Engineers create energy-smart, sustainable bricks from waste [Video]

Engineers at RMIT University have developed energy-efficient bricks that can reduce electricity bills by 5 percent. For manufacturers, that means saving up to 20 percent on firing temperatures by replacing clay with waste materials in brick production.

To develop these bricks RMIT engineers collaborated with Australia’s largest recycling company, Visy. They recycle 512,000 tons of glass containers and bottles and remanufacture them into 3.2 billion bottles and jars every year.

Energy-smart bricks made of glass dust and ash

When it comes to ingredients, they used unwanted materials destined for waste disposal, such as waste glass, those small pieces, and combustion byproducts. As substitutes for clay, they used a minimum of 15 percent waste glass and 20 percent combusted solid waste or ash. Team lead …