Stabilization of Clay Soil Using Seashells and Coconut Husks

1) Introduction
a) Statement of Problem
Concrete is a composite material formed by bonding together aggregates and fluid cement
which hardens over time. The most commonly used concrete today is the Portland Cement Concrete.
One of the main constituents of concrete is cement which is harming the environment at an alarming
rate. It is estimated that about 0.9 tons of carbon dioxide is released in the environment for the
production of 1 ton of cement. Carbon dioxide comes in the category of greenhouse gas and is largely
responsible for global warming this prompts us to study the various alternatives to cement to make the
concrete environment friendly. The concept of using eco-friendly materials in place of hazardous
material in concrete is called green concrete. These by-products are harmful for the environment and
hence their use in concrete not only helps in safe disposal of such waste products but also helps in
reducing cement production which is yet another environmental concern. In this paper, a review of work
done by various researchers on alternatives to cement is done. Finally, a comparative study of various
materials used as a substitute or partial replacement of cement has been done
A difficult problem in Civil Engineering work exists when the sub-grade is found to be clay. Soils
having high clay content have a tendency to swell when their moisture content is allowed to increase.
This moisture may come from rains, floods, leaking sewer lines, or from the reduction of surface
evaporation when an area is covered by a building or pavement. Frequently, these clayey soils cause the
cracking and breaking up of pavements, railways, highway embankments, roadways, foundations and
channel or reservoir linings. The high cost of repairing the damaged structures has drawn attention to
the need for more reliable investigation of such soils and necessitates methods to eliminate or at least
reduce the effect of volume change in the soil and increase the strength.
Soil stabilization is a technique aimed at increasing or maintaining the stability of soil mass and
chemical alteration of soils to enhance their Engineering Properties. These curiosity factors influenced
us to determine the significant results for proposed combination of work and are described in this
paper. Stabilization can be used to treat a wide range of subgrade materials from expansive clay to
granular materials. This allows for the establishment of design criteria as well as the determination of
the proper chemical additive and admixture rate to be used in order to achieve the desired engineering
properties. Benefits of the stabilization process can include higher resistance values, reduction in
plasticity, lower permeability, reduction of pavement thickness, elimination of excavation material
hauling or handling. Stabilization of expansive soils with admixtures controls the potential of soils for a
change in volume, and improves the strength of soils.
Being a tropical island, Philippines is very rich in marine resources tropical trees such as coconut
trees. Over the year, agricultural establishment produced many types of waste in its daily operation.
Coconut husk for example is one of the most abundant agricultural wastes produced in Philippines.
Despite the massive amount of the waste produced, the standards of waste management in Philippines
are still poor. The purpose of this study is to focus on the potential of coconut husk utilization into clay
soil stabilization.
Along the west coast of Philippines, oyster farming is one of the most important production
activities for the country’s economy. In general, most of the oyster shells are discarded with no further
use once the flesh is stripped off; except that a small amount is used for art creation. As a result, oyster
shell piles are common in areas of oyster production with no further utilization. Chemical and
microstructure analyses reveal that oyster shells are predominantly composed of CaO, similar to that of
lime, which has been used for soil stabilization .In addition, oyster shells can be utilized for producing
medium- and high-quality cement .The expandable nature of clay is reduced by the ion exchange from
the interaction between calcium ions and clay. Quicklime creates coagulation if added with water. Thus,
calcium ions are used generally as the primary component in the clay stabilization. There is no known
chemical reaction between soil and lime except the ion exchange. In other studies for potential use, the
shells are mostly used as additive or replacement of part of the cement in concrete. For example,
construction material mixed with crushed oyster shell and sand was used for sand compaction piles to
improve soft soils underneath a breakwater port in Japan.
Considering the scale of construction industries in the near future it is imperative to guarantee
a secure supply of high-quality sand resources. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a research for other
alternatives to meet future demands. Our research involves two major parts: first, the reaction between
clay soil and the pulverized oyster shell and secondly, the potential of coconut husk utilization into clay
stabilization. However, most of soil stabilization is done by in site mixing, paving, and compacting. It is
unlikely to obtain good control as it does in concrete mixing.
 b) Methodology
Preparation of Materials:
Clay soil - Clay soil is the raw material that was used in this study. The soil collected is stored and dried.
