Ecological Mortar from Recycled Composite Powder with Waste Clay Brick and Coal Gangue

The clay brick and powder recycled from construction and industrial waste may be utilized as recycled construction materials. To alleviate the negative environmental impact of the cement industry’s CO 2 emission, waste clay brick was used as fine aggregate, clay brick powder (CBP), and coal gangue powder (CGP) were utilized as supplementary materials to partly substitute the cement. The physical properties, mechanical properties, and durability of ecological mortar were investigated with microstructure analysis and revealed that the replacement of cement with recycled composite powder generally harms the performance of ecological mortar, and this impact is found to be less significant in proper mix proportions (5:5). Furthermore, a limited clay brick fine aggregate (CBFA) replacement rate under 20% exhibited higher mechanical properties. The hydration products of pozzolanic activity resulted in densification and enhanced the microstructure of the mortar framework. The result obtained by the investigation help promote the development of the synergetic application of waste clay brick and coal gangue as supplementary cementitious materials in the full component ecological mortar and green construction materials.