Investigation of Thermal Efficiency and Key Sustainability Features of Bricks Developed from Oil Palm and Glass Waste

The consumption of natural resources by the construction industry has increased in an unprecedented manner, which has been coupled with a consequential trail of immense environmental impacts due to unsustainable practices. This study was undertaken to develop a sustainable brick from a combination of waste glass and oil palm industry waste. The focus of this study was to provide a sustainable brick that contributes to minimal environmental impact and better insulation capability to enhance thermal comfort levels. The developed bricks showed an acceptable strength of 7.21 MPa, which complies with the standard criteria for non-load bearing bricks. Additionally, thermal conductivity was found to be approximately 0.38 W/m2 K, an improvement of almost 50% compared with common red clay brick. In addition, the numerically obtained conjugate heat transfer analysis of the thermally efficient sustainable hybrid (TESH) brick revealed that thermal resistance offered by TESH brick is approximately four times that of fired clay brick. This research also analyzed the embodied energy consumption and environmental impact assessment of TESH bricks. The results pointed to the sustainability aspect of the developed TESH bricks having positive impacts relative to commercially available red clay bricks. (C)2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.