FAQs:
1. What is “Greenest Brick”?
“Greenest Brick” is the trade name of a special type of bricks invented and made by the EcologicTech, using fly ash as the raw material. The Greenest Brick has many advantages over conventional clay bricks in that: (1) It requires much less energy to manufacture, (2) it does not emit any pollutant and greenhouse gas during and after manufacturing, (3) it costs about 20% less than manufacturing clay bricks, (4) it is more uniform in size and shape, and hence saves labor cost in laying bricks. Both a patent and a trademark on “Greenest Brick” are pending with the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office). This document is devoted to answering frequently asked questions about the “Greenest Brick.”
2. What is fly ash?
Fly ash is the ash removed from the exhaust gas of burning coal at power plants to generate electricity. The ash is removed from the exhaust by air pollution control equipment such as electrostatic precipitators before the exhaust is emitted through stacks or chimneys into the atmosphere. Thus, fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal for heating or generation of electricity.
3. Is fly ash utilized? If so, how much?
Over 70 million tons of fly ash is generated each year in the United States, of which only about 1/3 is used. The remaining 2/3 must be carefully disposed of in order to avoid any damage to the environment. Consequently, fly ash is regarded by the public as a solid waste material, though it is increasingly being used for various beneficial purposes.
4. What is fly ash used for usually?
Fly ash has been used in a number of applications. A major use is as an ingredient in making concrete, to substitute for a portion of the cement or aggregates used in the concrete. Another beneficial use is for strengthening road beds. Thirdly, fly ash serves as part of the raw materials for manufacturing cement. It has also been used in many other ways including soil stabilization (improving the foundation of structures), soil improvement (improving crop growth), etc.
5. Is fly ash a hazardous waste?
NO. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – classifies fly ash as “non-hazardous.”
Fly ash deserves such a classification for good reasons, one of which is that numerous scientific studies have found that fly ash does not cause water pollution and air pollution. Because fly ash is usually basic rather than acidic, it does not leach out pollutants (heavy metals) when immersed in water. Furthermore, fly ash has been used for more than a century in many countries; yet it has not generated any public health problem or even occupational health problem for those using and handling fly ash. In spite of that, it is not healthy to ingest or inhale fly ash, just as it is not healthy to ingest or inhale street dust. Eye contact with fly ash should also be avoided just as you should avoid street dust from entering your eyes. Finally, fly ash must be disposed of carefully to avoid spills, which could cause damage to environment, as demonstrated by the fly ash dam failure in Kingston, Tennessee in December 2008.
6. Should fly ash be handled carefully?
YES. Before mixing with water, fly ash exists in powder form. All powder materials must be handled with care. Otherwise, they can easily be suspended into air and cause air pollution in the form of particulates. All powder in air can cause eye irritation and breathing problems, especially if the powder concentration in air is high and/or there is prolonged exposure to the powder.
7. Is fly ash powder worse than other kinds of powder that pollute air?
NO. Fly ash is less of a problem than most other powders including coal dust or road dust for a good reason. Most fly ash particles are tiny spheres rather than sharp-edged particles. When inhaled or in contact with eye, round particles can easily be expelled from lung and washed out from eye, causing less damage than sharp-edged particles do. Still, when handling or transporting fly ash powder, care must be exercised to minimize air pollution and human exposure to air containing fly ash.
8. Can fly ash be used for making bricks and/or blocks? How?
YES. Fly ash can be utilized to make bricks and blocks in one of several ways:
(a) To substitute for a portion of the cement and/or aggregates in making concrete bricks and blocks. This is a common use nowadays not only in the U.S. but also in many other countries.
(b) To substitute for a portion of the clay used in making clay bricks. This uses the same process for making clay bricks, requiring heating the adobes (green bricks) in kilns to more than 2,000oF, which consumes much fossil fuel and generates air pollutants and carbon dioxides due to the combustion of the fossil fuel
(c) To substitute for all the clay used in making clay bricks, using the same process for making clay bricks which requires burning fossil fuel to heat adobes in kilns at over 2,000 oF . This uses the same process and has the same drawback of (b) except that 100% fly ash is used in making bricks.
