Use of Egg Shell Powder as Partial Replacement of Cement in Concrete

Abstract

Concrete is widely used throughout the world for the construction of most buildings, bridges, and other structures. The construction industry is one of the largest consumers of natural resources and contributes significantly to environmental pollution through cement production. At present, the entire construction sector is exploring suitable and effective waste materials that can minimize the use of cement and ultimately reduce construction costs. One such alternative material is egg shell powder. A large amount of egg shell waste is disposed of in landfills without any pre-treatment since it is conventionally considered unusable, which creates serious environmental issues. Therefore, a proper alternative method is required to manage these wastes in an eco-friendly manner. The aim of this investigation is to utilize egg shell powder as a partial replacement for cement. In this study, cement is replaced by egg shell powder at levels of 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight of cement. Experimental research was conducted to determine the mechanical properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength of egg shell powder-based concrete. The results indicate that the strength of the concrete increases with the addition of egg shell powder, and the comparison shows improved performance in egg shell-modified concrete compared to conventional concrete.

Introduction

The text describes research on using eggshell powder (ESP) as a sustainable partial replacement for cement in concrete to reduce environmental impact. Since cement production is energy-intensive and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, alternative materials like fly ash, silica fume, and especially waste eggshells are being explored. Eggshells are rich in calcium carbonate (CaCO?) and are an abundant food industry waste that causes disposal and environmental issues if not reused.

In the experimental study, eggshells were collected, cleaned, dried, crushed, and finely ground (using a ball mill and sieving through a 90-micron sieve) to produce eggshell powder suitable for concrete use. Cement properties and chemical composition were also analyzed, along with the composition of ESP, which is primarily calcium-based but contains small traces of other oxides.

Concrete mixes were prepared with different replacement levels of cement by ESP (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). Workability tests using the slump cone method showed that increasing ESP content reduces slump values, indicating decreased workability (from medium to stiff and low consistency as replacement increases).

Conclusion

Egg shell powder is a promising supplementary cementitious material for partial replacement of cement in concrete. At replacement levels of 5–10%, ESP improves compressive strength and enhances sustainability by reducing cement consumption and utilizing food waste. Although large-scale applications are still limited, ESP concrete has the potential to contribute to eco-friendly and cost-effective construction practices. After studying the various researches done by various authors, Following conclusions are drawn:- 1) The hardness and specific gravity were increased with increasing ESP 2) The workability of concrete is decreased by increasing the amount of Egg shell powder 3) The compressive strength of the concrete with egg shell powder as cement replacement material increases up to 15% 4) The split tensile strength of the egg shell powder concrete decreases with the addition of egg shell powder. This can be increased if the concrete is used with reinforcement

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Rohit ., Kajal Sagar, Vishal Gautam, Akhilesh Kumar, Mr. Ankur Sahu. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.