Journal of Cleaner Production 321 (2021) 129002

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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Soil-cement brick with granite cutting residue reuse

Elvia Soraya Santos Nascimento , Patrícia Campos de Souza , Herbet Alves de Oliveira ,
Carlos Mariano Melo Júnior , Vanessa Gentil de Oliveira Almeida , Fernanda Martins Cavalcante
de Melo *
Department of Civil Engineering, Federal Institute of Sergipe, Rua João Café Filho, 260, CEP 49200-000, Estância, SE, Brazil

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling editor: Prof. Jiri Jaromir Klemeš This research proposes the study of granite cutting residue (GCR) reuse in the incorporation of soil-cement brick.
The proposed formulations were the replacement of cement by granite cutting residue in 5%, 10%, and 20%, and
Keywords: the replacement of soil by residue in 20%, 30%, and 40%. Thus, 13 specimens were produced for each formu­
Brick lation, in a 1:8 trace of cement and soil, which were tested for their compressive strength, specific mass, ab­
Soil-cement
sorption, and durability. The granite cutting residue showed beneficial results regarding the durability of soil-
Granite residue
cement bricks. The formulation with a 5% partial specific mass replacement of cement by the residue showed
Sustainable materials
the best performance, with a loss of mass lower than the other mixtures and superior compressive strength, in
addition to maintaining the water absorption values close to the reference brick. It was possible to replace the
soil with the residue in up to 20%, without significant variation of properties in relation to the reference one. The
soil-cement bricks viability of production with partial replacement of the soil and cement, by the granite cutting
residue, proved to be a feasible and sustainable alternative when there was an improvement in the properties,
concluding that the residual material allows an appropriate destination and thereby, the reduction of raw ma­
terials consumption and extraction.

1. Introduction stone processing (shells, shards, and other residues such as worn blades
and steel-grit) and the sludge generated by the fractionation and pol­
The soil-cement brick is a reality for low-cost constructions world­ ishing process, among others, generate environmental impacts at
wide. Basically, it is produced by mixing sandy soil and cement. This various stages of the production process (Oliveira, 2015).
type of brick represents an alternative aligned to sustainable develop­ The residue amount in the different stages of production of the
ment. It requires low energy consumption for the extraction of raw granite industry reaches about 20–25% of its global production, which
materials, eliminates the burning process, and reduces the need for means millions of tons of residues per year. The disposal of these fine
transportation since the bricks can be produced with soil from the work residues is an environmental problem all over the world (Vijayalakshmi
site. In this segment, the reuse of various residues can still be valued et al., 2013). Thus, the disposal of such residue generates a cost for
(Segantini and Wada, 2011). companies, in addition to the impact that the disposal has on the envi­
Civil construction, as well as other sectors, is one of the largest and ronmental landscape.
most important industrial sectors in the world and its performance in the The incorporation of minerals into ceramic, bituminous, and
use of raw materials is remarkable, in addition to generating a signifi­ cementitious matrices has been the center of several types of research
cant amount of residue. However, due to the diversity of produced regarding its potential, which seeks to improve mechanical behavior,
products, this area also becomes a major developer of its residues and increase durability, and reduce the use of aggregates or binders. Such
residues from other industrial sectors (Bastos et al., 2013). applications are based on the physical performance that fine materials
Brazil has numerous industries in the ornamental stone processing exert, as they can act as fillers, by filling the pores and promoting an
field, such as granite, marble, and slate. It is considered the 4th producer improvement for the packing of the system (Barbosa, 2017).
and the 6th world exporter of rocks, becoming an insignificant importer However, the actual filling effects depend on the particle shape,
(ABIROCHAS, 2018). In this scenario, the residues from the ornamental particle size distribution, free water content in the mixture, and dosage.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (F.M.C. Melo).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129002
Received 20 March 2021; Received in revised form 24 August 2021; Accepted 9 September 2021
Available online 16 September 2021
0959-6526/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
E.S. Santos Nascimento et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 321 (2021) 129002

