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Manufacturing of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC): Present Status and

Future Trends

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Chapter 69
Manufacturing of Autoclaved Aerated
Concrete (AAC): Present Status
and Future Trends

Amit Raj , Arun Chandra Borsaikia and Uday Shanker Dixit

Abstract Recent researches have indicated the manufacturing of several useful

products by using different industrial wastes all over the world. The materials remain
as a waste till their potential to right use is understood. The solid waste in India has
emerged as a great threat to the environmental health of the country. Nowadays, build-
ing materials are manufactured from various environmental wastes based on needs
and availability. An overview has been given on the manufacturing of autoclaved
aerated concrete (AAC), one of the potential building materials. The replacement
of major raw material (sand) with the solid/industrial wastes in manufacturing of
AAC leads toward a sustainable process. In this paper, present status on manufac-
turing of AAC as well as possible utilization of industrial wastes for its production
is presented. A complete industrial manufacturing process of AAC block along with
advantages, applications, cost-benefit analysis, challenging issues, and future scopes
have been highlighted.

Keywords Sustainable manufacturing · Sustainable material · Pollution · Fly ash ·

Waste materials · Brick

69.1 Introduction

The conservation of natural resources, eco-friendly manufacturing, energy saving,

and comfort living have forced to search a sustainable manufacturing process for a

A. Raj (B) · U. S. Dixit

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati
781039, India
e-mail: [Link]@[Link]
U. S. Dixit
e-mail: uday@[Link]
A. Ch. Borsaikia
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039,
India
e-mail: aruborsiitg@[Link]

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 825

M. S. Shunmugam and M. Kanthababu (eds.), Advances in Simulation, Product Design
and Development, Lecture Notes on Multidisciplinary Industrial Engineering,
[Link]

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826 A. Raj et al.

Fig. 69.1 AAC block. a a single unit and b a building made of AAC block

sustainable building material. The construction industry in India is responsible for the
largest share of CO2 emission into the atmosphere [1]. Clay bricks are manufactured
using top fertile soil causing soil infertility, threat to soil erosion, and also a concern
of food production. Huge amount of energy is required for the production of clay
bricks. The CO2 emissions during manufacturing of red clay brick have significantly
contributed to the global warming [1]. For greener environment, it is recommended
to replace the red clay brick with the equivalent sustainable material. The autoclaved
aerated concrete (AAC) block or cellular lightweight concrete brick has emerged as
the best alternative of clay brick as a sustainable building material. Further, the kilns
meant for heat treatment source in clay brick create air pollution and are replaced by
steam-based heat treatment, so-called autoclave, in the AAC production industries.
This work aims to review the manufacturing process of AAC blocks, particularly
with regard to use of solid/industrial wastes as replacement of major raw material
(sand). The use of solid/industrial wastes leads to sustainable manufacturing pro-
cess for building bricks in place of burnt clay brick. In this paper, present status on
manufacturing of AAC blocks as well as possible utilization of industrial wastes for
its production is presented. A complete industrial manufacturing process of AAC
blocks and its cost-benefit analysis have been studied. The detailed manufactur-
ing stages of AAC along with the cost-benefit analysis for its application are not
in open literature. It is a manufacturing process requiring urgent attention of man-
ufacturing/industrial/production engineers, so that construction industry should be
benefitted. A sample image of AAC block and AAC building has been shown in
Fig. 69.1.

69.1.1 History and Present Status

The AAC block was invented in the mid-1920s by the Swedish Architect Dr. John
Axel Eriksson and was patented in 1924 [2]. The first AAC block’s plant in India
was set up in the 1970s by Siporex at Pune. However, in the North-Eastern part of
the country, it was produced in the year 2014 and opened for commercialization in
2015 [3]. The recent developments in AAC production have highlighted the need of

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industrial wastes utilization in AAC manufacturing. In the past, several researchers

have investigated the possibilities for the use of industrial wastes in the production of
AAC, such as use of air-cooled slag in place of sand and lime. The use of coal bottom
ash, efflorescence sand, copper trailing, carbide slag, and glassy waste has been also
studied for the substitution of quartz sand in the production of AAC [3]. The use
of industrial wastes for the production of AAC materials leads to the sustainable
development, which is environmentally friendly, economical, and also energy effi-
cient. Rozycka and Pichor [4] utilized the perlite wastes as a replacement of sand for
the production of AAC materials and investigated the main properties of respective
AAC products. Presently, due to ban on use of top soil for manufacturing clay bricks,
AAC blocks are in great demand. At present, 10% of total requirement of bricks in
construction industries is satisfied with AAC blocks [2].

