Oyster shells’ incorporation into mortar to achieve blue circular economy: LCA case study in Portugal

Abstract

Currently, society's great challenge is to face climate change and mitigate environmental impacts. This study aims to identify the environmental impacts of recovering traditional construction techniques in coastal regions by incorporating oyster shells into mortar to achieve the objectives of the blue circular economy. The possible environmental impacts are measured using Life Cycle Assessment. Oyster shell is considered as a powder or an aggregate in construction, and comparison is made between mortars produced with percentages of substitutions of traditional materials by oyster shell incorporation. The case study was carried out in the Algarve region, in the south of Portugal. Consequently, the potential of circularity for a biomaterial derived from the aquaculture industry and its inclusion in different particle size in the construction industry is discussed. This work is part of the activities to be carried out within the scope of the EEA granted Shellter Project, which aims to explore the potential of incorporation of oyster shells in the production of construction materials within a circular economy model.