The research results of Chen et al. (2021a) revealed that the addition of Researchers have studied the incorporation of residues in soil-
granite polishing residue in replacement of paste by up to 7.5%, and as a cement bricks (Xiao et al., 2021; Barros et al., 2020; Vilela et al.,
replacement of aggregate by up to 10% increased both the packing 2020; Ashour et al., 2015; Siqueira and Holanda, 2013; Eko et al., 2012).
densities and the concrete strength more effectively, despite the reduc­ Thus, there is a scarcity of non-consolidated results regarding the
tion in cement content. properties of soil-cement brick with the incorporation of granite cutting
Research have been carried out, aiming the reuse of ornamental residue to replace the soil and, mainly, to replace cement. Combining
stone residues, specifically granite, in construction materials. Gupta and the scope of sustainability and the set of issues that may arise when this
Vyas (2018) partially replaced the fine aggregate in mortar with residual concept is not considered in the most diverse activities, this work seeks
granite powder and concluded that the powder has a beneficial potential to cooperate with the civil construction sector, through the study and
as a fine composite aggregate, which increased the mechanical proper­ propositions of a practice that aims to contribute to the reuse of residues
ties of the material. In the study by Li et al. (2018), the experimental that are randomly disposed of in nature, for their incorporation in
results revealed that by adding GR as a replacement for the paste, it was soil-cement bricks development.
possible to reduce the final shrinkage and the cement content, at the Therefore, this research aims to produce soil-cement brick with the
same time, by up to 25% in mortars. In another study, Li et al. (2019) incorporation of granite cutting residue, replacing cement (5%, 10%,
produced several mixtures of mortar with different amounts of granite and 20%) and soil (20%, 30%, and 40%), to analyze durability and both
residue (GR), pointing out the use of this residue as a more promising physical (specific mass and water absorption) and mechanical
way to produce a high-performance and more ecological mortar due to (compressive strength) properties. The characterization of component
the following advantages: greater reuse of residue, lower cement content materials, as well as the soil-cement brick, was obtained through
and carbon footprint and better strength and microstructure. experimental procedures performed in the laboratory and based on
Lozano-Lunar et al. (2020) carried out a study on the use of granite technical standards.
residue as an alternative to conventional aggregates in the production of
mortars and found a reduction in mechanical strength with the increase 2. Materials and methods
of granite residue in mortars, in percentages of up to 40% replacement
for conventional aggregates. However, the authors state that the results 2.1. Raw materials
show the feasibility of incorporating the granite residue from an engi­
neering perspective. The soil used in this research was collected in the vicinity of the
Studies have revealed that GR-modified cementitious materials have Federal Institute of Sergipe, Campus Estância. It was dried in an oven at
greater durability compared to traditional cementitious materials 105 ± 5 ◦ C (ABNT, 2012a), manually untangled to reduce the grain
(Danish et al., 2021; Li et al., 2018). Zafar et al. (2020) verified the diameter, passed through a 600 μm sieve, and checked for compliance
chemical contribution of the residue through the improved micro­ with the general requirements of NBR 10833 (ABNT, 2013a). The
structure of the cement paste matrix due to the pozzolanic reaction. granulometry was determined according to NBR 7181 (ABNT, 2018a),
However, the available literature suggests conflicting reviews on the the apparent specific mass, according to NBR 7185 (ABNT, 2016a) and
effect of granite residue as cement substitutes on the mechanical prop­ the real specific mass of the natural soil was determined from the re­
erties of cementitious materials. This effect can be detrimental or quirements of the standard DNER-ME-093/94 (DNER, 1994a). The
