Development of Concrete Hollow Blocks from Pulverized Oyster Shell (Crassostrea iredalei) and Non-Biodegradable Materials

The study generally aimed to utilize the potential of pulverized oyster shell (Crassostrea iredalei) and non-biodegradable materials such as plastics and discarded glass as composite materials in hollow block making. Experimental Research Design was employed to determine the effectiveness of the different treatments in making hollow block. This was conducted through a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), with the factors considered as the varying concentrations of powdered oyster shells, glasses and shredded plastics. All treatments were replicated three times. The hollow block samples were subjected to water absorbency and compressive strength tests. The data was scientifically collected, recorded and analyzed using One-way ANOVA and Least Square Difference (LSD) at 0.01 and 0.05 levels of significance. Results revealed that materials obtained from discarded oyster shells, glasses and plastics are highly resistant to water and are effective composite materials in making concrete hallow block in terms of durability and compressive strength. This innovative technology is recommended to hollow block makers, cement industry and local government units with abundant sources of shells and promote recycling of wastes from these discarded materials to lessen problems on solid wastes. The product would save our ecology from excessive quarrying of sand and cement production and likewise to cut down and lower the production cost from these materials.