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Recycling of stone cutting sludge in formulations of bricks and terrazzo tiles

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 Waste Management & Research
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Recycling of stone cutting sludge in formulations of bricks and terrazzo tiles

Kamel Al-Zboon, Montasser Tahat, Ziad S.H. Abu-Hamatteh and Mohammad S. Al-Harahsheh
Waste Manag Res 2010; 28; 568 originally published online Oct 16, 2009;
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X09350246

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ISSN 0734–242X
Waste Management & Research
2010: 28: 568–574
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X09350246

Recycling of stone cutting sludge in formulations

of bricks and terrazzo tiles
Kamel Al-Zboon, Montasser Tahat
Al-Huson University College, Al-Balqa’ Applied University, Al-Huson-Irbid, Jordan

Ziad S.H. Abu-Hamatteh

Faculty of Engineering Technology, Al-Balqa’ Applied University, Amman, Jordan

Mohammad S. Al-Harahsheh
College of Mining and Environmental Engineering, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma’an, Jordan

This study examines the possibility for enhancing the use of stone cutting sludge waste in the production of building bricks and
terrazzo tiles, which would reduce both the environmental impact and the production costs. Stone cutting wastes in the form
of sludge is currently generated at several factories in Jordan. At the Samara factory, incorporation of the sludge in the batch
formulations of bricks and terrazzo tiles was examined. The physicochemical and mineralogical characteristics of the sludge
were analyzed to identify the major components. Results indicated that the sludge generated from stone cutting could be used
in producing concrete bricks. Mixtures of aggregates with added amounts of sludge were used successfully to produce non-load
bearing bricks. Sludge was also used to produce terrazzo tiles and the results indicate that the transverse strength, water absorp-
tion and tile measurements, for all the taken samples, comply with Jordanian standards. The transverse strength decreased while
water absorption increased as the sludge ratio increased.

Keywords: sludge, stone cutting waste, terrazzo tiles, building bricks, slurry, recycle, clean, Jordan

Introduction
In recent decades, the growing consumption and the conse- the public sanitary system (Ammary 2007). The factories cur-
quent increase of industrial production has led to a fast rently hold the generated sludge in open or closed basins for
decrease of the available natural resources such as raw mate- 2–3 weeks based on the quantity of sludge and the volume of
rials and energy sources. On the other hand, large volumes basins. During holding, the sludge loses significant amounts
of production rejects or sub-products are generated, which of water by evaporation especially during hot seasons. At the
are not recycled (Ferreira et al. 2004). As a result of a chronic same time, the suspended particles settle and condense in
shortage of building materials, civil engineers have been the bottom of the basin, which increase the sludge density.
challenged to convert such industrial wastes to useful build- The sludge in the settling basins eventually has to be trans-
ing and construction materials (Turgut & Algin 2007). ported by trucks and disposed off in a sanitary landfill. In
Stone-cutting industries produce large amounts of solid order to hold a high quantity of sludge, the factories are
waste world-wide, which are expected to increase further as forced to construct larger volume of basins, which increase
world production by the stone and marble industries increases the capital cost of the factory. The sludge produced through
annually at high rates. At present, stone-cutting factories the cutting and working of stone is still considered an inert
generate high quantities of sludge, which increase the opera- waste product. Once it has satisfied the required criteria for
tion costs and decrease profits. The generated sludge from acceptance, it is given to authorized waste dump (Colombo
stone-cutting factories is prohibited from being discharged to et al. 2008).

Corresponding author: Kamel Al-Zboon, Al-Huson University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, PO Box 50, Al-Huson-Irbid 21510 Jordan.
E-mail: [email protected]
Received 6 December 2008; accepted in revised form 3 September 2009

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 Recycling stone cutting sludge in bricks and terrazzo tiles

