion of water is minimized. Figure 3 shows the average
water absorption of 10 brick samples from each type of clay-
sludge composition used in this study. It has been found that
the water absorption of the bricks increased with increased
sludge addition thereby potentially increasing its susceptibil-
ity to weathering action. Water absorption increased from
11.4 to 25.3% when DS proportion was increased from 0 to

Table 4  Specification for common building clay bricks in Bangladesh

according to BDS 208 (2009) [46]
Name of parameters Grade S Grade A Grade B

Compressive strength (MPa)  ≥ 24  ≥ 15  ≥ 10.3

Water absorption (%)  ≤ 10  ≤ 15  ≤ 20
Weight loss on ignition (%)  ≤ 15  ≤ 15  ≤ 15
Firing shrinkage (%)  ≤ 8  ≤ 8  ≤ 8

Fig. 4  SEM images captured at 2000X magnification of a brick with

no DS amendment (control), b 10% DS-amended brick and c 20% DS
-amended brick. The brick without DS amendment shows dense, rela-
tively non-porous internal structure. The bricks with DS amendment
shows a porous internal structure (arrows indicating location of inter-
nal voids)

50% (Fig. 3). Similar trends in water absorption with sludge

Fig. 3  Water absorption of bricks as function of sludge content in the
bricks. The error bars indicate the standard deviation of ten samples
fraction in bricks and other construction materials have been
observed in other studies [39, 48, 49]. Generally, sludge con-
tains high amount of organic content which generates pore
spaces within the brick during firing and these pore spaces
favor water absorption. The DS used in this study had 4.3%
organic content and higher the proportion of DS, larger will
be the pore spaces. SEM analysis shown in Fig. 4 lends evi-
dence in support of the above hypothesis. It can be observed

13
 Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management

Table 5  Comparison of engineering properties of kiln manufactured 10% DS-amended bricks with those from previous studies
Study references Firing Compressive Water absorption Firing shrinkage Weight loss on Bulk density (kg/m3)
temperature strength (MPa) (%) (%) ignition (%)
(oC)

This study 1100 24.5 (4.3% Reduc- 12.8 (12% Incre- 13.2 (14% Incre- 13.3 (23% Incre- 1530
tion) ment) ment) ment)
Textile sludge in 1000 5.5 (30% Reduc- 13 – 4 2100
bricks [43] tion)
Textile sludge in 800 6.5 (44% Reduc- 18 (11%Increment) – – 1600 (13% Reduc-
bricks [25] tion) tion)
Textile sludge in 800 3.65 (44% Reduc- 15.8 (52% Incre- – 7.54 (55% Incre- –
bricks [22] tion) ment) ment)
Tannery sludge 1000 29.6 (25% Reduc- 14.2 (33% Increase) 9.1 (30% Reduc- 10.1 (40% Increase) 1678 (12% Reduc-
in bricks [26] tion) tion) tion)
Tannery sludge in 1000 8 (33% Reduction) 20 (55% Increase) 5 – 1800 (18% Reduc-
ceramic tiles [20] tion)
ETP biosolids in 1020 35 (16% Reduction) 9.1 (15 Increase) 6.5 (32% Reduc- 5.26 (14% Increase) 2075(2.5% Reduc-
bricks [44] tion) tion)
Paper mill sludge 900 12 (45% Reduction) 20 (28% Increase) 4.61 (10% Reduc- 12.43 (45% 1500 (23.7% Reduc-
in bricks [52] tion) Increase) tion)
Electroplating 950 15–17 (35–40% 7–11 (15–20% 2.5–5.2 (70–120% 5.5–11 (10% 2100–2300 (3–8%
sludge [21] Reduction) Increase) Increase) Increase) Reduction)

