THE FEASIBILITY OF WASTE SHELLFISH (B.

MOLLUSCA)

AND POLYSTYRENE FOAM AS WALL TILES

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in EAPP I

Writing a Concept Paper

Bilgera, Reynald Bon

Cuadra, John Kyle

Obedencio, Jayvie D.

Uzarraga, Nennius Jericho

(Grade 11 – STEM 8)

Reycepaz N. Juario

EAPP Adviser
Background of the Study

Styrofoam is a well-known polystyrene foam product invented by Dow Chemical

Company in 1994. This foam is now widely used especially in appliances. Electrical
appliances, such as TV monitors, refrigerators and computer monitors, are usually
covered with Styrofoam when newly bought by customers from different stores. The
foam is not a packing material but it serves as protection from any accident and also
acts as insulator, thus, it should not be removed. Although useful, some people tend to
disregard the foam and throw them after unpacking the appliance. Improper disposal of
the foam leads to pollution since it is non-biodegradable and increasingly present as
outdoor litter. This environmental issue still exists until now. On the other hand,
Extended Polystyrene Foam (EPF) is now used in constructing walls of some
establishments or buildings.
Shellfish is very abundant in our locality as Philippines is rich in marine
resources. A shell contains 75% to 95% calcium carbonate with only a small quantity of
protein no more than 2% which indicates that it can be used as a source of calcium
oxide (CaO). Shellfish are mostly bivalves that are edible and available in our local
market, such as clams, oyster shells, scallops and mussel shells, but only the meat
within the shells is eaten and the shells are being disposed.
These two materials are just discarded to the surroundings adding up to the
pressing problem on waste disposal. It is therefore the aim of this study to make a
valuable product which is the decorative wall tiles out of these two waste materials.
The researchers wants to determine if the waste polystyrene foam and waste
shellfish could be good components in making less expensive & eco-friendly wall tiles.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to produce wall tiles from the mixture of powdered shellfish and
waste Styrofoam with the help of the special gasoline. Specifically, the study sought to
answer the following questions:
1. What is the tensile-strength of the wall tiles with different ratios, (gasoline:
Styrofoam: shells: sand)?
2. How do the different types of tile compare in terms of porosity?

Preliminary Literature Review

Oyster Shell is a good ingredient in strengthening tiles. According to studies,

ninety seven and a half percent (97.5%) of the chemical components of oyster shells
are calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or limestone. It is embedded between the layers of an
organic substance known as conchiolin. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a compound
used in brick making for its high compressive strength. The presence of calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) in the shells indicates that it could be used as a source of calcium
oxide (CaO), which was shown to strengthen blocks and dental fillings.
In other studies, it is used to make synthetic or cultured marble, ceramic floor
tiles, stucco, caulking compound, building products, polishing compound, grouting and
thin set mortars, abrasive in powdered cleansers, sealants, adhesives, putty, and glues,
paints (water-based), animal feeds, insecticides, plastics, PVC pipes, carpet underlays
and paper.
Polystyrene is used worldwide and unfortunately it is incorrectly known as
Styrofoam, this lightweight substance is made from petroleum-based Polystyrene
beads, which are stretched out during a very complicated steaming and molding
process. The resulting product is 98 percent air and is used in packaging and insulating
things.
Polystyrene is easy to be snapped in half or to be crumbled but, it is strong in
compression which results for it to protect delicate objects if it is dropped or crushed.
Polystyrene is also a very good insulator, meaning that it quickly accrues electrical
charge. This gives it a strong electrostatic attraction to other objects, causing it to
readily stick to things. This result the components in the tile making to stick to each
other and to make the tile strong enough so that it won’t break easily.
Gasoline is a fuel made from crude oil and other petroleum liquids. Gasoline is
mainly used as an engine fuel in vehicles all around the world, but when you mix
Styrofoam or Polystyrene with gasoline, the Styrofoam will break down and most of the
air inside it escapes, then it will become a wet, gooey material. If you leave it out to dry,
it gets hard again, but will not be the same as before, because of the loss of air and it
will resemble plastic.
A pebble is a clast of rocks with a particle size of millimeters based on the
Krumbein phi scale of sedimentology. Pebbles and sand are used in designing or
making tiles. They are usually found near the beach and in the rivers.

Abridged Methodology

In this study, the employed research design is experimental type. Also, this
research is a qualitative type as researchers will only compare the decorative wall tiles
in set-ups with different ratios. The following procedures will be the process on making
the tiles: the collected seashells and Styrofoam will be washed and sundried; the
seashells will be pulverized, separating the partially and fully pulverized shells; each of
the molders will be poured with 50mL of special gasoline; Styrofoam will be mixed to
each of the molders with gasoline; each of the molders will be poured with shells; sand
will be added to the set-ups; all of the set-ups will be topped with partially pulverized
shells for decoration purposes; and the set-ups will be sundried to harden. The shellfish
included in this study will be obtained from seafood restaurants, the polystyrene foam
will be collected by the researchers from different sources, the gasoline will be bought
from gasoline stations, and sand will be also collected. The materials needed for this
study will be brought to Liceo de Cagayan University - Senior High School Main
Campus Science Laboratory. Researchers will also borrow laboratory apparatuses from
the mentioned laboratory. After conducting the procedures, the tiles will undergo two
tests: tensile-straight and porosity, in which data results will be collected by the
researchers.
Timeline

The researchers are expected to conduct and finish this study in the given
timetable below.

Table 1. Timetable for Completion

Date Activities
2019 Gathering of the materials to be used
2019 Preparing the materials to be used
Preparing the laboratory apparatuses needed
2019 Making of the tile set-ups
2019 Data Gathering
Data Analysis
2019 Discussion of the data results
2020 Writing of the paper

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