Aproveitamento de resíduo de vermiculita em argamassa alternativa para a produção de ladrilho hidráulico.

Abstract

The accumulation of waste generated, together with its irregular deposition in the environment in which we live, presents itself as some of the biggest problems of today's society. During the processing of vermiculite, residues are generated and accumulated randomly in the environment, causing impacts to the surrounding region. Therefore, the objective of this research was to develop mortar with partial replacement of artificial sand by vermiculite residue for the production of a prototype of hydraulic floor tile. With the acquisition of vermiculite residue, it went through a characterization process, evaluating its feasibility to compose the mortar. Subsequently, mortars with a 1:4 mix (cement: artificial sand) were prepared, using Portland cement CP V-ARI, replacing the artificial sand with vermiculite residue at 0%, 10%, 30% and 50% and with a water/cement factor between 0.9 and 1.18. With the preparation, the mortars were evaluated in their hardened state at 7, 14 and 21 days, by means of compressive strength, capillary absorption and immersion absorption tests. With the best result, the prototype of the hydraulic tile was formulated (using commercially available molds), having been visually analyzed, verifying uniformity of the surface finish (internal and external face) and the quality of the molding, as well as the dimensional conformity with the used mold. The characterization of the vermiculite residue showed a high level of fines, which led to the filling of existing voids in the mortar, enabling the applicability of the mortar containing 10% of vermiculite residue, having a general absorption (capillary and immersion) that does not significantly affect its mechanical capacity to resist loads, being this last characteristic, greater among the other mortars. In view of this behavior, the same was applied in the production of the tile prototype, resulting in pieces that were presented in accordance with their molds, satisfactory surface finish and without undesirable dimensional variations, noting the effectiveness of the technical feasibility of the use of vermiculite residue in this type of building material.