Synthesis and characterization of calcium silicate insulating material using avian eggshell waste

This work focuses on the synthesis of calcium silicate insulating material via solid state reaction using avian eggshell waste as alternative calcium source. The calcium silicate formulations were mixed in a molar ratio SiO2:CaO (1:1) and fired at 1100 °C for 24 h. The calcium silicate formulations were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA, dilatometry, SEM/EDS, and thermophysical properties (thermal diffusivity, heat capacity per unit volume, and thermal conductivity). The synthesized calcium silicate materials are composed mainly of wollastonite with minor amounts of larnite and rankinite. It was found that a processing of the avian eggshell waste (raw eggshell waste and calcined eggshell waste) had an influence on the thermophysical properties. Calcium silicate pieces were prepared by uniaxial pressing at 82 MPa, curing, and then testing to determine their use as thermal insulating material. The microstructure was evaluated by SEM. The results showed that both raw and calcined avian eggshell wastes could be used as an alternative calcium source in the calcium silicate formulation. It was found that the calcium silicate pieces reached low thermal conductivity values (0.252-0.293 W/mK). Thus, the developed calcium silicate materials using avian eggshell waste act as a good thermal insulation ceramic material.