Scientists found that using eggshell waste in fired clay bricks can improve their thermal insulation and create more stability, according to a recent study in Scientific Reports.

Researchers sought to tackle two growing problems contributing to polluting gases: residential power consumption and waste production. 

Using Egyptian buildings as a case study, they explained that many interiors overheat throughout the day due to solar heat gain in their building envelopes. Consequently, residents use a lot of energy to cool their homes with air conditioners. These buildings would benefit from building materials with low thermal conductivity to manage heat fluctuation, according to the researchers. 

Meanwhile, most food waste ends up in landfills, which are running out of space. Scientists have been looking for ways to divert trash and repurpose it to create new materials. Alongside initiatives such as Trashie's Take Back Bag or repurposedMATERIALS' "industrial thrift store," the development of green building materials can reduce the amount of waste sitting in landfills.

That's where the clay and eggshell bricks come in. Scientists dried and ground eggshells into a calcium carbonate filler and integrated them into fired clay bricks. They found that bricks with 10% eggshell content fired for four hours at 1,100°C showed the most significant reductions in heat conductivity (50%), thermal diffusivity (30%), and thermal effusivity (30%) compared to typical bricks.

Bricks with 7% eggshell content fired under similar conditions also had an increased pore size and porosity, according to the study. This significantly reduces heat transfer because air gets trapped in the pores of the brick.

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Green building materials like these bricks can create more energy-efficient buildings and repurpose trash that would otherwise end up in landfills. Prioritizing energy efficiency can save money on electric bills in the long run. 

While these bricks are a promising development in green building, researchers wrote, "Further ongoing tests, such as long-term durability studies and the assessment of other mechanical properties, are essential to fully understanding the performance of these modified bricks in real-world construction environments."

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