The values in parenthesis denotes the deviation of the corresponding property with respect to the control

that control brick (0% DS) had smooth and denser inner
structure than the 10% and 20% DS-amended bricks. The
pores generated due to high organic content in the sludge
may have favored water absorption. In case of bricks con-
taining 10% DS, water absorption was 12.8%. According to
the criterion of water absorption of bricks stated in Bangla-
desh Standards (Table 4), bricks made with 10% sludge can
be regarded as Grade A category bricks, while 20%, 30% and
40% DS incorporated brick fall in category B.
The brick weight loss on ignition not only depends on the
organic matter content in the clay, but also on the inorganic
substance in both clay and sludge being burnt off during the
firing process [50]. The effect of sludge content on average
weight loss is shown in Fig. 5. It was found that the weight
loss of bricks increased as percent of sludge increased. The
control bricks showed the lowest weight loss of 10.8%, while
the 50% sludge-incorporated bricks showed the highest
weight loss of 24.7%. This weight loss could be due to the Fig. 5  Weight loss of bricks on ignition as function of sludge content
in the bricks. The error bars indicate the standard deviation of ten
combustion and decomposition of the organic and inorganic samples
matter present in both the sludge and clay during the firing
process [39, 48]. Normally, the weight loss criterion for a
clay brick is ≤ 15% for both AASHTO and BDS standard DS bricks continued the increasing trend which lends us
[30, 46]. In this regard, bricks incorporating 10%, 20% and to believe that with the exception of those two points, the
30% sludge met the weight loss criteria. However, it needs results are reasonable and realistic.
to be mentioned that bricks having 30% and 40% DS in our Shrinkage in bricks occurs as chemically and mechan-
study did not follow the general trend of weight loss with ically bound water is lost during firing [50]. It is very
increased DS. This could be due to a non-homogenous mix similar to the weight loss in ignition parameter; the only
of clay and sludge or variation in burning temperature in difference is that firing shrinkage measures the volumetric
the kilns. However, the weight loss corresponding to 50% deformation of bricks during firing or drying stages of

13
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management

Fig. 6  Shrinkage of bricks as function of sludge content in the bricks. Fig. 7  Bulk density of the bricks as function of sludge content in the
The error bars indicate the standard deviation of ten samples bricks. The error bars indicate the standard deviation of ten samples

production, while the other is a measure of weight loss reduction) as the DS content increased from 0 to 50%. This
though the reasons for shrinkage can also cause weight finding is closely associated with  the quantity of water
loss of bricks. High shrinkage is an undesirable property absorbed for brick of different DS amendments. Higher
for any kind of engineering material. Figure 6 shows the water absorption indicates larger pore size than the one with
average volumetric shrinkage of 10 brick samples due lower water absorption, which results in lower bulk density.
to firing as a function of different sludge content. Aver- Lightweight bricks have a good potential in construction for
age shrinkage increased slightly (11.6–15.3%) with the their lower dead load, ease in handling and savings in cost
increase of sludge addition up to 30% but decreased with in transportation. Bricks with low bulk density also possess
higher sludge content. There could be two possible rea- good thermal insulation property. However, the presence of
sons for the decreasing trend. First, the decreasing trend larger pore structure and consequently higher absorption
obtained here may be due to non-plastic nature of dried may outweigh the benefits of the lightweight bricks which
sludge. Rhodes and Hopper [50] reported that low plastic can be obtained for 20% or higher DS amendments. Figure 8
soil shrinks less than high plastic soil. Incorporation of shows that the appearance of the brick changes from dark
higher DS in bricks reduced the overall plasticity Index of reddish to light reddish with increased % DS.
the mixture which was evident in Table 3. Up to 30% DS From the results it can be seen that 10% DS-amended
in the mixture, the PI did not reduce appreciably (PI goes bricks showed the best performance if compressive strength
from 18.4 to 15.32), whereas with further incorporation
of DS beyond 30% there was a significant reduction in
PI. This trend is in conformity with the shrinkage results.
Second, the decreasing trend obtained here may be due
to expansion in the bricks during the firing stage. Bricks
incorporated with sludge could release more gases com-
pared to control bricks due to burning of organic matter,
generating voids which caused a net expansion within the
sludge–clay matrix and eventually resulting in a lower net
volumetric shrinkage compared to the 30% DS-amended
bricks [42].
The average bulk density for different DS-amended
bricks is shown in Fig. 7. An inverse relationship was found
between the bulk density of the DS-amended bricks and
the amount of sludge added in the mixture. In this study, Fig. 8  Kiln-manufactured sludge-amended bricks (sludge content
bulk density decreased from 1.53 to 1.35 gm/cm3 (11.5% increases from left to right)

