A civil engineering graduate of Sri Ram Swaroop Engineering College came up with the innovative idea of manufacturing bricks using waste material like sludge generated by a sewage treatment plant and fly ash at the puny cost of 64 paise each.The invention is not only cost-effective, it is also environment friendly. STP sludge which is available free of cost was recycled and mixed with fly ash. The combination brought down the cost of brick to five times less, as per invention, STP sludge into brick will also solve the issue of its disposal. The sludge generated in most of the treatment systems around the world is discharged into the nearest watercourse, which is becoming less acceptable. This leads to accumulative rise of aluminum concentration in water, aquatic organisms, and consequently in human bodies. Bricks formed using our method have adequate crushing strength, hardness and water absorption. Making Of The Brick
I. SLUDGE | Sludge refers to residual, semi-solid material left from industrial wastewater, or sewage treatment processes. It can also refer to the settled suspension obtained from conventional drinking water treatment, and numerous other industrial processes.
II. FLY ASH | Fly ash, also known as flue-ash, is one of the residues generated in combustion and comprises fine particles that rise with the flue gases. Ash which does not rise is termed bottom ash. In an industrial context, fly ash usually refers to ash produced during combustion of coal.
III. PROCESS
Students collected sludge from Daulatganj Sewage Treatment plant, Lucknow and flyash was taken from NTPC, Unchahar, Rae Bareli. STP sludge was crushed into a power form. It was then sieved from a 75-micron sieve to finely divide sludge particles. Then sludge was mixed with fly ash. This paste was filled in a brick mould and compacted. The raw brick was taken out of the mould and kept in sunlight.