As a result of environmental and economical parameters, layer, quartz, marble and colours are not used. The thickness
recycling sludge in construction sectors is the focus of much of the upper layer is determined according to the Jordanian
on-going study. For utilizing waste stone and stone powder standards (> 7 mm), while the thickness of the bottom layer
sludge generated from quarry and cutting processes, the ranges from 2–3 cm depending on the tile’s dimensions
Korea Institute of Geology has developed manufacturing (MPWH, 1985).
technologies for artificial stone plate as a building material The strength of bricks and tiles vary from region to region
with firing method and hydrothermal synthesis (Park & Chung and depends on the nature of the available soil, size of aggre-
1996). gate, strength and shape of raw materials. Strength also var-
Use of textile effluent treatment plant sludge has been ies between factories based on the technique adopted for
suggested in many building materials such as hollow bricks, mouldings. Type of mortar and mix proportion is another
solid bricks, cement concrete flooring tiles and pavement important factor, which determines the strength. Jordanian
blocks (Balasubramanian et al. 1995). Weng et al. (2003) inves- specifications state that the amount of cement used to produce
tigated the possibility of producing bricks from dried sludge bricks and tiles should be not less than 200 kg m–3. The mini-
collected from an industrial wastewater treatment plant and mum required strength for load and non-load bearing con-
found that the sludge proportion and the firing temperature crete bricks should not be less than 35 kg cm–2 and 70 kg cm–2,
were the two key factors determining the brick quality. Sev- respectively. The minimum transverse strength for terrazzo
eral researchers studied the possibility of using sludge gener- tiles is 30 kg cm–2 (MPWH, 1985).
ated from municipal wastewater treatment plant in produc-
ing clay bricks. They obtained good results concerning Materials and methods
strength and water absorption, but the main problem is the Sludge characteristics
presence of biodegradable material in the sludge, which may In order to understand the influence of the incorporation of
cause voids and weight loss in bricks (Valls et al. 2004, Abdul stone cutting sludge as a raw material for bricks and terrazzo
et al. 2004, Lin & Weng 2001, Slim & Wakefield 1991, Tay tile production, samples of sludge were collected and ana-
1986, Alleman & Berman 1984). lyzed for general characterization. Analyzed characteristics
Stone-cutting sludge has been used to improve the charac- included water content for slurry sludge, sieve analysis, den-
teristics of agricultural soils enriching them with potassium, sity, total solid (TS), total volatile solid (TVS), silica oxide
magnesium, phosphorous and a number of micro-elements, (SiO2), calcium oxide (CaO), aluminium oxide (Al2O3), fer-
which are useful for vegetable production (Carrao & Castelli ric oxide (Fe2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), chloride (Cl),
2008). Ferreira et al. (2004) have shown that the physico- potassium oxide (K2O), phosphorus oxide (P2O3), sodium
chemical characteristics of granite sludge match well the ratio (SR), aluminium ratio (AR) and lime saturation factor
requirements needed in brick and roof tile formulations. (LSF) have been performed and examined.
Thus, the incorporation results in negligible changes in the Typical drying method for 24 h at 105°C was used to deter-
properties of the final products (Torres et al. 2004). Menezes et mine water content, total solid and density of sludge. Four
al. (2002) extensively reported the production of bricks and samples were burned at 550°C to determine the total volatile
tiles using granite sludge (Torres et al. 2004). Alzboon & solid. Other chemical components have been determined
Mahasneh (2009) used stone-cutting sludge waste in concrete using X-ray diffraction. Sample analyses were repeated in
production and obtained good results regarding compression triplicate at different laboratories in order to achieve satis-
strength and slump characteristics of concrete. factory accuracy in the results.
The main objective of this study was to evaluate an alter-
native final destination for the growing production of Fabrication of concrete bricks
sludge from stone-cutting processes. The proposed procedure To determine the best sludge–sand mixing ratio, the sludge
includes recycling the sludge for use in producing building was mixed with sand in different proportions. The two semi-
bricks and terrazzo tiles. Based on this, the stone cutting dry components (sludge and sand) were mixed with a con-
sludge can be transformed from an environmental problem stant amount of Portland cement according to the Jordanian
to valuable material. standards (> 200 kg m–3). Water was gradually added to make
Bricks are available in Jordan markets in many sizes such the mixture plastic. Cement and water proportions in the
as 40 × 20 × 10, 40 × 20 × 11, 40 × 15 × 10 and 40 × 20 × mixes were taken as constant to exclude the effect of these
20 cm. Bricks could be solid (voids ≤ 25%), or hollow (voids parameters on the results. A mechanical mixer was used to
≥ 40%). Bricks with thickness of 10 cm are used for non-load produce a homogeneous mixture, which was achieved after 3–
bearing walls and partitions, whereas bricks with thickness of 5 min of mixing.
15 cm and 20 cm are used for load-bearing and external After mixing, concrete bricks were fabricated in a steel
walls. Terrazzo tiles are widely used with dimensions of 30 × mould with internal dimensions of 400 mm in length, 100 mm
30 × 3, 25 × 25 × 2.5 and 20 × 20 × 2 cm. The tiles consist in width, and 200 mm in depth. In order to achieve standard
of two layers – the upper and bottom layer. Marble and measurement of bricks and sufficient compression force, a
quartz in addition to the cement, aggregate and colours are new standard brick mould was used to produce the prototype
used in the production of the upper layer; in the bottom samples. The mixed materials were put into the mould and a

