Sand-lime bricks with addition of basalt powder

The purpose of the work is to modify traditional lime-sand products with the addition of basalt dust. It is to improve the physical and mechanical parameters of the material. Thanks to this, bricks will have a better price / quality ratio and will be a more interesting solution for potential customers. To the silicate mass of raw material, after the process of extinguishing the lime in the mass, a modifier in the form of basalt dust was added, and then bricks were formed and autoclaved. The effect of the applied additive on the quality of products, made of the prepared mass, was evaluated on the basis of a comparative analysis of traditional lime-sand products and products modified with the addition of basalt dust. The tests were carried out in accordance with the methodology included in the standards. Replacing the part of traditional silicate mass with basalt dust at the production stage had a positive effect on the processes occurring during the autoclaving of the discussed products. The additive under hydrothermal conditions reacted with lime and silica to form additional amounts of the C-S-H phase. The use of basalt dust, in the amount of 5-20% in relation to the mass of raw materials, gave an improvement in compressive strength by up to 100% compared to samples without a modifier. Keywords: silicates, ecology, basalt powder, environment, sand-lime products, microstructure