69.2 Advantages and Applications of AAC

AAC material is a special kind of concrete, which uses fly ash or sand, lime, cement,
water, and a foaming agent (aluminum powder) for its manufacturing. The AAC
material is an eco-friendly material with almost negligible environmental impacts.
The porosity property due to expansion process imparts lots of interesting fea-
tures/advantages in this type of material to be well fitted for building application.
The present AAC materials help in establishing a green environment due to its envi-
ronmentally friendly nature. In the AAC production process, no toxic by-products
or pollutants are evolved and diffused in air. Since all the ingredients used in the
production of AAC blocks are inorganic in nature, it does not contain any toxic sub-
stance. The environmental pollution from clay brick-making operations is injurious
to human health, animals, and plant life. A building constructed from AAC block
emits only 2.2 kg of CO2 compared to 17.6 kg of CO2 emitted due to use of clay
brick for a carpet area of 1 Sq Ft [1]. At a global level, the air pollution from clay
brick-making operations contributes to the phenomena of climate change and global
warming. Moreover, the AAC materials are also helpful for consuming the power
plant by-products (fly ash).
The gas formed by the reaction of aluminum with a soluble alkali in the
lime/cement slurry makes the aerated concrete lightweight [2]. The lightweight cel-
lular structure of AAC makes ease of handling, transportation, and wall installation
for the construction activities [5]. The lightweight property of AAC material also
imparts high strength to weight ratio. AAC is typically a low density, porous, and
lightweight, by which it reduces the dead load and seismic inertial force acting on
the structure as compared to the conventional clay brick. With high porosity, thereby
low density (~ 500 kg/m3 ) and thermal conductivity (0.1 W/mK); the AAC material
can serve as a sound-proofing and thermal insulation material [2]. The porosity value
for AAC material was found to be 82.1–91.5% for a density range of 250–500 kg/m3
[6]. The porosity (H) of AAC is determined by helium pycnometry given by

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828 A. Raj et al.
 
ρm
H = 1− × 100, (69.1)
ρf

where ρm and ρf are the apparent and skeleton density (kg/m3 ), respectively. The
apparent density is normally measured by immersion in mercury and the skeleton
density can be measured by determining the difference in helium pressure between an
empty chamber and the chamber containing a sample [6]. The total porosity decreases
with increase in apparent density. The thermal conductivity of any cellular concrete
is due to air-filled pores. The value of thermal conductivity, k (0.08–0.21 W/mK) of
aerated concrete primarily depends on its density. Further, AAC is non-combustible
(fire resistant), and hence in case of fire, it can help to prevent the fire from transfer
to other rooms. Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) can be used in the form of block
and panel for masonry wall constructions, floors, roof insulation, trench fills, and
for other insulating purposes [5]. There is an increasing use of this material for non-
structural applications in the past decade such as infill panels and cladding. AAC has
a wide range of application for building construction with residential, commercial,
and industrial buildings. AAC block, being lightweight, is suitable for the realization
of masonry bearing wall of low to medium story building in the seismic zones for
good seismic resistances [2]. As AAC is a prefabricated product, it is of high precision
and drillable. AAC panels are used directly in internal wall of concrete structures
and steel structures, such as schools, in hotels, offices, houses, and market places,
etc. The internal walls such as separation walls, household walls, partition walls in
bathroom, and kitchen also find the application of AAC panel. The AAC blocks
have application in both external and internal walls. Several authors reported the
application of AAC material in the structure of wall system and roof. Researchers
[5] studied the utilization of AAC in green roof structure.

69.3 Manufacturing Phases of Autoclaved Aerated

Concrete

There are mainly five phases involved in the production of AAC block and panel units.
They include mixing of raw materials, casting, expansion or rising, wire cutting,
and autoclaving. The present study focuses on detailed manufacturing steps of AAC
blocks. All the observations and visualizations in manufacturing of AAC blocks have
been made in a local industry (KD Infra, Guwahati, India). The stages for producing
the AAC block are summarized in Fig. 69.2. The detailed manufacturing stages of
AAC block have been described in the following subsections.

