Once destined for landfills, water-treatment sludge is transformed into cement bricks that could give the by-product a second life in the construction industry. (Bernama pic)BUKIT MERTAJAM: Every day, millions of litres of water are cleaned before reaching taps across Penang. What most people never see is what gets left behind - a thick, muddy residue that is usually treated as waste and sent to landfills.Now, that same material is being transformed into cement bricks that are already finding their way into construction projects, giving an unlikely by-product of clean drinking water a second life.The initiative, developed by Alam Aliran Kualiti Sdn Bhd (AAK) in collaboration with the Penang Water Supply Corporation, is the first of its kind in Malaysia that turns water-treatment residue into a commercially viable construction material.But before it becomes a brick, the waste has one more important job to do.
At the Sungai Dua Dewatering Plant, the residue undergoes a process that squeezes out the remaining water.Around nine million litres are recovered every day - enough to meet the daily needs of between 10,000 and 12,000 households - before being returned to the water supply system.The remaining alum sludge is then transported to AAK's factory in Bukit Minyak, where it is chemically treated and converted into aggregates that replace conventional raw materials used in cement brick production.The finished product is virtually indistinguishable from an ordinary cement brick. In fact, AAK project head G Karthigayan claims laboratory tests have shown the recycled bricks offer better fire resistance than conventional ones."Our objective is not only to help water operators manage residue more efficiently, but also to change the perception that water-treatment waste is merely something to be discarded."With the right technology, strategy and management approach, this waste can be transformed into a resource with economic value. Material that previously ended up in landfills can now be repurposed into commercial products," he told Bernama during a recent visit to the factory.Project head G Karthigayan says the recycled bricks have performed well in lab tests, even demonstrating better fire resistance than conventional bricks.
(Bernama pic)The plant currently produces between 70,000 and 100,000 bricks a day, although it has the capacity to manufacture up to 150,000…
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