COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, DEFECTS AND LEACHING BEHAVIOUR OF AN INNOVATIVE ARTIFICIAL REEF FROM DIFFERENT FRUIT PEELS WASTE REINFORCED RECYCLED AGGREGATE CONCRETE FOR ESTUARINE

This study enveloped an innovative uses of organic waste from local fruit peels particle (FPP) reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) as a matrix from construction waste as an artificial concrete reef for estuarine ecosystem. The conretes composite cube with dimension 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm were prepared in a percentages of 10%, 20% and 30% of fruit peels namely banana peels, mango peels, pineapple peels, pumpkin peels to RAC respectively. The concrete cube without fruit peels was used as control cube. The compressive strength of an artificial reef concretes composite were carried out at 28 days. The total nutrient dispersed were determined using total phosphorus (TP) test of the water samples in 6 days. While the surface morphology was determined by canning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the range of compressive strength were 0.02 MPa to 0.21 MPa for 10% FPP, 0.017 Mpa to 0.20 for 20% FPP and 0.008 Mpa to 0.031 MPa for 30% FPP, respectively. The amount of TP leached from the articial concrete reef ranged from 2.1 % to 7.3. % has been recorded. It also reported that the amount of nutrients leached from an artificial reef increased gradually with time as more percentages of fruit peels added to concrete composites.