ROLE OF SOME TREATMENTS ON ENHANCING THE ECO-FRIENDLY UTILIZATION OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC WASTES IN PRODUCTION OF CEMENT-FIBER BRICKS

Rice straw (RS) and sawdust (SD) were evaluated for the manufacturing of fiber-cement bricks. The utilization of these bio-wastes will contribute to the reduction of the environmental impact of waste disposal. Pre-treating the fiber wastes, mechanically and/or chemically, was carried out before mixing them with cement and the appropriate amount of water. This approach was done for trials to reduce the tendency of fibers to absorb water, and consequently overcome the side effects of exposing the fiber-bricks to humidity. Different chemical treating agents, based on organic and inorganic materials, were used, e.g., gelatin-hexamine mixture, sodium silicate, and linseed oil. The results obtained show that the investigated organic treatments, especially linseed oil, were effective to reduce the water retention value (WRV) of RS and SD by 60% and 65%, respectively. The treatment provided bricks with compressive strengths of 4.9 MPa and 5.4 MPa, respectively. According to the Engineering Encyclopedia of Building standards, these values are suitable for construction purposes. The bricks manufactured from linseed oil-treated fibers with cement and Nitobond AR may be suited for load-bearing walls, since the compressive strength reached is 7.8 to 8.6 MPa.