13

is considered the most significant parameter (only 4.3%
reduction from the control brick). Although according to
the compressive strength and loss in ignition criteria, the
10% DS-amended brick can be considered a Grade S brick
in Bangladesh, the water absorption and shrinkage criteria
downgrades it into a Grade A brick. However, this deficiency
may be disregarded in this case, since the control bricks did
not pass the Grade S brick criteria for those parameters. In
Table 5, we compare the results from this study with simi-
lar studies conducted in the laboratories. The comparison
has been made for the parameters obtained for 10% sludge
amendment which all studies found to be the optimum pro-
portion. The compressive strength of textile sludge bricks in
lab-scale experiments has been found to be 3.65–6.5 MPa
which does not seem to satisfy the minimum criteria of clay
bricks according to BDS208 (2009). On the contrary, kiln-
manufactured bricks showed significantly better compres-
sive strength (24.5 MPa). Previous studies found 30–44%
reduction in strength from the control case, whereas kiln-
manufactured bricks in this study showed significantly less
strength deterioration (4.3% reduction from control) for
similar sludge amendments. The firing temperature in the
kilns is significantly higher than what was used in the labo-
ratory-scale studies. Bhatnagar and Goel [51] reported that
the compressive strength of bricks was proportional with
the firing temperature. Water absorption has been found to
be within 7–20% in previous experiments though the depar-
ture from the control has been found to vary significantly
(11–55% increase). In our experiments, the increase in water
absorption was moderate (12%). The deviation of ignition
loss in kiln-manufactured bricks is also near the lower range
of similar laboratory-scale studies (10–55%). The effect
of sludge amendment on firing shrinkage appears to have
shown different trends in literature depending on the type
of sludge used. In general, all the engineering properties
for kiln-manufactured bricks showed relatively moderate
change from the control due to DS amendment compared
to those from most lab-scale studies. However, it may be
noted that the bulk density did not alter appreciably between
the control and 10% DS samples which indicates that the
departure of engineering properties between the two will not
likely be high. Some bricks prepared in the lab-scale showed
deviations in bulk density when sludge is added which might
contribute to drastic changes in their engineering properties.
These results indicate that DS amendment can be encour-
aged in manufacturing bricks in kilns.
Loss of bricks during drying and burning
The number of bricks lost (by splitting or breaking) dur-
ing drying and burning in the manufacturing process may
have significant implications in the sustainability of the
prospect of sludge addition as it will dictate the overall
13
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management
Fig. 9  Percent of bricks lost during drying and burning with different
sludge–clay composition
economy of operation. Around 200 bricks from each
sludge–clay ration were molded (including 200 number
of clay bricks), dried in the open and burnt in the kiln.
The number of bricks that were damaged by splitting
apart and breaking during the processes were counted.
It was observed that pure clay bricks underwent a total
8.67% loss in the process. However, as sludge addition is
increased, the fraction of bricks lost increased. For 50%
DS bricks, the total loss amounted to 36.4% of the brick
samples which is significant (Fig. 9). This might be due to
the change in plastic behavior of the sludge–clay mix from
plastic to non-plastic state with increased sludge addition
which can be also seen in Table 3. Bricks with non-plastic
mixture have less bonding capacity resulting in splitting.
The total loss during burning was higher than that during
drying and it was significantly higher for 40% DS and 50%
DS Bricks. Total loss in 10% DS Bricks was slightly above
10% which can be deemed acceptable.
Environmental aspects of sludge‑amended bricks
Considering the potential risk from all heavy metals, the
land application of raw sludge cannot be advised universally,
and stabilization methods need to be adopted to prevent their
leaching into the environment. The Toxicity Characteris-
tics Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test is designed to identify
wastes that are likely to leach hazardous concentrations of
toxic constituents into the groundwater. During the TCLP
test, constituents are extracted from the waste to simulate
leaching actions that occur in landfills. If the concentra-
tion of the toxic constituents exceeds the regulatory limit,
the waste is classified as hazardous. The leaching analysis
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management