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K. Al-Zboon, M. Tahat, Z.S.H. Abu-Hamatteh, M.S. Al-Harahsheh

Table 1: Specifications of the modified brick samples.

Size of discarded Average bricks Relative strength=

Sample reference Discarded material (%) = Density Voids
materials dimensions Strength/(strength of MR)
label Substituted material (g cm–3) (%)
(µm) (cm) %
M1 <149 11.3 40.2 × 20.2 × 10.1 2.25 97% 32.4
M2 <500 28.8 40.2 × 20.1 × 10.1 2.20 82% 32.2
M3 <841 45.1 40.1 × 20.1 × 10.1 2.18 65% 32.2
MR – 0 40.1 × 20.1 × 10.1 2.33 100% 32.4

compression force with vibration was applied for about 30 s. 150 µm and 300 µm in the production of terrazzo tiles with
Then, the formed bricks were removed from the moulds and percentages up to 10% and 30%, respectively. Based on this
labelled B1, B2, B3, and B4 which corresponding to the sludge limitation, sludge is used in the production of terrazzo tiles.
ratio in the mixture of 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, respectively; Because the face (upper layer) of the tile contains specified
the symbol BR refers to the reference sample (free of sludge). materials (quartz and marble), the sludge is used only in the
Eighteen samples of bricks were taken for each mixing ratio. preparation of the back layer (bottom part). Sludge was
Samples were left for 24 h for drying and then sprinkled with added to the standard mixture with different ratios. Samples
water for another 3 days in the same location. The samples were labelled as T1, T2, T3, and T4 which refers to the sludge
were transported to the storage area and sprinkled with ratio in the mixture (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%), respectively; the
water for an additional 4 days. This production and curing symbol TR refers to the reference samples (free of sludge).
procedure complies with Jordanian standards item 603/2 Mixes were prepared according to the Jordanian stand-
(MPWH, 1985). ards (item 803/6) where the face layer consists of cement and
After 28 days, the brick samples were analyzed in accord- aggregate (1:3), fraction of marble or quartz and colours.
ance with Jordanian standards. Visual inspection, dimensions, The back layer consists of cement and graded aggregates
compression strength, and water absorption were determined. (1:3). First, all components were mixed appropriately in a
The dry compressive strength of brick samples is determined dry phase to become well mixed, then water was added and
using a servocontrolled compression test machine with a maxi- mixed. After homogeneity was achieved, terrazzo tiles were
mum capacity of 1560 kN and loading it at a uniform slow rate. fabricated in a steel mould with internal dimensions of 30 ×
The maximum crushing force for each sample was recorded. 30 × 3 cm. A compression force of 14 N mm–2 with vibration
The crushing strength (compressive strength, F) was found by was applied to achieve the optimum density and compression
dividing the force needed to cause the brick to fail (P) by the strength. Twelve samples for each type (T1, T2, T3, T4, TR)
cross-sectional area (A) of the brick in contact with the bear- were prepared. Then, the formed tiles were removed from
ing plate of the machine F = P/A. Before the bricks were the moulds and left for 48 h in humid conditions. Samples
tested, the dimensions of brick’s face in contact with the were submerged in a water tank for 3 days and stored again
bearing plate were measured. in the humid environment for 23 days. After the curing
period (28 days) was completed, samples were analyzed
Modification of the brick samples according to the Jordanian standards. Visual inspection, tile
The results of sieve analysis of sludge samples showed that dimensions, thickness of face layer, transverse strength, and
most of the particles pass through sieve number 100 (150 water absorption were assessed.
µm); therefore, classified as a fine material. In order to avoid
the segregation phenomenon, disturbance or unbalance in Results and discussion
particle size gradation, additional experiments was performed Characteristics of sludge
to keep the ratio of the fine material in the mixture within Physical and chemical characteristics
the applicable limit when the sludge was used instead of fine Table 2 shows the average physical and chemical composition
sand. The same aggregate was used in the fabrication of of sludge samples generated from the stone-cutting proc-
three new sets of mixes. However, part of the fine material esses. The results show that there is a great compositional
was replaced by sludge (Table 1). Twelve samples for each difference in sludge derived from different cutting processes.
type (M1, M2, M3, MR) were prepared, fabricated, and tested The variation in mineralogical and chemical composition of
following the typical brick production method. the sludge depends on the type and origin of rocks. The
water content in the slurry samples ranged from 95–99.5%,
Fabrication of terrazzo tiles making it a significant source of water which can be utilized
Sieve analysis of sludge samples showed that all particles for different production processes. Dried sludge contains a
have sizes ≤ 160 µm, representing finer gradation of aggre- high quantity of calcium oxide (54%) but undetectable Cl
gates used to produce terrazzo tiles. The Jordanian standard and K2O. In addition, small amounts of silica, ferric oxide,
for civil works allows use of fine aggregate with particle sizes aluminium oxide and volatile solids were detected.

