Experimental Study on the Production of One-Part Alkali-Activated Foam Mortar Containing Eggshell Waste

SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering, cilt.12, sa.4, ss.181-193, 2025 (Scopus)

Eggshell (ES) is an agro-based waste that produces alkali-activated materials. Although most of the research is

focused on ES-based Alkali-Activated Mortars (AAM), Alkali-Activated Foam Mortars (AAFM) production is quite scarce.

Using caustic aqueous alkaline solutions in traditional two-part mixing methods results in substantial dangers during large-

scale applications. This study presents an opportunity to produce one-part AAFM, foamed with aluminum powder (Al), that uses

metakaolin (MK) and ES as aluminosilicate precursors. The impacts of MK:ES and Al contents on the properties are researched.

The highest density (D) (1.81 g/cm3), ultrasound velocity (UV) (2.33 km/s), Compressive Strength (CS) (12.50 MPa), and the

lowest porosity (P) (15.35%), water absorption ratio (WAR) (9.82%), and Drying Shrinkage (DS) (511 µs), are detected in the

samples with 70% of MK and 30% of ES. The pore size distributions change with Al content. Gradually increasing Al content

to 1.50% results in an increase in the volume of macropores. The lowest thermal conductivity coefficient (TC), 0.187 W/mK, is

determined in the (70MK:30ES)-1.50%Al sample. One-part AAFMs with various Al contents may be used as non-loadbearing

wall materials, such as lightweight aggregate concrete, pumice concrete, aerated autoclaved concrete, and lightweight bricks.