Innovative Technologies for the Production of Ceramic Building Materials from Waste of Natural (Exogenous) Processes

The main material for the modern construction business is cement/concrete, the production of which is associated with high energy and material costs and, most importantly, high CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere. Based on this, the development of technologies for new energy-efficient building materials - substitutes for Portland cement is of great importance. One of the ways to solve this problem could be the wider use of ceramic building materials, the production of which requires less energy and is not associated with high CO₂ emissions compared to the production of Portland cement. The subject of this article is the development of innovative technologies for the production of ceramic building materials in Georgia (ordinary building bricks and clinker bricks) by using unconventional raw material - clay shale aluvium which is a waste of natural (exogenous) processes. As the main component of the ceramic mass, we used clay shale aluvium from the Duruji river bed near the town of Kvareli, which made it possible to reduce the firing temperature and improve the quality of the finished product. X-ray phase, petrographic and electronic microscopic studies have shown that ceramic products, both building and clinker bricks, made with the use of Kvareli shale, under the same firing conditions, have been obtained with a denser structure ensuring higher physical and mechanical features as compared to clay Metekhi, which is currently used by the brick factory in Georgia. The use of shale accumulated in the region of Kvareli in various areas of the economy (including production of ceramic building materials) will make it possible to clear the adjacent territory from risky deposits of natural alluvium, which threatens to flood the city and provide companies engaged in production of ceramic building materials with low-cost and environmentally friendly raw materials.

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