BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Aside from food and clothing, shelter is one of the three basic necessities
of every individual. Long ago our ancestors lived in caves hollowed out below the
ground or close to knoll ends. Subsequently they learned to build walls out of
sludge and sooner they developed the system of burnt clay brick masonry
forming the structural part of their shelters. The aspiration of man for new
structural materials leads into the manufacture of concrete hollow blocks.
(Maroliya, 2015)
Moreover, concrete hollow blocks have many uses especially in the
exterior and interior walls of suburban projects. It is also used in the construction
of perimeter fences and drainage canals. (Rabena & Aman, 2010) It was also
stated by Waddell (1988) that, brickwork is used in all types of construction:
private residence, schools, churches, industrial, commercial, and agricultural
buildings; from garages to public housings. Even retaining walls are built of
concrete masonry.
Cement concrete hollow blocks are modern construction materials used in
all structures via residential, commercial and industrial constructions. One of the
growing sectors in the world is the construction industry. Due to the construction
of residential apartments, commercial and industrial buildings in cities and urban
centers, the demand for this produce is high. (MSME Development Institute
Government of India, 2011)
Furthermore, the use of concrete hollow block in masonry construction is
increasing due to its diverse advantages like thermal insulations which keep the

building cool in summer and warm in winter. It also helps in sound insulation by
lessening external noises. It is highly resilient, fire resistant, has an ample
strength and structural stability. It helps in faster and easier construction leading
to better architectural features. At the same time, it is also economic and eco
friendly since its components can be substitute by waste products. (Ahmad et. al,
2014) The addition of hollow concrete block to the types of masonry units helped
in the reduction of mortar consumption, light weight and quicker masonry work.
(Maroliya, 2012)
Furthermore, construction materials like cement and aggregates increased
due to high demands of residential projects. An increase in the cost of cement
and aggregates affects the cost of concrete hollow block. Due to the present
economic crisis low income households will be divested from having shelters out
of concrete hollow blocks. (Rabena and Aman, 2010)
Moreover, recent statistics indicated that there is an increase in
construction materials particularly cement and aggregates. This account was
supported by this report:
In the Philippines, a total count of 32, 729 new construction projects from
approved building permits in the county were reported during the second
quarter of 2014. This number represents an increase of 11.2 percent
compared to 29, 424 construction projects over the same quarter in 2013.
(National Statistics Office, 2014, p. 2)
Since hollow blocks are made of cement and aggregates, an increase in
the amount of material means an increase in the cost of hollow blocks.
Portland cement is composed of limestones which provide CaO, and clays
or shales, which furnish SiO2 and Al2O3. An aggregate must

Furthermore, Nilson (1997) quoted that Portland cement is made of limestones

which provide CaO, and clays or shales, which furnish SiO2 and Al2O3 (p.17).
This account was supported by the statement of Nilson (1997) It is important
that aggregate has good strength, durability, and weather resistance; that its
surface is free from impurities such as loam, silt, and organic matter which may
weaken the bond with cement paste (p.17). It was also added by Nilson (1997)
that Natural aggregates are generally classified as fine and coarse (p.18). Fine
aggregates or sand is any material that will pass a No.4 sieve, a sieve with four
openings per linear inch (Nilson, 1997, p.18).
In addition to these accounts:
Fine aggregate should consist of sand, stone screenings or other inert
materials with similar characteristics or a combination thereof, having
clean, hard, strong, durable, uncoated grains and free from injurious
amounts of dust, lumps, soft or flaky particles, shale, alkali, organic matter,
loam, or other deleterious substances. (Urquhart et. al., 1958, pp.7)
Furthermore, Coarse aggregate passes the three-inch screen and is retained on
the No.8 with a tolerance of not more than 5% passing the No.8 (Waddell, 1974,
p. 6)
In some researches it was mentioned that:
According to Benjamin Chima, who carried out an experiment out of oyster
shells, oyster shells are chemically consist of 95% calcium carbonate,
3.5% silicate and a trace of elements like aspartic acid, glycine phosphate,

zinc, manganese, aluminum etc. because of its high calcium carbonate

content, it encourages growth and bone formation. It is equally used as an
admixture in the production of concrete. ( Caalim, 2013, p. 4)
It was also cited in several researches that:
Calcium carbonate is critical to the construction industry, both as a
building material in its own right (e.g. marble) and as an ingredient of
cement and calcium carbonate, as it is used for industrial purposes is
extracted by mining or quarrying. (Hamester et. al., 2012, p.3)
Others opposed this account by affirming that:
Aggregate mining has negative effects in the environment such as risk of
excess soil being eroded down from the quarrying site, and loss of habitat
for some fauna and flora species and biodiversity reduction due to
vegetation clearing of the site.
The intensive use of construction aggregate in construction projects is severely
increasing knowing that aggregates do not propagate by themselves, and
transported haul granitic chippings are at high cost for distant sites. On the other
hand, owing to the consumption of shell fish and the disposal of the non-edible
shells, waste shell abounds. They pollute the land and water when discarded
indiscriminately.
It was affirmed in this research that:
Quarries which are now used throughout the world use modern blasting
methods having an impact with the environment. Negative impacts in the
environment involve the following:

Risk of excess soil being eroded down from the quarrying

site.

