The use of Mount Etna volcanic ash in the production of bricks with good physical-mechanical performance: Converting a problematic waste product into a resource for the construction industry Cultrone, Giuseppe V. Volcanic ash Brick production Petrophysical behaviour Technical quality This study was funded by Junta de Andalucía Research Group RNM179 and by Research Project MAT2016-75889-R. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA. I thank Cer´amica Castillo Siles for providing the raw material used to prepare and fire the bricks and the Centro de Instrumentaci´on Científica (CIC, University of Granada) for its assistance with the granulometry, XRF, TG-DSC and FESEM analyses. I am grateful to Nigel Walkington for his assistance in revising the English text of the manuscript. Volcanic ash emissions are responsible for serious damage to buildings. They can also affect vehicle traffic, cause airport closures and may be hazardous for human health. To verify the effects of the potential addition of this residue to the mixture used in the production of bricks, a detailed study of the clayey material, the volcanic ash and the bricks fired at 800, 950 and 1100 ◦C was conducted, assessing chemical, mineralogical, physical, mechanical and durability aspects. The addition of 10–20 wt% of volcanic ash delayed the appearance of new phases during brick firing and made them less porous. The bricks maintained their orange colour and became more compact as the firing temperature increased due to sintering and vitrification processes. The addition of volcanic ash reduced the strength of the bricks although the values were always above the limits recommended for construction work with ceramic materials. Bricks with added volcanic ash increased their resistance to decay due to salt crystallization and the general behaviour of the bricks improved when they were fired at high temperatures. 2022-01-07T07:46:16Z 2022-01-07T07:46:16Z 2021-11-17 journal article Giuseppe Cultrone, The use of Mount Etna volcanic ash in the production of bricks with good physical-mechanical performance: Converting a problematic waste product into a resource for the construction industry, Ceramics International, 2021, , ISSN 0272-8842, [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.11.119] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/72217 10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.11.119 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ open access Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España Elsevier