(d) Use 100% fly ash to make bricks without firing adobes in kilns. This process to make Greenest Bricks is the focus of the remaining questions and answers. Henceforth, when mentioning “fly ash brick” or “Greenest Brick” in this document, it means “the 100% fly ash brick made without cement or any other binder, and without kiln firing or autoclave curing.” The curing method used for fly ash bricks uses much less energy than
either kiln firing or autoclave curing. It will be discussed later.
9. How is Greenest Brick made? Does it require the use of any binder?
For fly ash that contains a large amount of calcium (e.g., Class C fly ash), the fly ash is
cementious (i.e the fly ash reacts chemically with water in the same way that Portland cement does with water --- a synonym of “cementious” would be “self-cementing.”) in nature, and no binder is required to make bricks or blocks at room temperature using such fly ash, and using ET’s patent pending process, which we chose to call it “Greenest Brick”. However, for fly ash that is low in calcium (ex. Class F fly ash), the fly ash is not cementious. It consists of mostly inert materials that don’t react chemically with water. In this case, it is necessary to add certain binder before bricks can be made at room temperature. Therefore, it is much easier and less costly to make fly ash brick using the room-temperature process (Greenest Brick) than if the fly ash is Class C rather than Class F.
10. Where can Class C fly ash be found for making bricks?
In the United States, approximated 50% of the fly ash is Class C. The Class C ash is generated by burning Western coals, usually subbituminous or lignite. For instance, the largest coal source and reserve in the United States – Powder River Basin Coals – produces Class C fly ash. For bituminous coals produced in Eastern states, they normally produce Class F fly ash. However, if such coals are burned with limestone in fluidized boilers in order to remove the sulfur from the coals, or if powdered limestone is injected into the exhaust flue gas using a clean coal technology called “flue gas desulfurization (FGD)”, the fly ash produced from such a system, regardless of the type of coal used, will contain high amount of calcium oxide (CaO). Therefore, there is plenty of high-calcium fly ash in the United States for making fly ash bricks, more so in the Western states than Eastern states.
11. What is the uniqueness of the Greenest Brick process developed by the EcologicTech (ET)?
Many individuals and organizations, including the University of Missouri- Columbia, have made 100% fly ash bricks at room temperature and tested them. Though they succeeded in making bricks of good strength, the freeze-thaw resistance of the fly ash bricks made was unacceptable. The bricks made were unable to pass more than 10 cycles of the freeze-thaw test in laboratory, whereas the ASTM Standard C62 requires building bricks in Severe Weather regions to pass a minimum of 50 cycles. Without passing the ASTM freeze-thaw test, the fly ash brick could not be used in most parts of the United States, where it freezes in winter. It was not until 2004 when a breakthrough occurred that solved the problem. The breakthrough was a result of extensive testing by ET under a SBIR Phase II grant of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Upon trying 9 different methods to enhance the freeze-thaw resistance of fly ash bricks, an effective method was developed to make the fly ash brick freeze-thaw resistant. By using this method to produce fly ash bricks at room temperature and without binder, the brick can now pass the 50- cycle ASTM freeze-thaw test routinely, often being able to pass more than 100 cycles without damage.
12. Can the fly ash brick be made in colors and different shapes?
YES. The natural color of fly ash bricks made of low-carbon fly ash is a neutral buff color --- see the arrows in the photo below pointing to such bricks. For fly ash bricks made of high carbon fly ash, the brick is gray or dark grey. Simply adding a small amount of color pigment leads to fly ash bricks of different colors, as shown in the photo below.
Figure 1. Assorted fly ash bricks of different colors made at ET. (The three
bricks pointed by arrows have natural color of low-carbon fly ash; the dark
ones have natural color of high-carbon fly ash; the red ones are made
with 1 to 2% of commercially available red colored pigments.
13. What advantages does the fly ash brick offer over conventional bricks?
Fly ash bricks have the following advantages:
• Cost less to produce – at least 10% less than concrete bricks and 20% less than clay
bricks. Details on cost will be addressed later in this document.
