Clay-Based Products Sustainable Development: Some Applications

Michele La Noce, Alessandro Lo Faro and Gaetano Sciuto
Additional contact information
Michele La Noce: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Alessandro Lo Faro: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Gaetano Sciuto: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-26

Abstract: Clay has a low environmental impact and can develop into many different products. The research presents two different case studies. In the first, the clay is the binder of raw earth doughs in order to produce clay-bricks. We investigate the effects of natural fibrous reinforcements (rice straws and basalt fibers) in four different mixtures. From the comparison with a mix without reinforcements, it is possible to affirm that the 0.40% of basalt fibers reduce the shrinkage by about 25% and increase the compressive strength by about 30%. Future studies will focus on identifying the fibrous effects on tensile strength and elastic modulus, as well as the optimal percentage of fibers. In the second study, the clay, in form of brick powder (“cocciopesto”), gives high alkaline resistance and breathability performance, as well as rendering and color to the plaster. The latter does not have artificial additives. The plaster respects the cultural instance of the original building. The research underlines how the use of a local (and traditional) material such as clay can be a promoter of sustainability in the contemporary building sector. Future studies must investigate further possible uses of clay as well as a proper regulatory framework.

Keywords: sustainable architecture; traditional materials; clay; low footprint; raw earth; brick powder; fibers stabilizer; natural mortar; basalt fiber; volcanic aggregate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1364/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1364/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:3:p:1364-:d:488667

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().