effective for the mechanical properties of cementitious materials, plastic properties (liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index) were
depending on several parameters. These parameters include particle determined according to NBR 6459 (ABNT, 2017a) and NBR 7180
size, the addition of other supplementary materials, w/c ratio, super­ (ABNT, 2016b), respectively. The ground scanning electron microscopy
plasticizer incorporation, and GR source (Danish et al., 2021). was performed using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) tech­
Specifically in ceramic mass, Silva et al. (2005) analyzed the use of nique, using a Jeol scanning electron microscope, model JSM-6510LV.
granite cutting residue (GCR) in clayey masses. In their study, they The cement used to compose the mixture was CP V-ARI (Portland
proved that the residue is composed of small particles. However, there is cement of high initial strength), characterized in relation to the: paste of
a great variation in sizes, indicating that the residue granulometry will normal consistency (ABNT, 2018b), setting time (ABNT, 2018c), specific
influence the soil plastic behavior, by reducing its plasticity. Wei­ gravity (ABNT, 2017b), fineness index (ABNT, 2013c), and the
zenmann et al. (2013), in their studies, also found a high content of fines compressive strength determination test (ABNT, 2019).
for the residue. The granite cutting residue (GCR) was supplied by Marmoraria
Miranda (2007) studied the application of processing residue Santana, located in Estância, State of Sergipe. The residue used in this
mixture of marble and granite in soil-cement bricks. It was observed that work was first dried in an oven, 105 ± 5 ◦ C (ABNT, 2012a), later stored
with the gradual increase in the amount of residue in the brick formu­ in plastic sealed containers, where they remained protected from the
lation, the specific mass of the grains followed a trend of growth, weather. As shown in Fig. 1, to replace the cement, the soil, and the
demonstrating that the residue favored the filling of the voids, which sand, the residue that passed through a sieve of 75 μm, 600 μm, and 1.18
increases the density of the mixture. mm, respectively, were used. The sand was used for soil correction. All
Ribeiro (2013) conducted a survey that demonstrated the feasibility physical characterization of the residue was performed using the stan­
of using a mixture of soil-cement with ornamental rock residue. It was dards adopted for soil and cement.
possible to verify that the substitution of the soil by the residue tends to The percentages of the constituent oxides in the clay samples were
increase the compressive strength and decrease the water absorption for determined using semi-quantitative measurements using the X-ray
specimens with 40% of the residue. fluorescence technique (XRF). The measurements were performed in a
Ribeiro and Holanda (2014), in their research on incorporating vacuum, Bruker equipment - model S4 Pioneer - using samples with a
granite cut sludge into soil-cement bricks, partially replaced the soil mass value of approximately 10 g, which were pressed in the shape of
with up to 30% of the sludge, resulting in a compressive strength that cylindrical bodies with a diameter of 20 mm and thickness of approxi­
showed only a slight difference with sludge addition, keeping water mately 3 mm.
absorption results constant. X-ray diffractometry was used to identify the crystalline phases ac­
Jain et al. (2019), in their research on the performance of cording to the standards obtained in the ICSD (Inorganic Crystal Struc­
self-compacting concrete comprising granite cutting residue as fine ture Database) database, and the percentages of phases of the
aggregate, demonstrated that there is an increase in compressive mineralogical composition were estimated using the Match! Software in
strength by the replacement of 20% with the incorporation of granite Demo version. The diffraction patterns were obtained with a Rigaku D-
cutting residue in concrete mixes. MAX 100 equipment using Cu Kα1 radiation (λ = 1.5418 Å) in