Loss of habitat for some fauna and flora species and

biodiversity reduction due to vegetation clearing of the site.
(Green World Consultants, 2011, p.7)

This account was supported in this report:

The global market for construction aggregates is expected to increase 5.2
percent per year through 2015 to 48.3 billion metric tons. Despite the
projected growth of 7.1 percent per year over this span, these products
will continue to play a small role in world markets due to quality concerns
and limitations in the availability of feed material. (World Construction
Aggregates, 2012, p. 2)
According to the National Statistics Office (2012) While in the Philippines, the
total number of new construction projects from approved building permits
nationwide reached 30,614 during the second quarter of 2012. This also
indicates an increase for demand of construction aggregates in the Philippines
despite the fact that the country bears limited resources (p.5).

Important studies were already performed on many varying resources for

cumulative alternatives such as particle coal ash, gust furnace slag or assorted
solid wastes including fiberglass waste materials, granulated plastics, paper and
wood products/wastes sintered sludge, pellets, burnt bagasse ash and others.
However, the researchers want to develop a new component in the production of

hollow blocks which are abundant in the country and will reduce the cost of
hollow blocks. On the other hand, oyster shells, one of the common shells in the
Philippines, are non-biodegradable. They pollute the land and water when
discarded indiscriminately. In fact, according to Rabena and Aman (2010) Some
oyster shells are being brought back to the hatchery to produce larvae, but the
excess of the oyster shells are filed along the coastal areas which if not recycled
become garbage (p.3). Hence, the researchers desire to reprocess these shells
to help solve the dilemma in shell disposal. Oyster shells are all around the seas
of our country because of our wealthy ecological unit.
The claim of Rabena and Aman was supported in this statement;
A lot of oyster shells are dumped as a by-product of marine aquaculture
industry. A large amount of oyster shell is a general waste fishermen
should take care of but it seems difficult to handle it effectively due to the
problems of securing of landfill sites and collection/transportation of oyster
shells. (Farm Aquaculture Resource Management, 2007, pp. 5)
It was stated by Hamester et.al. (2010) that There is a high content of calcium
carbonate in oyster shells, which can be used in the formulation of medicine, in
construction, or as a filler in polymer materials (p.3).
Therefore, this study would like to determine if oyster shells are good additives in
the production of hollow blocks.
This was supported by this statement that:
The mussel and oyster shells are discarded into the environment. The
improper disposal of solid waste from shellfish cultivation decreases water

oxygen and microalgae that are responsible for the nutrition of mussels
and oysters, thus hindering the growth of these shellfish.
Concern about the destination of oyster and mussel waste is not
only observed in Brazil. In Korea, for example about 300,000 of
oyster shells are generated annually. The Korean government,
concerned with public health, financed a project to increase
recycling of this waste, because if this waste has been left
untreated for a long time, it can be a source of nasty smell as a
consequence of the decay of flesh remnants attached to the oyster
or the microbial decomposition of salts into gases such as NH 3, H2S
and amines. Many studies have investigated the use of oyster-shell
waste as construction materials. Another possibility for reuse of
these shells is to use them as supplementary feeding. Some
researches demonstrated that crushed oyster shells could be used
as an alternative liming material to restore soil chemical and
microbial properties in upland soil and to increase crop productivity.
Calcium carbonate is the most widely used filler in terms of
the number of applications in polymer. The cheapest grades
are low in price and are used primarily to reduce costs. By
contrast, the finest grades are an order of magnitude higher
in price and are used to modify various properties, both
during processing and in the final compounds. Some studies
have investigated the use of oyster-shell waste as filler in

polymer. The mixtures present better mechanical properties

and fire-retardant behavior compared with neat recycled PE.
Funabashi et al. evaluated method of biomass carbon ration
of polymer filled with calcium carbonate using poly(butylenes
succinate) (PBS) with oyster shell powder and poly (lactic
acid) (PLA) with no-biobased inorganic calcium carbonate.
They observed that the estimation method is effective for
polymer composites with CaCO3.
(Balzer et.al., 2012, pp. 2-4)
Therefore, this study aims to determine if oyster shells are good additives in the
production of hollow blocks.

PRODUCTION OF HOLLOW BLOCKS OUT OF

RECYCLED OYSTER SHELLS

PICARDAL, Sebastienne Mari

TUNGOL, Collin Jones
CHAPAP, Joy
CUTI, Beverly Nicole
FABROS, Ervi

INSTRUCTOR:
MARK VALENCIANO

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