Standards-Based Physical Characterization of Clamshell Waste Powder as a Partial Cement Substitute for Non-Structural Mortar

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-805-4_7How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Calcium Carbonate; Circular Economy; Clamshell Waste; Partial Cement Substitute; Physical Characterization; Sustainable Construction Materials

Abstract

Portland cement production is a major contributor to global CO₂ emissions, motivating the use of locally available supplementary materials, while coastal tourism centers in Bali generate large quantities of underutilized clamshell waste rich in calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). Most previous studies on shell-based cement substitution report the performance of the final mixture without a preceding, standards-based characterization of the material itself, leaving the scientific basis for substitution incomplete. This study therefore characterizes the physical properties of clamshell waste powder to establish a replicable basis for its use as a partial cement substitute in non-structural mortar. Clamshells collected from seafood restaurants in Kedonganan, Badung, were cleaned, oven-dried, ground, and sieved to pass a No. 200 sieve (75 µm). Physical characterization specific gravity, loose bulk density, fineness, moisture content, and indicative water absorption was performed in triplicate following the relevant Indonesian National Standards (SNI). The powder exhibited a specific gravity of 2.85 g/cm³, consistent with calcite–aragonite mineralogy and indicating high CaCO₃ purity; a loose bulk density of 0.92 g/cm³; a fineness of 98% passing the No. 200 sieve, comparable to that of Portland cement; and near-zero moisture content. Benchmarking against recent international studies confirms that these values fall within the range reported for shell powders used as supplementary cementitious materials. These properties indicate that the powder is physically feasible as a fine mineral admixture with potential filler and nucleation effects, providing a validated foundation for subsequent evaluation of its mechanical performance and for developing zero waste, circular economy building products.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Tirtha Damayanti
AU  - Ni Kadek Sri Ebtha Yuni
AU  - Ni Putu Indah Yuliana
AU  - Ni Putu Ary Yuliadewi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
TI  - Standards-Based Physical Characterization of Clamshell Waste Powder as a Partial Cement Substitute for Non-Structural Mortar
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Green Tourism Applied Science - Engineering Applied Science 2026 (ICOSTAS-EAS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 53
EP  - 62
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-805-4_7
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-805-4_7
ID  - Damayanti2026
ER  -