Physico-chemical analysis of mussel shells for use in civil engineering

Abstract

This paper studies the physicochemical characterization of granulates obtained from the grinding of mussel shells of Souss Massa region in Morocco. Its main objective is to valorize these shell waste as aggregates in the formulation of concrete or mortar. Physical characterizations of different aggregates were carried out, including shells, to more particularly determine the measurement of bulk density, the apparent particle density and compactness of shells. A geometric characterization through a particle size analysis was also performed. The obtained parameters were compared to those of dune sand and quarry sand. Furthermore, a study on the chemical characterization on these shells was conducted using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD).The results obtained show that the mussel shell aggregates is mainly composed of CaCO₃ with acceptable chloride and Sulphur contents for the concrete formulation.