Experimental study on the reuse of a dredging sludge from west of Algeria in brick fabrication

Abstract

The siltation as a natural phenomenon threatens the performance of harbors by reducing their docking volume compared to dams in terms of water storage, as well as their life span. An alarming rate of siltation is noted in the various basins requires an urgent cleaning operations. In a context of valorization of the sludge resulted from the dredging operations of the basins of the Oran’s port and those of the Bouhanifia’s dam which are  located in Western Algeria, it is a question of studying possibilities which are offered by the use of these vases in the design of bricks building. The followed methodology is based on a physicochemical and mineralogical characterization of the two vases to reveal the one closest to the standards recommended for the manufacture of the baked brick. After analyzing sediments dredged in the port of Oran, it turned out that there is a dominance of sandy sediments, which are not recoverable in the areas of bricks we have targeted. Sustainability tests were performed on several sludge dam samples at different temperatures and percentages of water. The results gave a satisfaction in mechanical strength and durability for a firing temperature of 850 ° C and a percentage of water of 20%