Suitability of Reusing the Spent Diatomaceous Earth in Brick Production: A Review

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is commonly used as a filter material in the brewery industry. Spent Diatomaceous Earth (SDE) is an industrial waste generated after filling DE pores with impurities from brewing industries during filtration. After the final filtering process, this SDE is disposed into dumping areas, causing numerous environmental concerns. SDE has been recently reported as a substitute for clay in brick production. Incorporating SDE with clay in brick production can reduce the amount of clay added to the brick and the SDE waste discharged into the environment. However, only limited literature is available on SDE utilization in brick production. This paper reviews the recent research on reusing SDE in brick production. Moreover, the manufacturing process of bricks, including essential chemical reactions accompanying the firing of brick, properties of SDE and clay, factors maintained in brick, and affecting the quality of brick, have also been discussed in this review.