Performance on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Fired Clay Brick Incorporated with Palm Kernel Shell for Lightweight Building Materials

This paper presents the potential of palm oil mill waste incorporated into fire clay bricks for lightweight building materials. Palm kernel shell (PKS) from oil palm processing was used as a clay replacement for brick making with a percentage of 1, 5, and 10% by volume. The firing temperature was set to 1050 °C at 1 °C/min heating rates. The effect of incorporation PKS on the bricks was assessed by physical and mechanical properties analysis. The results showed that bricks with 5% of PKS are significant to reach equilibrium between positive (decrease of weight and increase of porosity) and negative (increase of water absorption and decrease of mechanical resistance) effects. In conclusion, optimizing PKS into fired clay brick is beneficial in reducing the disposal challenges and promoting lightweight building materials that readily meet the standard requirements.