This study aimed to investigate the possible utilization of different waste materials such as oil shale ash mixed with marble and granite sludge, to produce low-cost compressed strong lightweight masonry bricks and alike. Various mixtures of the three wastes were prepared with different proportions by weight. Characterization of the produced bricks was conducted by carrying out laboratory tests including but not limited to absorption, permeability, dry density, void ratio, thermal conductivity and compressive strength. On average, compressive strength values were 3.5 and 3.8 MPa at 28 days for ash-granite and ash-marble sludge, respectively, compared with the specified value of 3.5 MPa for cement bricks. The strength of ash-based samples is attributed to the alkali-pozzolanic reaction in the tested composites. On the other hand, the tested samples showed a very low permeability ranging from 3 × 10–6 to 7.2 × 10–6 cm/sec, in addition to the low dry density between 1.14 and 1.27 g/cm3. Moreover, a low thermal conductivity of about 0.1 and 0.2 W/m K was measured for the produced bricks. Such results are encouraging to investigate further the properties and feasibility of production of such new bricks which would be used to build new low-income houses.
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