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E.S. Santos Nascimento et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 321 (2021) 129002

Fig. 1. Materials used in the production of bricks.

continuous scanning mode, in an angular range from 5◦ to 70◦ and

scanning speed of 1◦ /min.

2.2. Preparation of formulations and characterization tests

Initially, from the selected soil, a test was performed to determine the
optimum moisture according to DNER-ME 162/94 (DNER, 1994b) and a
19% moisture content was obtained. Then, sand was added to the soil to
assess workability and mechanical strength. Thus, after several tests to
determine ideal percentages for soil correction with sand, the present
research adopted the percentage of 70%. Therefore, the soil, corrected
with 70% sand, was used in the production of the bricks, with an opti­
mum water content of 14%. Other authors, such as Mendes et al. (2014),
also found that the mixture containing 70% sand and 30% clay and silt is
a suitable composition to produce soil-cement bricks. Fig. 2. Pressed brick.
As shown in Table 1, seven formulations were dosed. The 1:8
(cement: soil) proportion was adopted, as well as adopted in other of NBR 8492 (ABNT, 2012b). Subsequently, the wetting durability test
research (Bhairappanavar et al., 2021; Uzoegbo, 2020; Ribeiro and was performed, followed by drying, according to NBR 13554 (ABNT,
Holanda, 2014; Alexandre et al., 2014 e Milani and Freire, 2006), where 2012c).
the first one is a reference, three with partial replacement of cement by For the analysis of the results obtained in the tests, the normality of
granite residue (GR), in 5%, 10% and 20% and three with partial the data was verified and, thus, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was
replacement of the soil by granite residue, by 20%, 30%, and 40%. The performed, followed by the Tukey test, to verify the influence of the
granite residue percentages, both replacing cement and soil, were residue incorporation percentages on the soil-cement brick properties.
calculated in relation to the mass of the material to be replaced to
produce the soil-cement brick. For each formulation, thirteen bricks 3. Results and discussion
(seven for the compressive strength test, three for water absorption and
specific mass, and three for the durability test, according to quantities The chemical analysis of the oxides present in the granite residue,
established in the standards NBR 8492 (ABNT, 2012b) and NBR 13554 cement e soil is presented in Table 2. There are high levels of silica
(ABNT, 2012c) with dimensions of 24.6 cm long, 6.1 cm high, 12.1 cm (48.67%), presence of iron oxides (14.05%), and calcium (19.67%),
wide and 5.8 cm hole opening were molded. making the residue a pozzolanic material, with silica in both active and
The raw materials were weighed on a Marte scale with a capacity of amorphous form (SiO2). In turn, it contributes to the improvement of
30 kg and a resolution of 0.1 g. The mixtures were carried out manually the physical and mechanical properties of the bricks (Grande, 2003).
with a plastic tray, with the aid of a spatula. Initially, cement, soil, and The iron and calcium oxide found probably came from steel-grit and
residue were mixed, later adding water with the aid of a watering can. ground lime, which are used in the cutting and polishing steps of granitic
The bricks were formed in a manual press of ecological bricks (Fig. 2), rocks. Other researchers have found similar results (Almada et al.,
model Contenco HD-200T. 2020). Nevertheless, some researchers stated that the silica reactivity
After curing the bricks, sheltered from the sun and wind for a period presents in the residues are still low. (Danish et al., 2021).
of seven days, the bricks were subjected to the compressive strength test, In the sandy soil chemical composition analysis, shown in Table 2,
water absorption, and specific mass, according to the recommendations there is a predominance of silica (SiO2 – 89.33%) and a smaller per­
centage of aluminum oxide (Al2O3 – 7.17%) that validates the pre­
Table 1 dominance of quartz, which was expected, considering that the collected
Formulations of soil-cement bricks. soil was corrected with 70% of sand. Other authors found similar results
Formulations Replaced Residue Mix ratios (C:S: Water to this research (Vilela et al., 2020; Lozano-Lunar et al., 2020; Ribeiro,
material content (%) GCR) content (%) 2017).
Ref. – – 1:8 14
As for the chemical composition of the cement, there is a predomi­
Ts1/5 C Cement 5 0.95:8:0.05 14 nance of CaO (61.9%), followed by SiO2 (18.73%). The cement adopted
Ts2/10 C Cement 10 0.9:8:0.1 14 meets the requirements established by NBR 16697 (ABNT, 2018d) for its
Ts3/20 C Cement 20 0.8:8:0.2 14 chemical composition.
Ts1/20 S Soil 20 1:6.4:1.6 14
X-ray diffraction is a valuable technique for the study of pozzolanic
Ts2/30 S Soil 30 1:5.6:2.4 14
Ts3/40 S Soil 40 1:4.8:3.2 14 materials, in which it is possible to assess the degree of disorder of its
structure (Barbosa, 2017). Fig. 3 illustrates the X-ray diffractogram of
Note: C: cement; S: corrected soil; GCR: granite cutting residue.