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Fig. 69.2 Block diagram representing the manufacturing stages of AAC block

69.3.1 Mixing of Raw Materials

Raw materials used for producing autoclaved aerated concrete are fine grade mate-
rials. Fly ash or sand, lime, cement, water, and aluminum powder are the main raw
materials for producing AAC. A total of 3150 kg of mixture (43–45% fly ash or sand,
36–38% water, 13–14% cement, 6–7% lime, and 0.025–0.03% aluminum powder
by weight) is prepared for filling a single mold. The prepared raw material mixture is
weighed by an electronic scale controlled by programmable logic controller (PLC)
system automatically.

69.3.2 Pouring and Expansion of Mix Slurry

After the preparation of the final mix with all its ingredients, the final mix
slurry is poured into an empty oil-treated mold through up-and-down pour-
ing device. Presently, the mold used in the industry (KD Infra, Guwahati)
is of size 4200 (length) × 1200 (thickness) × 600 (width) mm3 . The internal surface
of the mold is treated with oil for avoiding any sticking of mix on the surface of
mold. The volume of raw material mixes allowed to occupy the mold is fixed to
60–65% of mold volume. The remaining 35–40% volume of mold is kept unfilled
for the expansion process to save the material spillage. After the pouring process
is completed, the filled mold is transferred to the pre-curing room by a ferry cart
for pre-curing under constant temperature. The pre-curing of about 4–5 h is done
in order to get the required hardness for wire cutting. The pre-curing also allows
the cake for its expansion and gaining initial hardness. The aluminum powder reacts
with calcium hydroxide, which is the product of reaction between cement and water.
This reaction causes forming of microscopic air bubbles which results in increasing

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of paste-volume. The formed hydrogen, which is a lighter gas rises and is replaced
by air which is a denser gas. As a result, the hydrogen gas escapes out of the material
leaving the small air bubble in it. The volume increase is dependent upon the amount
of aluminum powder added. The volume increases with increase in the amount of
aluminum powder.

69.3.3 Wire Cutting of Green Cake

The mold is transported to the locating position under tilting hoister by friction
wheels, which take the mold to the cutting line. The tilting hoister turns the mold by
90 ° and puts on the cart for demolding. After the demolding process, the large green
cake is transferred to the wire cutting line. The wire used in this cutting process is
highly tensioned by air pressure with the help of a pneumatic cylinder. The size of
wire used is of 1–2 mm in diameter. A group of wires in both horizontal and vertical
directions are adjusted according to the variable desired dimensions of AAC block.
The size of AAC block generally produced in the industry are 600 × 250 × 200,
600 × 200 × 200, 600 × 150 × 200, 600 × 100 × 200, and 600 × 75 × 200 mm3
corresponding to length, thickness, and width dimensions. The variable sizes of the
AAC block produced are as per the need of customer. The wire cutting operations are
carried out in two separate stages, horizontal cutting and then vertical cutting. After
the horizontal cutting, the large green cake gets divided into six slices of dimension
4200 × 200 × 600 mm3 . Subsequently, the exchange device lifts the green cake and
puts on the second cutting cart for vertical cutting. During the vertical wire cutting,
the cutting machine frame swings back and forth like a saw.
In the vertical cutting, a 4200 mm length side large cake is divided into variable
43 parts. Finally, a stack of 258 (43 × 6) AAC blocks of same length and width
but of variable thickness (600 × 250 × 200, 600 × 200 × 200, 600 × 150 × 200,
600 × 100 × 200 and 600 × 75 × 200 mm3 ) are obtained after the wire cutting.
The total number of final AAC block obtained from a single mold may vary with
desired dimension of individual AAC block; accordingly the arrangements of wires
are adjusted in the cutting machine.

69.3.4 Autoclaving or Hydrothermal Treatment

After the final cutting operation, the stack of AAC block is transferred for heating
or steam curing in an autoclaved chamber. This large steam-heated vessel is in fact
a large pressure cooker by which the autoclaved aerated concrete is cured to gain
strength. Autoclaving of AAC green cake is carried out with a steam at a high tem-
perature ranging from 190 to 210 °C and high pressure ranging from 1.0 to 1.3 MPa.
The whole autoclaving process completes in 16–18 h. During the autoclaving or
hydrothermal treatment, the formation of tobermorite (5CaO.6SiO2 .5H2 O) occurs

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[5]. The formation of tobermorite, during the cooking period is affected by the pres-
ence of aluminum powder. In other words, the mechanical properties of final AAC
are influenced by the formation of tobermorite. After the autoclaving, the cured or
hardened stack of AAC blocks is pulled out from the autoclave chamber with the
help of the ferry cart. The final product is kept outside for cooling so as to attain
the room temperature. Finally, the finished AAC blocks are taken to the storage yard
with the help of a fork lift.

