Innovative Uses of Recycle Waste Materials as an Artificial Concrete Reef for Estuarine Ecosystem

Abstract

This study enveloped an innovative uses of banana peel particles (BPP) incorporated with recycle aggregate concrete (RAC) from construction waste as an artificial concrete reef for estuarine ecosystem. An artificial reef concrete composites were made of using BPP reinforced RAC as a matrix. The conretes composite cube were prepared in a percentages of 10%, 20% and 30% of BPP to RAC respectively. The concrete cubes without BPP was used as control cubes. The compressive strength of an artificial reef concretes composites were carried out at 28 days. The total nutrient dispersed were determined using total nitrate (TN), phosphorus (TP) and organic carbon (TOC) test of the water samples in 6 days. The results showed that the averages compressive strength were 26.8 MPa for 10% of BPP, 18.3 MPa for 20% of BPP and 11.MPa for 30% of BPP, respectively. The amount of TN, TP and TOC leached from the articial concrete reef ranged from 34.3% to 41.5%, 58.2% to 70.3%, and 7.2% to 10.6%, respectively. It also reported that the amount of nutrients leached from an artificial reef increased gradually with time as more percentages of BPP added to concrete composites and on the contrary, the compressive strength indicated decreases with the increased of BPP. Wet can be concluded that, BPP from the agriculture wastes could be used as potential nutrient sources of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic carbon for an artificial concrete reef in estuarine ecosystem with some further study on mechanical properties to increase the compressive strength of an artificial reef composite concretes.