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E.S. Santos Nascimento et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 321 (2021) 129002

Table 2
Chemical composition of the residue.
SiO2 Al2O3 CaO Fe2O3 K2O MgO ZrO2 TiO2 S03 CaO Free

GCR 48.67 2.86 19.67 14.05 10.9 0.25 0.24 2.49 – –

Cement 18.73 3.26 61.93 3.36 0.61 5.39 – – 3.39 2.45
Soil 89.33 7.17 0.63 1.97 0.41 – – – 0.33 –

CaO being important for the formation of calcium hydroxide capable of

accelerating the hardening process of the mixture (Ribeiro, 2017). Also,
Danish et al. (2021) complement that the particle size of the granite
residue affected the degree of cement hydration. This is because the
acceleration of hydration of modified GCR cementitious materials is
related to the availability of carbonate minerals, which act as nucleation
sites for the transformation of hydrated calcium silicate gel (H–C–S),
which is only possible in cementitious materials prepared with GCR and
very fine grain.
However, the residue did not compromise the cement hardening
reaction, since all the mixtures met the limit prescribed in the standard
(ABNT, 2018c). The GCR presented specific gravity of 2.750 g/cm3,
similar to the research of Chen et al. (2021a).
Furthermore, there is a reduction of 20% in the compressive strength
when the cement is replaced by GCR, indicating that the mixture loses its
ability to resist axial loads. This can be attributed to a more significant
reduction in the constituents responsible for the strength gain in cement,
such as dicalcium silicate (C2S) and tricalcium silicate (C3S) (Danish
et al., 2021).
Nevertheless, the mixtures of 5% and 10% remained in a satisfactory
Fig. 3. X-ray diffractometry pattern of granite residue. range if compared to the compressive strength that was obtained only
with cement. What can be attributed is that up to this percentage, some
the granite cutting residue. The analysis shows that there is a predom­ of the finer GR particles could act as nuclei for precipitation of C–S–H
inance of the biotite, albite, and quartz phases. Therefore, the shape and, thus, increase the cement’s degree of hydration, and consequently,
shown in the diffractogram reveals that the chemical compounds pre­ its compressive strength. However, increasing the cement replacement
sent in the GCR are particularly present in crystalline form. It is worth content demands an increase in the water needed for hydration,
noting that some characteristics are important for a pozzolanic evalua­ neutralizing the beneficial nucleation effect, and causing a decrease in
tion, both the degree of amorphism of a material rich in silica and the resistance (Li et al., 2019).
alumina, as well as its fineness. The portlandite in cement hydration is Fig. 4 shows the scanning electron microscopy of the collected soil,
related to the reactivity of a pozzolan structural instability (Mehta and observing that it consists of kaolinite plates. The particle size curve of
Monteiro, 2014). It is necessary to emphasize that for a better evaluation the raw materials and their mixtures are plotted in Fig. 5, with all ma­
of the pozzolanic activity, the physical and chemical aspects of the terials classified as well graded and medium uniform, considering the
material must be observed. Li et al. (2019) also reported that granite is uniformity and curvature coefficients. The tests were carried out with
mainly composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica. Antolik and the materials in the particle sizes used in the composition of the soil-
Jóźwiak-Niedźwiedzka (2021) studied the composition of five types of cement bricks. Thus, it was found that the corrected soil and its mix­
granite aggregates and recorded that quartz was detected as the main tures meet the normative criteria established in NBR 10833 (ABNT,
mineral phase. Other minerals identified were albite, biotite, oligoclase
and microcline.
Table 3 shows the data found in the characterization of cement and
mixtures with partial replacement with the granite cutting residue. The
residues’ fineness index was 0%, due to the sieving process in the 75 μm
mesh before being used in the production of bricks to replace cement.
It is observed that as for the start of setting, there was a considerable
increase in the mixture with 20% of GCR, which can be justified by the
calcium oxide reduction present in cement, when replaced by GCR,
which has a predominance of silica in its composition (Table 2), with

