Investigating the Potential for Producing Fired Bricks from Savannah Harbor Dredged Sediment

Dredged sediment poses a particularly difficult challenge for disposal throughout the world. At the Savannah Harbor alone (Savannah, GA, USA), over 6 million cubic yards of sediments, are dredged annually and are currently being stored within disposal sites adjacent to the harbor, confined by 42 miles of dikes. High maintenances costs associated with the disposal of these sediments, along with proposed land use changes in the area, have become primary drivers for identifying productive reuse applications for this dredge material. Given the composition of the sediment, it has been investigated as a suitable component for the raw materials in brick manufacture. This paper summarizes research conducted to assess the viability of producing fired bricks from Savannah harbor dredge. Results from physical and chemical characterization of the dredged materials demonstrate that they are suitable components for brick manufacture. Brick production, including bench scale extrusion and firing, have been performed in a controlled laboratory setting. Results indicate that the bricks, produced from dredged sediment blended with minimal additional materials, indeed comply with standard strength and absorption requirements.