Development of Eco-friendly Marine Clay Blocks Using Chitosan Biopolymer and Alccofine
摘要
The construction industry is increasingly seeking sustainable materials to reduce its environmental impact. Sand, cement, coarse aggregate for manufacturing of blocks and used for large construction activities are energy intensive as well as causing environmental pollution during their entire life cycle. This study explores the development of eco-friendly marine clay blocks incorporating chitosan biopolymer and Alccofine. Marine clay is a type of fine-grained soil typically found in coastal, estuarine, and marine environments. Chitosan, derived from chitin in shrimp and crab shells, is selected for its biodegradability and binding properties, while Alccofine is an eco-friendly and low calcium silicate-based material highly processed and obtained from GGBS, the waste material generated from iron ore. Initially, a series of tests including water content, consistency limits, particle size distribution, and unconfined compression test (UCC) will be conducted to assess the properties of the marine clay. The study then involves adding 1% of chitosan biopolymer to various proportions of Alccofine 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% by the weight of clay to identify the optimum percentage of Alccofine through UCC test. Based on the mix proportion obtained from the previous tests block of size 19 × 9 × 9 cm will be cast and air cured for 28 days. Finally, tests such as compressive strength, water absorption, hardness, soundness of the block shall be conducted to check the suitability of this block in building construction.