Table 3
Cement properties.
Properties Cement GCR Partial replacement of cement by:

5% of 10% of 20% of
GCR GCR GCR

Fineness index 0.08% 0,00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

Initial setting time 130 min – 116 min 138 min 170 min
Specific gravity 3.037 g/ 2.750 g/ 3.067 g/ 3.097 g/ 3.128 g/
cm3 cm3 cm3 cm3 cm3
Compressive 34.3 MPa – 34.0 35.7 29.4
strength (7 days) MPa MPa MPa
Fig. 4. Soil scanning electron microscopy.

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E.S. Santos Nascimento et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 321 (2021) 129002

significantly change the specific gravity. For the apparent specific

gravity, the values obtained varied for the residue samples and their
respective mixtures, with an increase in this property compared to the
soil, demonstrating a lesser reduction of voids.

3.1. Soil-cement brick with granite residue characterization

3.1.1. Water absorption

Fig. 6 shows the results of water absorption of the bricks produced.
The results showed that there is a significant difference between the
means (F = 24.685, fcritical = 2.845 and p-value = 1.1 × 10− 6). The
Tukey test showed a significant difference only for the mixture with
partial replacement of the soil, with 40% GCR (Ts3/40 S), increasing this
property by 100%. The considerable percentages of quartz and feldspar,
present in the granite residue, can contribute to increasing the porosity
of the soil-cement bricks (Lima et al., 2010).
Also, it is most likely to replace cement up to 20% (Ts3/20 C) and soil
up to 30% (Ts2/30 S), without significant change in the water absorp­
tion of the soil-cement brick. All formulations met the requirement
established in NBR 10834 (ABNT, 2013b), which determines the limit of
20%.
Fig. 5. Particle size curves of soil, residue and mixtures. Li et al. (2018) reported that the addition of GR as a substitute for
paste is proven to be effective in improving the absorption of water in
mortars. Zafar et al. (2020) used granite powder in concrete and
2013a) regarding the granulometric composition of the soil used for the
observed that the decrease in water absorption was not very significant
production of soil-cement bricks: 100% of the material must pass
as well. However, this decrease can be attributed to the clogging of
through the sieve of 4.75 mm and 10%–50% of the material must pass
connected pores by the densification of microstructure.
through the 75 μm sieve.
In the study by Kumar G and Mishra (2021), who used granite
As the percentage of substitution of the soil by the residue increased,
powder in the production of concrete in different proportions with the
there was an increase in the number of fines, demonstrating that the
Portland cement, it is possible to verify a small reduction in water ab­
residue influenced the granulometric composition of the mixtures.
sorption with the increase in the incorporation of granite powder. The
Similar results have been obtained in previous studies (Silva et al., 2005;
authors found that water absorption was influenced by the content of
Bruxel, 2011; Weizenmann et al., 2013). Still, it is worth mentioning
voids within the matrix, residue angularity, water-solid, and
that the granulometry below 0.05 mm influenced the plasticity and
residue-binder ratios.
compactness of the material: 10% for the soil sample and as for the GCR,
17%. Thus, mixtures of soil with GCR tend to improve packing. Chen
3.1.2. Compressive strength
et al. (2021a) used granite polishing residues (GPR) to reduce sand and
Fig. 7 shows the values found in the compressive strength test, per­
cement content and improve mortar performance. They found that GPR
formed on the 7th day. The results showed that there is a significant
exerts its beneficial effects mainly through the improvement of packing
difference between the means (F = 10.505, fcritical = 2.336 and p-value
density, as the residue could fill the size gap between sand and cement,
= 5.56 × 10− 7). It was found with the Tukey test that the replacement of
increasing the continuity of the overall particle size distribution.
the soil by the residue, in percentages up to 40%, did not result in sig­
Table 4 shows the physical characterization results performed with
nificant losses of compressive strength, in comparison with the reference
the raw materials. By analyzing the results, one can note that the residue
brick. Other authors used the granite residue, replacing up to 30% for
is considered non-plastic (NP) (classification established by NBR 7180
(ABNT, 2016b) when it is not possible to determine the LL) and
non-liquid (classification established by NBR 6459 (ABNT, 2017a) in the
impossibility of achieving slot opening of the material placed in the
device used for determination of LL). The results obtained demonstrate
that the soil has medium plasticity and the mixture with 40% of the
residue reduced the Plasticity Index (PI) considerably, making it difficult
to work. The other compositions (20% and 30%) obtained similar PI
results below the soil ones, showing that in these same percentages, the
residue will not significantly influence the plasticity of the composition.
The data in Table 4 demonstrate that the mixtures did not