Subsequently, the soils were crushed and sieve to ensure the soil must not contain any impurities.
Preliminary test was conducted which covers the determination on plastic limit, liquid limit and plasticity
index of the in accordance Method of Test for Soil or Civil Engineering Purposes.
Coconut Fibre - Coconut husk is used as by incorporating different percentages of coconut fibre into
fired clay brick. Coconut husks were collected around Ozamiz area. Coconut fibre was dried in the oven
before being used in the brick.
Seashells – Empty shells were collected from the beach and local households. The empty shells were
thoroughly washed with tap water to remove impurities and then left for 2-3 hours for air drying. The
shells were then crushed for easier calcination. The shells were then calcinated for 3-4 hours in a
furnace. The shells were then set aside to cool down. Using a mortar and pestle, they were pulverized
and then sieved.
Data Gathering Procedure:
Information were obtained through secondary literature review via websites, online articles,
printed articles and journals, reported studies of both foreign and local researchers available online, and
other relevant information and resources from unpublished theses. Data on Calcium Carbonate
Equivalent (CCE) as well as the final pH of each powdered shell sample were clinically analyzed in a
standard laboratory. . The data were then gathered and recorded.
c) Significant of Study
Clay soils are one among the problematic soils that has a high potential of shrinking and swelling
due to change of moisture content. The volume changes due to the shrink-swell behaviour of the soil
cause excessive total and differential movements of overlying structures and embankments in addition
to load induced settlement of the soil. Population growth leading to rapid urbanization requires various
types of civil engineering infrastructures and facility services. The growing metropolitan cities need more
number of good lands for both construction activities and road development. The present study deals
with the influence of sea shell powder and ferric chloride in stabilizing these problematic soils. Also
considering the scale of construction industries in the near future it is imperative to guarantee a secure
supply of high-quality sand resources. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a research for other
alternatives to meet future demands. It is also necessary to fully utilize wastes such as empty seashells
and coconut husks and find a way to discard them safely and usefully.
 d) Theoretical Framework
Each year, more than 15 million tons of municipal solid waste is collected in Philippines. This
total amount has increased steadily during the last decade. Seashells comprise approximately 0.9% of
the total waste. Although most of these wastes currently are incinerated or land-filled, environmental
concerns demand the development of an effective waste utilization process. The chemical composition
of shells is >90% calcium carbonate (CaCO3) by weight this composition is similar to limestone powder
or dust-like stone powder from grinding limestone to produce Portland cement. Ground seashells also
are used as an ingredient of cement or sand replacements in concrete production to save costs.
Interestingly, the crystal structures of green mussel and cockle shells are largely composed of aragonite
and calcite, which have higher strengths and densities than limestone powder. The use of ground
seashells as a stone-like substitute material to produce concrete and mortar has been studied
previously.
Utilization of coconut husk in brick is an essential ingredient in a building material. Coconut
husks are commonly use in material production because of the advantages has be found such as the
resistant to fungi and rot, provide excellent insulation against temperature and sound, tough and
durable, not easy to combustible and resilient. Moreover, coconut fibres are also one of the substances
that can be commercialized, recycled, can be used in the fired clay brick making process in order to
reduce the rate of solid waste and improve the quality of the environment. Recently, many researchers
are interested to carry out an investigation of potential solid waste material that could be recycled in
clay bricks. Many researchers have been done by using different types of agricultural waste such as
sawdust, rice husk, palm oil waste, vegetable matter, rice husk and bagasse and pineapple leaves into
building material. These materials are found to be a sustainable and environment-friendly raw material
in construction. Therefore, due to this successful utilization this study investigated the potential of
incorporating the coconut husk into soil stabilization.
e) Scope and Limitation
This study focuses on the utilization of seashells and coconut husks in soil stabilization. The data
were collected through laboratory work and information was obtained from secondary literatures and
previous studies. The study is limited as to whether seashells and coconut husks are viable for soil
stabilization.
f) Objectives of Study
 To evaluate the performance of clay soil when mixed with seashells and coconut husk
 To determine whether seashells and coconut husk are viable for soil stabilization
 To determine if seashells and coconut husks can be alternative for cement
 To determine if seashells and coconut husks is viable in construction