• Save construction cost – Due to the uniform shape and size of the fly ash brick, it saves labor in laying bricks by about 15%. This translates into an estimated 7 cents reduction in labor cost in laying each brick.
• Use less energy – Much energy is consumed in firing clay bricks in kilns. By using fly ash bricks instead of clay bricks, much energy is saved in brick manufacturing. Details on energy saving will be addressed later in this document.
• Reduce air pollution – Much fossil fuel is used in heating clay bricks in kilns. Burning such fuel generates air pollution and greenhouse gas (CO2), contributing to global warming. By manufacturing fly ash bricks (at room temperature) instead of clay bricks
14. How has the fly ash brick been received by industry and press?
The fly ash brick technology was first presented in 2005 at the World of Coal Ash Conference, which is the largest and most prestigious international conference on coal ash. The paper won the Barton A. Thomas Memorial Award at the Conference. In 2006, the fly ash brick technology was selected as one of 25 Semifinalists (out of more than 4,000 inventions considered) in an Invention Contest sponsored by the History Channel and Inventors Hall of Fame. As a result of the selection, samples of our bricks were exhibited in major museums in the U.S., and in the International Exhibition Center in Shanghai, China. Stories about the fly ash brick invention have been covered by the Associated Press and featured in several newspapers across the country and in professional publications such as the ASCE News. In 2007, POPULAR SCIENCE MAGAZINE selected the “Greenest Brick,” as one of 10 Award Winning inventions featured in the June 2007 Issue of the Magazine. In the November 12, 2007 issue of TIME magazine, our brick was heralded as one of the top inventions of 2007 in a full page article. In 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with several other agencies and organizations that sponsor the Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2), selected the Greenest brick for the Best Innovation Award. A story about the brick is also listed now (2009) on the EPA website www.epa.gov/c2p2, in Case Studies as Case 17. Most recently, in 2009, Dr. Liu (and the Greenest Brick) received the Purpose Prize, which honors people over 60 engaged in an "encore career" that is helping solve social problems. 10 Purpose Prize Fellows were selected out of more than 1,000 nominations nationwide. Previous winners have been invited to the White House and met with the President.
15. When will the fly ash brick technology be ready for commercial use?
The fly ash brick technology is ready for commercial use immediately, though R & D is continuing at ET to further improve the technology.
16. Does ET plan to manufacture the fly ash brick?
NO. ET is a research and engineering firm that seeks to license its ideas out to others for commercial use. We believe that it is better to let experts in manufacturing/distribution/ sales bring our ideas to market. This leaves us free to work on our next great idea(s).
17. Has the fly ash brick technology been licensed?
So far, the Company has licensed our fly ash brick process for use in the U.S. and in ten other nations. Our current (non-exclusive) U.S. Licensee is CalStar Products, a venture capital backed company in California. The Company should be completing its first brick factory by end of year 2009 and will be selling bricks in 2010.
18. How can you obtain a license from ET to manufacture the fly ash bricks?
Companies interested in acquiring any license should contact:
Jerry Liu
CEO, EcologicTech
Phone: 773-412-7518
19. Is there a patent to protect the IP rights of ET on the fly ash brick technology?
ET has applied for a U.S. patent, a PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patent, a European Union Patent, and a Chinese Patent. Licensees in other nations have also applied for patent rights in their nations on behalf of ET. All these patent applications are pending.
20. Are the aforementioned patent applications limited to making bricks only?
NO. All those patent applications are for a common process or method that can make bricks and similar products, including but not limited to bricks, blocks, architectural stones, tiles, and similar products that can be made by the same process as described in our patent applications in various nations, having the common title “Method to Produce Durable Non-Vitrified Fly Ash Bricks and Blocks.”
21. Does ET have anything other than patents to protect its IP rights?
YES. As it is with all private companies dealing with R&D, ET has a large body of proprietary information (unpublished technical information, test data, and trade secrets) that do not exist in the pending patents, and that have been kept confidential to protect ET’s rightful interests in this technology. Only licensees and potential investors/partners who have signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) are privileged to have access to such proprietary information.