Table 4
Physical characterization of soil, residue and mixtures of soil with residue.
Tests Soil GCR Partial replacement of the soil by:

20% of GCR 30% of GCR 40% of GCR

PI (%) 7.34 – 6.52 5.46 1.06

LL (%) 18.31 – 14.91 16.28 15.14
Gsa (g/cm3) 1.430 1.020 1.229 1.517 1.619
Gs (g/cm3) 2.640 2.641 2.646 2.650 2.645

Note: PI: Plasticity index; LL: Liquid Limit; Gsa: apparent specific gravity; Gs:
specific gravity. Fig. 6. Water absorption results.

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E.S. Santos Nascimento et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 321 (2021) 129002

Fig. 7. Compressive strength results.

Fig. 8. Durability results.

the soil, and found results similar to the reference brick (Ribeiro and
reduction in mass loss. Reaching the percentual of 20% (Ts3/20 C) there
Holanda, 2014).
is a significant increase, indicating that the decrease in the percentage of
The cement substitution generated significant differences. One of
cement and the increase in the amount of residue can influence this
them is the increase in the content of residues above those mentioned
property. A possible justification reported by Danish et al. (2021) for this
and studied in this research that tends to reduce the compressive
behavior can be attributed to the formation of the material pore volume
strength of the bricks. This is due to the decrease in the binding element
after GR addition. However, the authors add that almost all the pub­
and, as expected, the reduced strength (Nascimento et al., 2020).
lished literature suggests that the incorporation of GR as a cement
From a sustainability point of view, the largest possible amount of
substitute in cementitious composites increases the durability of the
cement must be replaced as long as the strength of the material produced
material. It is suggested, as well as in Li et al. (2019) that the air void
can be maintained (Chen et al., 2021b). However, the best result of
index should be measured in future studies, to evaluate its possible ef­
compressive strength was obtained with the Ts1/5 C formulation (5%
fects on the performance of materials produced with granite residue.
residue, replacing cement), reaching an average strength of 2.2 MPa,
Considering that the suggested limit of mass loss for construction of
with an increase of 25% if compared to the reference (Ref.), higher than
soil-cement is 10% (CEPED, 1984), it is possible to state that, except for
the value required by NBR 10834 (ABNT, 2013b).
the Ts3/20 C formulation, all the others met this requirement.
The compressive strength reduction for higher levels of cement
replacement by granite residue has already been justified by other re­
3.1.4. Bulk density
searchers (Danish et al., 2021), which can be attributed to the dilution of
Fig. 9 shows the dry bulk density values. The results present no
pozzolanic reactions, agglomeration, and the reduced amount of water
significant difference between the means (F = 2.723, fcritical = 2.848 and
needed for the hydration reaction. However, up to an ideal percentage,
p-value = 0.0574). Thus, it appears that for none of the mixtures used
GR can provide filling effect and pozzolanic reactivity, without harming
there were large variations in specific mass, as reported in previous
mechanical performance.
Similarly, Chen et al. (2021a) reported that the compressive strength
can be increased by 25% and the cement content can be reduced by 5%,
for the replacement of cement paste by granite residue.
Li et al. (2019) reported that adding GR at 5% as a cement replace­
ment, without changing the water volume, would produce a small
positive change in the compressive strength of the mortars with a
negative change in strength if the GR volume is increased to more than
5%. Therefore, when adding GR as a cement replacement without
changing the water content, the GR volume should be limited to 5%. So,
the air void content may have a certain effect on strength, but neither
the authors nor the present study determined this content value for the
materials produced.