69.4 Cost-Benefit Analysis

The sustainability of any new product is governed by the cost-benefit ratio. In India,
the demands and costs of building materials are increasing rapidly due to high growth
of population. Both demands and costs can be met by adopting the AAC blocks as a
primary building wall material. The building wall systems are comprised of mortar,
brick, and reinforcements. In this section, the overall cost for AAC block wall system
and clay brick wall system has been analyzed and compared. The cost analysis for
both brick wall system is shown in Table 69.1. The analysis is carried out assuming
same centering, shuttering, and scaffolding cost incurred for both AAC and clay
brick wall of 10 m3 . The market price of items for both of the wall system (AAC
and clay brick) has been collected locally (Guwahati). The analysis of 10 m3 of wall
system has been carried out with the help of procedures followed in India [7]. A good
margin of cost difference can be seen from the analysis values. It has been found

Table 69.1 The cost analysis of building wall of AAC and clay brick (for a 10 m3 wall)
Particulars Qty. or Nos. Rate (Rs.) Cost (Rs.)
Clay brick AAC Clay brick AAC Clay brick AAC
block block block
Materials
(1) Brick 5000 330 8/unit 109/unit 40,000 35,970
(2) Cement 0.75 m3 0.45 m3 11,524/m3 11,524/m3 8643 5186
(3) Sand 2.25 m3 1.35 m3 2000/m3 2000/m3 4500 2700
coarse
Labor
(1) Head ½ nos. ½ nos. 612/day 612/day 306 306
mason
(2) Mason 16 nos. 10 nos. 522/day 522/day 8352 5220
(3) Mazdoor 10 nos. 6 nos. 462/day 462/day 4620 2772
(4) Coolie 10 nos. 6 nos. 462/day 462/day 4620 2772
(5) Bhishti 2 nos. 1 nos. 462/day 462/day 924 462
Total 72,025 55,448

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that total cost of wall system made of AAC block is approximately 22.73% less than
that of wall system made up of ordinary burnt clay brick. Thus, AAC block is cost
effective.

69.5 Challenging Issues and Future Direction

Porosity is one of the major challenging issues in the case of use of AAC blocks as
35–40% of total volume of block is occupied by air voids, which are seen on surfaces
also. Thus, challenge is to prevent moisture inflow through a wall system made of
AAC block in highly humid weather condition of our country. Intermolecular bonds
in AAC blocks are weak as revealed by observed results of compressive strength
that reaches only up to 3 MPa as compared to clay brick of 8.24 MPa [2], studied in
India. Also, the tensile strength of AAC block in India has been reported as 0.26 MPa
[8], whereas for clay brick it is 1.0 MPa [2]. The compressive and tensile strength of
AAC block lie between 2.53–2.67 MPa and 0.54–0.64 MPa, respectively as reported
by Ferretti et al. [9] in Italy. Low compressive and tensile strength of AAC do not
play load-bearing roles in framed structures. Also, the seismic performance of AAC
structure cannot be ignored. Further, AAC blocks are very recent building material
in India. It is used in construction industries for less than thirty years. Thus, there is
a lack of data on long term durability and threat to natural calamities.
Presently, China has over 1000 AAC block manufacturing units. However, only
50 AAC manufacturing units are there in India such as Aercon, Magicrete, Siporex,
Xtralite, Brikolite, Superlite, Greentech, Biltech, etc. [10]. More manufacturing
industries should be established throughout the rural and urban areas to meet the
demand.

69.6 Conclusions

AAC blocks are manufactured in the industries very scientifically, with proper super-
visions and inspections. The mechanized systems used in the industries are respon-
sible to produce precise AAC blocks with close tolerances and with desired variable
sizes. The manufacturing process of AAC blocks is more scientific than any other
brick production process. The weight of AAC blocks is actually one third that of
burnt clay bricks. The strength to density ratio of AAC blocks is very encouraging.
The total cost incurred for the preparation of AAC wall is 22.73% less than that for
constructing the clay brick walls for same wall dimension. Overall, the AAC block
is an economical, efficient, sustainable, and reliable building material.

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Acknowledgements This work is the part of a Department of Science and Technology (DST)
sponsored project entitled “Design and development of proper bonding mechanism for individual
AAC block units in wall system of a structure” through grant number DST/TSG/AMT/2015/375.
Authors wish to acknowledge DST and industry partner M/s K D Infra, Guwahati for their support.

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