22. Has ET applied for a U.S. trademark for the durable fly ash bricks produced by the process described in the patent applications listed in Table 1? If so, what is it?
YES. ET has applied for a U.S. trademark, “Greenest Brick”, for this new product. The term “Greenest Brick” is derived from the fact that there are other bricks made of fly ash and they are Green (environmentally friendly). However, since other fly ash bricks either require the use of cement or lime as binder, or require burning fossil fuel in kilns, they are not as Green as the bricks developed by ET, which use 100% fly ash (no cement or lime), and which does not require burning fossil fuel in kilns which generates pollutants and greenhouse gas. Therefore,this is certainly the Greenest type of fly ash brick, deserving the trademark name “Greenest Bricks”.
23. What is ET’s policy in protecting IP rights, including pending patents, pending
trademarks, and proprietary information?
While ET welcomes users of this fly ash brick technology to obtain a license from ET for use of this technology, the Company will aggressively protect its IP rights and bring legal actions against any party who infringes on these pending patents and proprietary information. Licensees will be given proprietary information needed for successful use of the technology to produce fly ash bricks.
24. Who sponsored the research on durable fly ash bricks or “Greenest Bricks”?
We appreciate the sponsorship of the R&D by the National Science Foundation (NSF)3, which has made it possible for the development of this innovative new fly ash brick technology.
25. It there evidence on the cost-effectiveness of manufacturing fly ash bricks?
YES. In August 2007, ET conducted a detailed and rigorous cost analysis of a Greenest Brick factory designed for construction in Missouri in 2008. The factory would be located at a major coal-fired power plant that uses Powder River Basin Coal from Wyoming, and that generates approximately 100,000 (one hundred thousand) tons of high-grade Class C fly ash each year. The fly ash is sufficient to make 45 million bricks a year. Based on a life cycle cost analysis that includes all capital costs items and all operation/maintenance (O/M) cost items, taxes, insurance, depreciation (over 20 years), and return-on-investment (ROI) of 15%, it was found that the total capital cost for the factory is $6.4 million for Greenest Bricks made in their natural color, and $6.7 million for Greenest Bricks with artificial color. The total annual O/M cost is $4.4 million and $5.7 million, respectively for natural-color and artificial-color Greenest Bricks containing 1% color (based on the dry weight of fly ash). The unit cost (i.e., the cost for producing each thousand of fly ash bricks) is $130 per thousand Greenest Bricks of natural color, and $160 per thousand Greenest Bricks containing 1% artificial color. In contrast, the wholesale price of clay bricks of the same size and same quality as that of the Greenest Bricks is approximately $400 per thousand bricks. What this means is that even if we were able to sell the fly ash bricks at only half of the price of clay bricks of the same size and quality, we should be able to earn a 15% annual profit (ROI) in manufacturing the fly ash bricks. This shows the highly competitive nature of the Greenest Brick over clay bricks in terms of cost.
26. Any evidence on the energy efficiency of manufacturing fly ash bricks?
YES. From a study conducted in July 2007, entitled “Energy in Making Bricks: A comparison between Clay Bricks and Flyash Bricks,” it was found that great saving of energy can be accomplished by manufacturing Greenest Bricks instead clay bricks, due mainly to the elimination of the kiln firing process needed for manufacturing clay bricks, which is very energy intensive. This study found that steam curing of Greenest Brick uses only about 5% of the energy used in kiln firing of clay brick. Consequently, while the energy cost of Greenest Brick is only about $5 per thousand bricks, the energy cost of clay brick is more than $60 per thousand bricks. This means the saving that can be achieved from making fly ash bricks instead of clay bricks is about $60 per thousand bricks, or 6 cents per brick.
27. Is there any evidence on the environmental benefits of fly ash bricks?
YES. From a study conducted in July 2007, entitled “Environmental Benefits of Greenest
28. How can I get further information on Greenest Bricks?
Visit the website www.ecologic-tech.com, or Contact Jerry Liu at the e-mail address or phone number listed above.