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 Recycling stone cutting sludge in bricks and terrazzo tiles

Table 2: Chemical and physical properties of the sludge samples. Specifications of the conventional brick samples
Visual inspection
Parameter Unit Ranges Average
Each brick was inspected visually and all B2, B3, B4, BR sam-
Water content by wt% 95.7–98.2 97.3 ples were found solid and free of defect which would inter-
TS* mg l-1 24300–27500 26000 fere with proper placing of the unit or affect its strength. The
TVS* mg l-1 1.3–1.4 1.3 samples show flat surface and uniform shape with perpendic-
SiO2** wt % 0.75–0.91 0.83 ular and straight edges. The samples have no intrinsic cracks
CaO** wt % 48.4–61.2 54.72 or damage resulting from manufacturing or handling. Grade
B1 samples show irregular and variable dimensions as a result
Al2O3** wt % 0.18–0.24 0.21
of the brick slumping during de-moulding. This slumping also
Fe2O3** wt % 0.09–0.13 0.11
caused swelling and deformation in the shape of bricks. B2-,
MgO** wt % 0.86–0.95 0.91
B3- and B4-type bricks have the same dimensions as the ref-
Cl** wt % BDL BDL erence bricks (BR) with no significant variation in the density
K2O** wt % BDL BDL and the percentage of voids. The dimensions of bricks of
SO3** wt % 0.09–0.12 0.11 type B1 gave height ranges of 15–18.5 cm, whereas the thick-
LSF** – 1.85–2.34 2.06 ness ranged from 10–14 cm in the upper to the bottom sides,
SR** – 2.41–2.65 2.53 respectively. Except for bricks op type B1, all other types
AR** – 1.84–1.91 1.88 have voids within the permissible limits. The Jordanian spec-
ification classifies the bricks according to their density as fol-
(*Slurry samples, **dried samples, BDL, below detection limit.
lowing: normal bricks (density ≥ 2 t m–3), medium (density
1.7–2 t m–3) and light (density ≤ 1.7 t m–3), which means that
Sieve analysis of sludge samples all the produced samples can be classified as normal bricks
In order to obtain accurate results, 32 sieves with diameters (Table 3). The results indicate that the bulk density of the
ranging from 0.5–300 µm were used to determine the sludge bricks decreased as the sludge content increased.
particles size distribution. Figure 1 shows the sieve analysis
of the dried sludge and the differential particle size distribu- Compression strength and water absorption
tion. The average particle size, D50, is about 9.1 µm, while The compressive strength is the most important engineering
D10, D16, D84 and D µm are about 1.3 µm, 1.8 µm, 30 µm and quality index for building materials. Figure 2 shows the results
37 µm, respectively. Sieve analysis was also done for the stand- of the compression strength values for all samples. The
ard aggregates used for brick and terrazzo tile production and obtained results were compared with Jordanian standards for
shown in Figure 1. For aggregate samples, the average particle non-load and load bearing bricks. Results show that the com-
size, D µm, is about 1.1 mm, while D10, D16, D84 and D90 are pression strength of bricks type B3, B4, BR comply with Jor-
about 0.15 mm, 0.25 mm, 5.2 mm and 5.9 mm, respectively. danian standards for non-load bearing bricks, while all sam-
Results of sieve analysis indicated that around 11.8% of the ples of bricks type B1 have smaller values in comparison with
volume of the aggregates has a particle size less than the maxi- the standards. Bricks of type B1 had only one-third of the
mum size of sludge particles (160 µm). This means that the compression strength of the reference sample (BR). Three
sludge is suitable, as a fine material, for being directly incorpo- samples of bricks of type B2 failed to achieve the required
rated into brick-type formulations and terrazzo tiles. strength. All types of bricks failed to achieve the required

