Utilizing billet sintering for producing environmentally friendly porous tiles from brick waste and catalyst waste: Properties and moisture control applications

The construction industry generates significant amounts of inorganic waste, necessitating innovative recycling approaches to support a circular economy with zero emissions. This study explores the production of environmentally friendly porous tiles using brick waste (BW) as the base material and catalyst waste (CW) from petrochemical processing as a substitute material in varying mass ratios (10 %, 20 %, 30 %, and 40 %) under controlled sintering temperatures. The water absorption and porosity results indicate that increasing CW content from 0 % to 40 % significantly raises the water absorption rate and porosity of ceramic tile materials, ranging from 1.34 % to 44.05 % and from 34.71 % to 52.48 %. Conversely, the density of the tile material decreases proportionally with the addition of CW, given that CW has a lower density (1.41 g/cm 3 ) compared to BW (2.42 g/cm 3 ). Furthermore, the moisture buffering capacity test reveals that higher sintering temperatures (1000°C to 1150°C) reduce porosity, whereas incorporating up to 40 % CW increases porosity to 52.48 %, significantly enhancing the moisture buffering capacity from 0.15 to 2.79 g/m 2 ·%RH@8 h). These findings demonstrate the potential of transforming industrial waste into high-performance, stable, and energy-efficient construction materials with excellent moisture control capabilities.