Table 6  TCLP test results of Heavy metal Raw sludge 0% DS 10% DS 20% DS 30% DS 40% DS 50% DS USEPA
raw DS and DS amended bricks ­standarda
(all results in mg/L)
As 0.23 0.02 0.017 0.014 0.014 0.013 0.01 5
Cd 0.15 0.01 0.013 0.013 0.019 0.02 0.027 0.11
Cr 1.8 0.031 0.044 0.045 0.071 0.08 0.082 0.60
Cu 0.61 0.08 0.088 0.196 0.515 0.669 0.106 –
Ni 0.22 n. d n. d n. d n. d n. d n. d 11
Pb 0.26 0.008 0.008 0.041 0.041 0.041 0.046 0.75
Zn 0.5 0.38 0.34 0.33 0.26 0.21 0.168 4.3

n.d not detected; Detection limit for Ni is > 0.035 mg/l

a
 Universal Treatment Standard for non-wastewater (in mg/L TCLP), USEPA Publication 40 CFR Ch. I
(7–1–19 Edition), Part 268 (Land Disposal Restrictions)

according to USEPA 1311 from sludge-amended bricks is
given in Table 6. The leaching concentration of Ni from
sludge-amended bricks were far below detectable levels.
Though other metals such as Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu and As leached
from sludge-amended bricks, the concentrations are far
below the USEPA regulatory limits. Most heavy metals
leached significantly lower in DS-amended bricks compared
to raw sludge indicating that toxic metals can be stabilized
in bricks. Therefore, it can be concluded that sludge-incor-
porated bricks can be widely used in construction without
causing any significant environmental hazard even after end
of life cycle of these bricks.
Conclusion
The effect of incorporation of textile dyeing industry
sludge in clay bricks manufactured in traditional kilns
has been assessed based on their physical and mechani-
cal properties as well as on their environmental aspects.
Compressive strength has been found to be inversely pro-
portional to the sludge content and water absorption of the
bricks increased with increased sludge addition potentially
increasing its susceptibility to weathering action. It was
found that the weight loss on ignition of bricks increased
as percent of sludge increased, while total shrinkage
increased with the increase of sludge addition up to 30%
but decreased with higher sludge content. 10% sludge
amendment generated good quality bricks with desirable
engineering properties according to Bangladesh standards.
The compressive strength of bricks has been found to be
significantly higher than those in lab-scale studies using
textile sludge. Keeping in mind that quality of raw materi-
als and firing temperature can affect compressive strength
of bricks, these results indicate that sludge amendment
can reliably be practiced in kiln manufacturing. Increased
loss of bricks during manufacturing with increased DS
proportion is a cause for concern, and therefore, the mix
proportion should be kept reasonably low (around 10%).
The leaching of toxic metals in the environment has been
found to be negligible with no concern for environmen-
tal hazard. In Bangladesh, currently around 36 MT textile
ETP sludge is being generated every year [6]. With strin-
gent enforcement of regulations in future compelling more
industries to install ETPs, the handling and disposal of
sludge will become a concern. The huge demand for bricks
in Bangladesh, which drives the growth of brick industries
in the country, creates a potential avenue for sludge recy-
cling. This study shows that the conventional technique
of manufacturing bricks in kilns in Bangladesh generates
suitable quality bricks for all-purpose construction with
the addition of textile sludge in the mix. Furthermore, it
provides an opportunity to stabilize toxic waste and pre-
vent environmental hazard.
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