Fig. 1: Sludge and aggregate size distribution: aggregate particle size (triangles), sludge particle size (circles).

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K. Al-Zboon, M. Tahat, Z.S.H. Abu-Hamatteh, M.S. Al-Harahsheh

Fig. 2: Compression strength of the conventional and modified bricks B, conventional samples; M, modified samples; JS1, JS2, Jordanian stand-
ards for non-load and load-bearing bricks, respectively. The error bars in the figure represent the range of values.

Table 3: Specifications of the conventional brick samples.

Sample Density Relative strength =

Average brick dimensions (cm) Voids (%)
reference label (g cm–3) (Strength)/(strength of BR)
B1 40.40 × 17.3 × 11.35 2.1 34.1 33%
B2 40.25 × 20.20 × 10.15 2.11 31.4 58%
B3 40.20 × 20.20 × 10.15 2.13 32.2 74%
B4 40.15 × 20.25 × 10.10 2.17 32 93%
BR 40.15 × 20.20 × 10.10 2.19 32 100%

strength for load-bearing bricks. It is worth mentioning that the lowest. Water absorption was 10.5%, 10.6%, 10.6%, and
these bricks with of dimensions 40 × 20 × 10 cm dimension 10.5% for M1, M2, M3, and MR samples, respectively.
are used only for non-load bearing walls and internal parti-
tions. The compression strength is inversely proportional to Compression strength
the percentage of sludge added to the mixture (Figure 2). Figure 2 shows the average compression strength for differ-
Regarding compression strength and water absorption, a ent categories of the modified samples. The compression
mixture of aggregates with 50% of sludge could be used suc- strengths of all M samples (M1, M2, M3, MR) complied with
cessfully to produce non-load bearing bricks. This result indi- Jordanian standards for non-load bearing bricks, while 23%
cates that the sludge waste could be re-used in brick produc- of the B samples (B1, B2, B3, B4) failed to achieve such stand-
tion, which would reduce material consumption, increase ards. The modified samples gave better result than the con-
profit, and conserve the environment. There is insignificant ventional B samples. In the case of B samples, sludge was
variation in the water absorption for all the samples. The val- added to the mixtures which increased the percentage of fine
ues for B1, B2, B3, B4 and BR were 12.1%, 11.95%, 11.8%, materials and decreased the strength. In the modified method,
11.65% and 11.6%, respectively. the sludge was substituted in the mixture and the same
amount of fine materials was discarded from the mixture,
Specifications of the modified brick samples which keeps the ratio of the fine materials approximately
Visual inspection constant. Bricks of types M1 and MR succeeded in achieving
Modified brick samples were fabricated in order to improve the standard limit for load-bearing bricks while types M2 and
the mixtures by grading the aggregate. These samples were M3 failed to achieve the required limit. The discarding of the
produced, cured and tested as for the conventional samples. fine material from aggregate (pass from No. 100) and substi-
All fabricated samples had a uniform shape, were free of tuting with sludge had insignificant effects on brick quality;
deformation, cracks, damage and swelling, and there was no therefore, this is recommended in the fabrication of bricks.
visible variation between the modified and the reference The compression strength is inversely proportional to the
samples. The void ratios of all samples were within allowable percentage of sludge substituted in the mixture (Figure 2).
limits (Table 1). The density of all samples was the same as a Results indicate that the sludge could be added to the coarse
normal brick where densities are more than 2 t m–3. The ref- aggregate instead of the fine material. This method may be
erence sample (MR) had the highest density while M3 had applied by producing aggregate without fine material with

