International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 7 No.
11 (2012)
Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm
A Review on Utilization of Coconut Shell as Coarse Aggregates in Mass Concrete
Maninder Kaur1, Manpreet Kaur2
1
Department of Civil Engineering, PEC, Chandigarh
2
Department of Civil Engineering COAE&T, PAU, Ludhiana
Abstract: In this constructed environment, the rising cost of
building construction materials is the factor of great concern.
The prices of building materials are rising day by day. The
coarse aggregates are the main ingredients of concrete. In this
paper, the utilization of coconut shell as a coarse aggregate has
been discussed based on the results obtained from
comprehensive review of literature. We all want that our
buildings must be strong and should build with the
construction material of reasonable rates. Every construction
industry totally relies on cement, sand and aggregates for the
production of concrete. Nowadays, most of the researchers are
doing the research on the material which can reduce the cost
of construction as well as increase the strength. Some of the
waste materials are used in concrete according to their
properties. For instance fly ash, rice husk, slag and sludge
from the treatment of industrial and domestic waste water
have been found suitable as partial replacement for cement in
concrete. The coconut shell is a material which can be a
substitute for aggregates. The shell of the coconut is mostly
used as an ornament and as a source of activated carbon. The
powdered shell is also used in the industries of plastics, glues,
and abrasive materials. The use of coconut shells can also help
the prevention of the environment and also help economically.
Sun drying shell should be used to make sure biodegradable
materials decay before its mixing with concrete. It also
contributes to sustainable construction. The aim of this paper
is to spread awareness about the utilization of coconut shell as
a construction material in civil engineering.
Keywords Concrete; Waste; Utilization; Cocunut Shells
INTRODUCTION
Concrete is an artificial material similar in appearance and
properties to some natural lime stone rock. It is a man made
composite, the major constituent being natural aggregate such
as gravel, or crushed rock, sand and fine particles of cement
powder all mixed with water. The concrete as time goes on
through a process of hydration of the cement paste, producing a
required strength to withstand the load. The use of coconut
shell as coarse aggregate in concrete has never been a usual
practice among the average citizens, particularly in areas where
light weight concrete is required for non-load bearing walls,
non-structural floors, and strip footings. Although coarse
aggregate usually take about 50% of the overall self weight of
concrete. The cost of construction materials is increasing day
by day because of high demand, scarcity of raw materials, and
high price of energy. From the standpoint of energy saving and
conservation of natural resources, the use of alternative
constituents in construction materials is now a global concern.
For this, the extensive research and development works
towards exploring new ingredients are required for producing
sustainable and environment friendly construction materials.
The recycling of solid wastes in civil engineering applications
has undergone considerable development over a very long
time. The utilization of fly ash, blast furnace slag, recycled
aggregates, red mud, kraft pulp production residue, waste tea,
etc., in construction materials shows some examples of the
success of research in this area. Similarly, the recycling of
hazardous wastes for use in construction materials and the
environmental impact of such practices have been studied for
many years [1]. Coconut is grown in more than 93 countries.
South East Asia is regarded as the origin of coconut. India is
the third largest, having cultivation on an area of about 1.78
million hectares. Annual production is about 7562 million nuts
with an average of 5295 nuts per hectare. The coconut industry
in India accounts for over a quarter of the world's total coconut
oil output and is set to grow further with the global increase in
demand. However, it is also the main contributor to the nation's
pollution problem as a solid waste in the form of shells, which
involves an annual production of approximately 3.18 million
tones. Coconut shell represents more than 60% of the domestic
waste volume. Coconut Shell, which presents serious disposal
problems for local environment, is an abundantly available
agricultural waste from local coconut industries. In developing
countries where abundant agricultural and industrial wastes are
discharged, these wastes can be used as potential material or
replacement material in the construction industry. This will
have the double advantage of reduction in the cost of
construction material and also as a means of disposal of wastes.
