I.

Background of the Study

Water contamination is now very common in the Philippines because of improper

disposal of waste, waste such as sewage and wastewater on seas and rivers. These aciont are
continuous as people contaminating water are unstoppable. A new and easier way of solving
this problem is discovering a alternative for waste inhibitor which will separate the waste from
the water. By that, cleaning the water might be easier as wastes are already separate from the
water. Water contamination might lessen.
Perna viridis, commonly called as the Philippine green mussel, is a bivalve mussel
which is widely distributed in the Asia-Pacific region. It is locally known as tahong.
Philippine green mussels have provided a staple diet for Filipinos. Once green mussels meats
are consumed, considerable amount of shell wastes are generated that are usually dumped
to landfills or are incinerated. Green mussel shells are not valued by people as they have
valued other mussel shells for their beauty as ornaments.
Several studies have been done and presented about the Philippine green mussels.
Most of these researches were focused on the green mussel meat giving less attention on its
shells. Philippine green mussel shells are approximately half of green mussels total mass.
Some industries make use of these shells as ornaments but this only embodies a small
portion of the green mussel shells produced. Consequently, the remaining larger portion of
green mussels will add up to the increasing solid wastes that are generated daily.
Green mussel shells have greatly contributed to the tons of solid wastes generated in
the Philippines. Scarcity of landfills and dumping areas brought challenges to solid waste
management. In response to these challenges and the need to control the pollution of the
environment, reuse and recycling of materials have been necessary to minimize solid wastes.

Considering some other properties of shells, green mussel shells have some other
applications. Generally, the chemical composition of seashells is mainly calcium carbonate.
Investigating the chemical composition and some chemical properties of the shell suggests
new product that is of great importance.
Green mussel shells can be utilized into something useable by taking advantage of their
inherent calcium carbonate. Consuming calcium carbonate from green mussel shells in wide
range of applications contributes in solid waste minimization. Calcium carbonate is used in the
purification and separation so this property of Green Mussels can be used and tested if it will be
able to purify sewage or wastewater.