Sustainable Utilization of Waste Shells in Construction Materials
Summary
Marine and aquaculture industries generate millions of tonnes of shell waste annually, predominantly composed of calcium carbonate and organic residues. Rather than consigning these materials to landfills or marine discard, recent efforts have focused on their conversion into value-added construction inputs. Strategies include mechanical grinding to produce fine powders for use as supplementary cementitious materials, thermal treatment to enhance reactivity, and incorporation as partial replacements for natural aggregates or binders. Such approaches advance circular economy principles, reduce reliance on virgin limestone and river sand, and mitigate carbon emissions associated with cement manufacture and quarrying. Beyond simple replacement, shell-derived additives can tailor hydration kinetics, refine pore structure and improve durability. Challenges remain in ensuring consistent quality, optimising treatment methods and scaling up industrial processes. Nevertheless, the integration of shell waste into cementitious and alkali-activated systems exemplifies a sustainable pathway to greener building materials with competitive mechanical performance and environmental benefits.
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Sustainable Utilization of Waste Shells in Construction Materials publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in sustainable utilization of waste shells in construction materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Calcium carbonate: A naturally occurring mineral (CaCO₃) forming the primary constituent of most shell wastes, used as filler or reactive additive in cementitious systems.
Supplementary cementitious material (SCM): A finely divided material that, when used in concrete in conjunction with Portland cement, contributes to properties through hydraulic or pozzolanic activity.
Pozzolanic reaction: Chemical process in which siliceous or aluminous materials react with calcium hydroxide in the presence of water to form cementitious compounds.
Alkali-activated material: Binder systems formed by the reaction of aluminosilicate sources with alkaline activators, offering low-carbon alternatives to Portland cement.
Microstructure: The internal arrangement of phases and pores within a material, critically influencing strength, permeability and durability.
References
- Sustainable Utilization of Waste Oyster Shell Powders with Different Fineness Levels in a Ternary Supplementary Cementitious Material System. Sustainability (2022).
- Particle Size Effect of Oyster Shell on Mortar: Experimental Investigation and Modeling. Materials (2021).
- Effect of waste oyster shell powder on the properties of alkali-activated slag–waste ceramic geopolymers. Journal of Materials Research and Technology (2023).
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