COCONUT SHELL AS COARSE AGGREGATE
The concrete obtained using Coconut Shell aggregates satisfies
the minimum requirements of concrete. Concrete using
Coconut Shell aggregates resulted in acceptable strength
required for structural concrete. Coconut Shell may offer itself
as a coarse aggregate as well as a potential construction
material in the field of construction industries and this would
solve the environmental problem of reducing the generation of
solid wastes simultaneously. The Coconut Shell-cement
composite is compatible and no pre-treatment is required.
Coconut Shell concrete has better workability because of the
smooth surface on one side of the shells. The impact resistance
of Coconut Shell concrete is high when compared with
conventional concrete. Moisture retaining and water absorbing
capacity of Coconut Shell are more compared to conventional
aggregate. The amount of cement content may be more when
Coconut Shell are used as an aggregate in the production of
concrete compared to conventional aggregate concrete. The
presence of sugar in the CS as long as it is not in a free sugar
form, will not affect the setting and strength of concrete. It is
found that wood based materials, being hard and of organic
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 7 No.11 (2012)
Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm
origin, will not contaminate or leach to produce toxic
substances once they are bound in concrete matrix [2].
The coconut shells are obtained from a local coconut field.
They are sun dried for 1 month before being crushed manually.
The crushed materials are later transported to the laboratory
where they were washed and allowed to dry under ambient
temperature for another 1 month [4]. Coconuts show a wide
diversity in size,weight, shape and color, depending on genetic
variety and maturity of the nut at harvest [3] The particle sizes
of the coconut shell range from 5 to 20 mm. The surface
texture of the shell was fairly smooth on concave and rough on
convex faces. The absorption of water in the concrete will not
affect its strength since lesser voids can be formed [4].
RESEARCH FINDINGS
In a research conducted by Olanipekun [5] on the comparative
cost analysis and strength characteristics of concrete by using
crushed granular coconut and palm kernel as substitute for
conventional coarse aggregate in the following ratios : 0%,
25%, 50%, 75% and 100% with mix ratios (1:1:2 and 1:2:4).
The total 320 cubes of size 100x100x100mm were casted,
tested and their physical and mechanical properties were
determined. The result showed that the compressive strength of
the concrete decrease as the percentage of the shell increases in
the two mix ratios, though coconut shell exhibited a higher
compressive strength than palm kernel shell in the test.
Moreover, there is a cost reduction of 30% and 42% for
concrete produced from coconut shell and palm kernel shell
respectively. Considering the strength/economic ratio it was
concluded that coconut shell is more suitable than palm kernel
shell when used as a facial replacement for conventional
aggregate in concrete [6,7].
Figure : Coconut Shell as aggregates
Further research has shown that the useful properties of
coconut shells (CCS) and palm kernel shells (PKS) as coarse
aggregates in concrete [6]. The CCS were crushed and
substituted for conventional coarse aggregates in gradations of
0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Two mix ratios (1:1:2) and
(1:2:4) were used respectively. The compressive strength of the
concrete decreased as the percentage of the shells increased in
the two mix ratios. However, concrete obtained from CCS
exhibited a higher compressive strength than PKS concrete in
the two proportions. Results also indicated a 30% and 42% cost
reduction for concrete produced from coconut shells and palm
kernel shells respectively. It is therefore concluded that coconut
shells were more suitable than palm kernel shells when used as
substitute for conventional aggregates in concrete production
[4].
The compressive strength of concrete using periwinkle act as
full replacement for coarse aggregate in concrete with mix
ratios of 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 and a gradation of 100%, 75%, 50%,
25% and 0.1% [3, 8] .Total of 300 standard cubes were casted
and tested. The result showed that the compressive strength of
the concrete decreases as the percentage shell of periwinkle
increases with a consequent cost saving of about 14.8% and
17.5% for 1m3 of 1:2:3 and 1:3:6 respectively .
