Types of waste, properties and durability of toxic waste-based fired masonry bricks

Resource efficiency is essential for a sustainable growth. It requires rethinking waste, considering it as a valuable resource. This chapter includes an updated review of available literature on the potential incorporation of different wastes in fired masonry bricks. The ceramic sector, due to the heterogeneity of raw materials and products requirements, is an attractive alternative. Wastes are classified according to the European Waste List and the distinctive role that they play in the ceramic process. The technical properties and the durability of the product are conditioned by these roles while the atmospheric emissions are affected by the initial content and the firing parameters. The immobilization in the ceramic matrix of most of the pollutants contained in the wastes is achieved due to the high firing temperature. At the moment, new environmental standards and legal requirements are in development to get a better understanding of the global impacts during the entire life cycle of these waste-based fired masonry bricks.