Exposed Clay Bricks Made with Waste: An Analysis of Research and Technological Trends

Properly disposal of industrial waste is a recurring issue due to its large volume and environmental impact. In turn, civil construction has shown itself to be a potential consumer of waste and can contribute to expanding the circular economy. Clay matrix materials have been a focus of interest for absorbing waste, with the possibility of varying their aesthetics, depending on the waste, as an exposed clay brick. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the research and technological trends on the topic to truly meet the demands of the market and society, in an innovative and sustainable way. To this end, a bibliometric review was carried out considering articles published in journals and an analysis of patent trends was carried out. The use of industrial waste was considerably influential in the growth of research on clay bricks. However, while the scientific community focuses on understanding the impact of industrial waste on clay brick properties, inventors focus on processes and methods for synthesizing clay particles associated with contaminants. The existence of gaps to be explored was identified, such as the aesthetic evaluation of clay bricks. The need to further study the properties of bricks made with waste, optimizing production processes and evaluating the life cycle of these materials are some of the challenges for future research.