Fabricación de ladrillos ecológicos basados en materiales compuestos sin utilización de cemento portland ordinario minimizando la contaminación ambiental.

Abstract

Environmental problems are mostly the result of changes in the interaction between society and its ecosystem. During the year 2020, Ecuador collected approximately 4.14 million tons of waste; however, in the year 2022, 2.01 million tons of solid waste will be generated. One of the problems are glass bottles made from raw materials, generating a negative environmental impact. Likewise, their manufacture involves high energy consumption, since their operations require high temperatures, causing damage to the atmosphere; therefore, the aim of the present research was to produce ecological bricks based on composite materials without using ordinary Portland cement, minimizing environmental pollution. The methodology employed had a mixed approach, since quantitative methods were used to measure the values of various properties of composite materials, in order to characterize them in relation to their potential for use in production. In addition, laboratory analyses of physical and mechanical properties were performed, using qualitative methods to establish the characteristics of the materials. Based on the methodology used and on the Ecuadorian technical standard INEN 294, which establishes that the individual strength of type C solid bricks must be at least 6 MPa, it was found that all the samples of the raw ecological brick meet the requirements. At the end of the investigation, it is concluded that the adequate composition to manufacture ecological bricks without using ordinary Portland cement is 20,000 g of red clay, 4,000 g of glass, 1,000 g of sodium silicate and approximately 6,000 ml (6,000 g) of water, totaling 31,020 grams that are used in the manufacture of ecological bricks contributing to the minimization of solid waste generated in Ecuador.