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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world with an
estimated consumption of 33 billion tonnes (36.4 billion short tons) per year. The basic
design of concrete has remained the same since its inception: water, aggregates, and
cement. While the basic ingredients remain the same, the materials that have comprised
both cement and aggregates have been numerous.(Google)
According to the National Statistics Office (2012) 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.
On the other hand, seashells are currently taking up a large volume in landfills.
Using the shells in concrete provides a cheaper alternative to increase the strength of
concrete by providing a substance for the cement paste to bond to and provide an
environmentally sustainable method to dispose of the waste. (Google)
Moreover, 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. The waste shells are thrown away,
which causes environmental problems including pollution of coastal fisheries,

management problem of public water surface, damage of natural landscape,

health/sanitation problem, etc. (Prezi.com)
Hence, an attempt on the utilization of oyster shell waste as partial replacement
for fine aggregate is done and its mechanical behavior is investigated.
Objectives of the Study
The study aims to examine the use of waste Native Oyster Seashell into concrete
mix as partial replacement for fine aggregates. The intent of this research is to create a
simple and eco-friendly experiment where the benefits of oyster shell will be maximized,
especially, in the field of Engineering. The study specifically aims to:
To design the specimen and proportion the concrete elements;
To compare the engineering properties of oyster shell in concrete from that of a plain
concrete mix;
To determine whether the concrete produced from different particle sizes of shell will
fall under lightweight concrete or normal weight concrete;
To determine the compressive strength of concrete from different particle sizes of shells
in 7, 14 and 28 days of curing;
To ascertain whether concrete from different sizes of shells will meet the minimum
required compressive strength.
Scope and Limitations of the Study
The scope of this study basically involves concrete with recycled materials. This
study aims to create concrete that uses oyster shell waste as a partial replacement for
sand. This is a project that will design and produce a concrete mix in which, 50% of sand
will be replaced with mm, 2mm, 0.85mm and 0.25mm particle sizes of crushed oyster
shell waste.

This study will not cover the utilization of seashells to fully replace the fine
aggregates in concrete and will focus more on testing different particle sizes of seashells
as fine aggregate replacement in concrete.
Also, not 100% of the crushed oyster shell waste shall be of use in this
experiment. Only those which will retain at No. 4b sieve, No. 10 sieve, No. 20 sieve, and
No. 60 sieve will be needed in the production of mix designs. For that reason, a proper
waste management has been put into account.
This research is prepared to be presented to the Faculty of the Industrial
Technology Department of the Technological University of the Philippines in partial
fulfillment of the course requirements. It also investigates how replacing sand with
oyster shell in concrete affect its compressive strength.
Significance of the Study
Oyster shells are one of the most common shell fishes in the Philippines. Disposal
of the non-edible shells abounds the coastal cities of Philippines. They pollute the land
and water when discarded indiscriminately. Utilizing them as partial replacement for fine
aggregate in concrete could solve the problem of disposal. Thus, reduces the storage of
shell waste.
The purpose of this project is to use oyster shell wastes in concrete and determine
how the concrete would perform compared to a standard mix.