Olutoge [9,10] investigated the use of saw dust and palm
kernel shells (PKS) as replacement for fine and coarse
aggregates in reinforced concrete slabs. Reinforced concrete
slabs measuring 800 x 300 x 75mm were cast. Sawdust and
PKS were used to replace both fine and coarse aggregates from
0% to 100% in steps of 25%. Flexural strengths were evaluated
at 7, 14 and 28 days and compressive strengths were evaluated
at 28 days. Increase in percentage of sawdust or PKS in
concrete slabs led to a corresponding reduction in both flexural
and compressive strength values. It is seen that at a low
replacement value of 25% sawdust and PKS can produce
lightweight reinforced concrete slabs which could be used
where low stress is required at reduced cost. A weight
reduction of 14.5% and 17.9% was achieved for sawdust and
PKS replacement slabs respectively. It is also seen that the
reduction in cost up to 7.43% can be achieved for every cubic
meter of slab production with use of sawdust/PKS. Palm kernel
shell is also suitable as granular filter for water treatment, as a
suitable aggregate in plain, light and dense concretes and as a
road building material [11,15,16,17,18].
The suitability of coconut shell as full replacement for coarse
aggregate in concrete works was studied by experimental
approach. Physical and mechanical properties of coconut shell
and crushed granite rock were determined and compared. A
total of 72 concrete cubes of size 150x150x150mm with
different mix ratios of 1:2:4, 1:11/2:3 and 1:3:6 were casted,
tested and their physical and mechanical properties determined
[3, 12]. Aggregate crushing value for coarse aggregate is 21.84
and 4.71 for coconut shell. Elongation and flakiness index are
58.54 and 15.69 respectively for gravels, while for coconut
shell is 50.56 and 99.19 respectively. Compressive strength in
N/mm2 of coconut shell at 7,14,21 and 28 days with mix ratios
of 1:2:4, 1:11/2:3, and 1:3:6 are (8.6,
8.9,6.4,),(9.6,11.2,8.7),(13.6,13.1,10.7) and (15.1,16,5,11)
respectively, likewise (19.1,18.5,9.6), (22.5, 23.0, 10.4), (26.7,
24.9, 12.9) and (28.1, 30.0, 15) respectively for gravel. Since
the concrete strength of coconut shell with mix ratio 1:11/2:3,
attained 16.5N/mm2 at 28 days it can be used in plain concrete.
Hence cost reduction of 48% will be achieved [13].
Another study conducted on the long term compressive and
bond strength of coconut shell aggregate concrete considered
the effects of three types of curing on coconut shell aggregate
concrete performance [14]. The pore structure of coconut shell
has been studied through scanning electron microscope (SEM).
The pore structures in coconut shell behave like a reservoir.
Intermittent curing produced the highest coconut shell
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 7 No.11 (2012)
Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm
aggregate concrete strength, followed by full water, and then
by air-dry curing. Biological decay was not evident as the
concrete cubes gained strength even after 365 days. Up to an
age of 90 days, the samples under all types of curing conditions
showed improved response on the pulse velocity and
subsequently an insignificant drop. The ultimate bond strength
of coconut shell aggregate concrete under all types of curing
conditions was much higher compared to the theoretical bond
strength as per BS 8110 and IS 456. Bonding between the
cement paste and the coconut shell aggregate has been studied
by measuring fissure between the coconut shell and the cement
paste through SEM analysis. It shows a tendency of narrowing
the fissure due to its age, which shows that the bond appears to
be better between the coconut shell and the cement paste.
DISCUSSION
Use of coconut shells in cement concrete can help in waste
reduction and pollution reduction. The need of the hour is to
encourage the use of the waste products as construction
materials in low-cost housing. It is also expected to serve the
purpose of encouraging housing developers in investing these
materials in house construction. The construction industries
have identified many artificial and natural lightweight
aggregates that have replaced conventional aggregates thereby
reducing the size of structural members. This has brought
immense change in the development of high rise structures
using Light weight concrete. Coconut Shells are not commonly
used in the construction industry but are often dumped as
agricultural wastes. Coconut Shell Concrete can be used in
rural areas and places where coconut is abundant and may also
be used where the conventional aggregates are costly. Coconut
shell concrete is also classified as structural lightweight
concrete. It is concluded that the Coconut Shells are more
suitable as low strength-giving lightweight aggregate when
used to replace common coarse aggregate in concrete
production.
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