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 Recycling stone cutting sludge in bricks and terrazzo tiles

Fig. 3: Transverse strength of tile samples (JS, Jordanian standard for transverse strength of tiles). The error bars in the figure represent the
range of values.

Table 4: Specifications of the terrazzo tile samples.

Average total Average thickness

Sample Average dimensions Relative strength= Absorption
thickness of the face layer
reference label (cm) Strength/(strength of TR) (%)
(mm) (mm)
T1 30 × 30 32.2 10 66% 5.41
T2 30 × 30 32.6 11 72% 5.31
T3 30 × 30 33 10 82% 4.86
T4 30 × 30 32.6 10 99% 4.77
TR 30 × 30 32 11 100% 4.71

the sludge added later to the mix. This application will con- and the same thickness and components of the face layer,
serve natural materials and solve the environmental and eco- which explains the high strength value for all samples. The
nomical problems caused by sludge accumulation. values of transverse strength for tiles types T4 and TR are
comparable, which indicates that the use of sludge in the
Specifications of the terrazzo tile samples mixture at a 25% ratio did not affect the strength. These
Physical specifications results indicate that sludge waste could be re-used, at high
Many physical properties of the fabricated samples were percentage, in the bottom layer of terrazzo tiles. The bottom
tested such as dimension, visual inspection and thickness of layer represents about 75% of the tile’s volume, so using
the face layer. No deformation cracks or deflection were sludge in this layer with 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% ratios will
noticed for any of the samples. Table 4 shows the dimensions, conserve used materials by 19%, 38%, 56% and 75%, respec-
total thickness, and thickness of the face layer for each type tively.
of sample. All samples complied with Jordanian standards in
terms of total thickness (≥ 30 mm), and thickness of the face Water absorption of tiles
layer (≥ 7 mm). In spite of using the same mould, the thick- Water absorption was determined by a similar method to
ness of the produced tiles varied as a result of the variation in that of the brick samples. All samples had absorption ratios
the applied hydraulic load and the loading period. much less than the required limit by Jordanian standards
(8%) as shown in Table 4. All samples ranged from 3.9–6.4%
Transverse strength indicating that all values are better than the standard limit.
Figure 3 shows the average of transverse strength values for Because of the fineness of sludge, it absorbs more water than
all samples. The obtained results indicate that the average the coarse aggregate, so the water absorption increased as
transverse strength for all tested samples is more than that the sludge ratio increased.
required by Jordanian standards (30 kg cm–2). The transverse
strength decreased as the ratio of the added sludge increased. Conclusions
The strength values for all tested samples ranges from 28– Utilization of sludge waste from stone cutting is essential in
71 kg cm–2 and only one sample (type T1) failed to achieve the order to minimize waste and environmental considerations.
required strength. All samples had the same amount of cement Moreover, it is an effective use of a limited natural resources.

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 K. Al-Zboon, M. Tahat, Z.S.H. Abu-Hamatteh, M.S. Al-Harahsheh

The results presented and discussed show that sludge gener- applications could serve as an alternative solution to dis-
ated from stone-cutting processes can be regarded as a novel posal.
raw material for the production of building bricks and ter-
razzo tiles. Based on this study, it is concluded that the use of Acknowledgements
sludge generated from stone cutting up to a maximum of The authors are grateful to the Higher Council for Science
50% of the aggregate volume can be used in the manufacture and Technology for providing necessary financial assistance
of non-load bearing bricks. Sludge was also used successfully for this project and to the Samara factory for providing the
in the fabrication of terrazzo tiles. The use of sludge in these opportunity to conduct this study.

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