Eco-Bricks

Bricks made with wool. 
(Credit: Galán-Marín et al.)

Today, the researchers in Europe have created a new brick that is stronger and more environmentally friendly. According to the study published in the year 2010 in the journal Construction and Building Materials, Spanish and Scottish researchers have added wool fibers to the clay material used to make bricks and combine these with a natural polymer which is extracted from seaweed called alginate.


"The objective was to produce bricks reinforced with wool and to obtain a composite that was more sustainable, non-toxic, using abundant local materials, and that would mechanically improve the brick strength," Carmen Galán and Carlos Rivera, authors of the study and researchers at the Schools of Architecture at the University of Seville in Spain and the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK said about their invention.

Wool and an alginate conglomerate from the cell walls of seaweed were mixed with clay to create the bricks. The mixture seemed to be less easy to crack and less likely to wrap. For your information, these kinds of bricks can be manufactured without firing, which directly contributes to energy conservation. According to the authors; "This is a more sustainable and healthy alternative to conventional building materials such as baked earth bricks and concrete blocks."

Via Science Daily