2026-09-18T22:15:06Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/request

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/809062022-01-13T07:55:22Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131024

Joel P. Clark. Zachau Walker, Miriam E. (Miriam Elizabeth) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering a-ii--- 2013-09-24T18:22:58Z 2013-09-24T18:22:58Z 2013 2013 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80906 858283075 Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2013. This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-32). Brick manufacturing requires a considerable amount of energy and land, but these numbers have been difficult to quantify in rural parts of the developing world. The environmental impact of unfired bricks in India is investigated through modeling the effects of materials composition and processing on energy consumption, carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and land surface area use. The analysis uses a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment to quantitatively estimate these impacts. The depth of soil extraction has a significantly affects the land use required for bricks; changing this depth in practice or through regulation has the potential to reduce environmental impact without affecting brick performance. The impact of unfired bricks depends greatly on composition, in particular the amount and type of stabilizer and the incorporation of fly ash. While stabilizers increase the environmental burden, the performance gain is potentially worth these effects when compared to energy intensive fired bricks. Future work could expand the model to quantify the relevant cost and performance tradeoffs with environmental impact. by Miriam E. Zachau Walker. S.B. 32 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Materials Science and Engineering. Modeling environmental impact of unfired bricks in India Thesis application/pdf false Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="f21c3937-921c-40ce-bce0-3649796894ad"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Modeling environmental impact of unfired bricks in India</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2013</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Zachau Walker, Miriam E. (Miriam Elizabeth)</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Materials Science and Engineering.</Keyword> <Abstract>Brick manufacturing requires a considerable amount of energy and land, but these numbers have been difficult to quantify in rural parts of the developing world. The environmental impact of unfired bricks in India is investigated through modeling the effects of materials composition and processing on energy consumption, carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and land surface area use. The analysis uses a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment to quantitatively estimate these impacts. The depth of soil extraction has a significantly affects the land use required for bricks; changing this depth in practice or through regulation has the potential to reduce environmental impact without affecting brick performance. The impact of unfired bricks depends greatly on composition, in particular the amount and type of stabilizer and the incorporation of fly ash. While stabilizers increase the environmental burden, the performance gain is potentially worth these effects when compared to energy intensive fired bricks. Future work could expand the model to quantify the relevant cost and performance tradeoffs with environmental impact.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>