3.1.3. Durability
Fig. 8 shows the values found in the wetting and drying durability
test, performed at 7 days of age, where the loss of mass was evaluated
(%). The results showed a significant difference between the means (F =
50.924, fcritical = 3.866 and p-value = 2.0 × 10− 5). It was found with the
Tukey test that the replacement of the soil by the residue caused a
reduction in the loss of mass in the brick formulations, except for the
Ts2/30 S mixture, where there was an increase in this loss.
When replacing residue with cement up to 10%, there was a
Fig. 9. Bulk density results.

6
E.S. Santos Nascimento et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 321 (2021) 129002

cutting residue gives the final material good results. It is possible to

affirm that an increase in the substitution of cement above those values
mentioned and studied in this research will result in loss of compressive
strength.
As for durability, all proportions, but Ts3/20 C, presented acceptable
values regarding the loss of mass. The best combination was for the Ts1/
5 C formulation when the substitution was made with cement and Ts1/
20 S when the substitution was made for the soil. The granite cutting
residue showed beneficial results regarding the durability of soil-cement
bricks.
The viability of soil-cement bricks production with partial replace­
ment of the soil and cement by the granite cutting residue, proved to be a
feasible and sustainable alternative because, in addition to allowing an
adequate destination to the GCR, it allows the reduction of raw materials
extraction consumption. In this research, it was possible to produce soil-
cement bricks incorporating granite residue, with improved properties
and with similar results to conventional bricks.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Fig. 10. Comparison of the properties studied in the soil-cement brick.

Elvia Soraya Santos Nascimento: Conceptualization, Methodol­

research (Nascimento et al., 2020). This small variation can be attrib­
ogy, Formal analysis, Investigation, Visualization, Writing – original
uted to the mass pattern (3700 g) used for pressing the bricks.
draft. Patrícia Campos de Souza: Investigation. Herbet Alves de Oli­
Fig. 10 shows a comparison between the physical-mechanical char­
veira: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – re­
acteristics of the bricks and the best formulation, considering the
view & editing. Carlos Mariano Melo Júnior: Writing – review &
properties studied. Thus, it was found that the best formulation was Ts1/
editing. Vanessa Gentil de Oliveira Almeida: Writing – review &
5 C, with a loss of mass lower than the other mixtures and superior
editing. Fernanda Martins Cavalcante de Melo: Conceptualization,
compressive strength, in addition to maintaining the water absorption
Methodology, Formal analysis, Visualization, Supervision, Writing –
value close to the reference brick. The Ts1/20 S formulation presented
original draft.
the results closest to the reference formulation, proving that it is possible
to reconcile sustainability and also attend to the technical standards. It is
sustainable in the way of reducing cement, sand content, and use of Declaration of competing interest
residues, since the manufacture of cement, consumes a lot of energy and
fossil fuel, which create large energy and carbon footprints and causes The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
global warming, whistle sand mining causes considerable ecological interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
risks. Massive depletion of natural sand destroys agricultural land, the work reported in this paper.
damages fauna habitat, leading to deficiencies in fresh water and food
for humans. In addition, dredging sand from the river basin can poten­
Acknowledgements
tially destabilize riverbanks and undermine road and bridge landfills
(Chen et al., 2021b).
To the Federal Institute of Sergipe (IFS), through the Institutional
Program for Scientific Initiation Scholarships (PIBIC) of the Dean of
4. Conclusion Research and Extension (PROPEX).

This research aimed at the production of soil-cement brick with the

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