The present state of the use of eggshell powder in concrete: A review
Introduction
The rapid development in the construction sector requires the production of a large quantity of concrete. Concrete is a low-tensile and high-compressive strength material made from cement, fine and coarse aggregate and water [1]. The production of concrete, particularly cement, consumes considerable quantities of natural resources and causes greenhouse emissions that result in climate change [2]. The reuse of agricultural and industrial waste as construction materials can enhance the sustainability of the construction industry [[3], [4], [5], [6]]. However, such waste materials lack or have limited calcium oxide (CaO content), leading to the production of low-strength concrete [7]. However, some of these materials, such as eggshells (ES) [8,9], oyster shells [9,10], sludge furnace [11,12] and lime [13,14], contain calcium in their composites. ES has been used as a calcium source for the synthesis of calcium phosphates since 1999 [[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21]]. ES is a bio-waste material that can be used to encourage environmentally friendly and economic construction [22]. The food industry generates massive amounts of ES yearly, and these wastes are transferred to landfills without suitable treatment. The treatment includes the transfer of ES into sanitary landfills instead of open landfills. These wastes may cause environmental and health issues due to the generation of toxic gases [23].
The chemical, physical and mineralogical characteristics of eggshell powder (ESP) are slightly different from those of cement [24]. Hemalatha et al. [25] used ES as a partial cement replacement with high-volume fly ash (HVFA) to enhance the low strength of FA concrete. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was derived from ES and utilised in FA cement to accelerate hydration. The incorporation of CaCO3 to HVFA cement systems leads to the formation of carbo-aluminates due to the interaction of the carbonate ion from CC with the aluminate hydrate from Portland cement hydration [[26], [27], [28], [29]]. The presence of CaCO3 assists in improving compressive strength due to the stabilisation of ettringite and mono-carbonate [30,31]. Binici et al. [32] evaluated ESP as a construction material to protect buildings from the effects of external radiation because concrete with ES had low radioactive permeability. Thus, ES may be used in regions with effective radiation. Such concrete can easily be used in walls for radiation shielding. The results showed that ES, as a fine aggregate in various percentages, decrease the compressive and flexural strengths of the mortars for all specimens at all curing ages. By contrast, the ESP can be ground easily to obtain small-size particles as shown in Fig. 1.
Cement and ESP were found to be similar in terms of CaCO3 as their main component. Pliya and Cree [33] examined the performance of ground brown and white chicken ESP in the replacement of traditional limestone in cement mortars. They found that the addition of various percentages of limestone materials affected the compressive and flexural strengths of concrete due to the production of additional S–C–H gels. However, only a few studies have focused on the use of ES waste in concrete applications. Other study by Olarewaju et al. [34] investigated ES suitability as a subgrade soil stabilising material in highway construction.
Mabah et al. [35] concluded that the recycling of ESP and rice husk ash (RHA) for the production of an additive material in concrete enhances the mechanical and microstructural properties of geopolymers. Jhatial et al. [36] used ESP to increase the required CaO level to enhance the pozzolanic reaction with POFA and cement. Amu et al. [37] examined ESP as a stabilising material to improve the soil properties. This study presents a comprehensive review of previous works that used ES in concrete production. Moreover, the present study discusses the chemical and physical properties of ES and the fresh and hardened concrete properties made from this waste material. Therefore, the contribution of the present study is the addition of new waste material in the construction industry. This material has many advantages, such as protection of the environment and reduction of cement consumption, thereby reducing energy and CO2 emissions.
Section snippets
Environment and sustainable aspect
The environment has witnessed a rapid increase in pollution levels in the past decades, and the construction industry is a major contributor to this increase [38]. ESs are agricultural wastes obtained from fast-food restaurants, chick hatcheries and bakeries. These wastes lead to significant damage to the surrounding environment and induce certain allergies when kept for long periods in landfills without appropriate treatment [19,25]. The use of powdered ES for construction applications could
Preparation of CaO from ES
The nano-CaO from ESP is mainly prepared by calcination [45,46], as shown in Formula (1).
ESs are usually dumped by restaurants and bakeries. The cleaning process is performed after collecting the ESs, and then the ESP is dried by an electrical oven at 120 °C for 24 h. The surfaces of the collected ES are mechanically cleaned using ultra-sonication and then calcined at 900 °C for 3 h to burn out the organic materials completely and convert the majority of CaCO3 into CaO [47
Chemical composition of ESP
ES is an inorganic material comprising three layers: the mammillary, the calcareous and the third the cuticle layers [66,67]. ESs mainly comprise CaCO3 (approximately 94% of total weight), organic matter (approximately 4%), calcium phosphate (approximately 1%) and magnesium carbonate (approximately 1%) [15]. Mabah et al. [35] examined the chemical compositions of the ESP using an XRF machine. They found that CaO has the highest percentage (93.2%) amongst other components. Okonkwo [68] reported
Physical properties of ESP
The physical properties of ES differ based on the source of eggs. Table 2 shows the physical properties of ESP as reported by previous studies.
The specific gravity of ESP is lower than that of cement, which ranges between 3.15 and 3.18 [91,92]. The values significantly vary depending on the source, preparation method and fineness degree. Mishra and Pathak [93] investigated ESP properties and found that the specific gravity of ESP is 2.33. The specific gravity ranges between 0.85 [90] and 2.66 [
Mix proportions of concrete containing ESP
The concrete properties are directly influenced by the quantities used in the concrete mix. Yerramala [73] investigated the performance of ESP concrete by using many laboratory trial mixes with different quantities of fine and coarse aggregates, water–cement ratio and ESP. The concrete with 300 kg/m3 cement and no ESP is the best mixture used to obtain improved concrete performance. Sivakumar and Mahendran [76] partially replaced cement by FA and RHA with additional ESP in various percentages.
Applications of ESP in concrete
ES has many applications in concrete: as cement [98], as filler in hot asphalt [99], as fine aggregate [100] and as stabilising binder to improve soil properties [101]. ESs have been used as fillers in coatings due to having excellent water resistance, thermal stability, fire protection and adhesion strength [[102], [103], [104], [105], [106], [107]]. Panchal et al. [108] studied the erosion wear behaviours of unboiled (UB) and boiled ES filler reinforced epoxy composites. The results show that
Properties of concrete containing ESP
The properties of concrete containing ESP as a construction material can be divided into fresh and hardened properties.
Conclusions and recommendations
This study reviewed previous works that investigated the effects of ESP on mechanical, physical and durability properties of concrete. The following points can be concluded.
- 1.
The accumulation of ESP in the open area is a significant issue in the surrounding environment and induced certain allergies when kept for long periods. Therefore, the use of ESP as a construction material is an effective solution to reduce environmental pollution.
- 2.
The main component of ESP is CaO, which is approximately
Declaration of competing interest
No.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the grant (PRGS) (Project No: 180328) from University Malaysia Pahang.
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