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need for sustainable alternatives in construction materials. cleansers, the team embarked on a research process to
Replacing 20% of cement with seafood shell waste offers develop a comparable product utilising repurposed shellfish
a promising solution. This substitution reduces annual CO₂ waste.
emissions by 0.6642 billion tonnes, equivalent to replacing
0.82 billion tonnes of cement. The emission reduction Throughout the research process, the team explored various
efficiency translates to 0.81 kg CO₂e saved per kilogram of formulations, making improvements by adjusting specific
replaced cement, demonstrating the effectiveness of this ingredients. Initial formulations incorporated xanthan
modification. Upcycling seafood shell waste further enhances gum in one and sodium alginate in another. However, the
environmental benefits. ParkRoyal's annual 60,840 kg of resulting texture was suboptimal. To address this, the team
shell waste would otherwise emit 57,798 kg CO₂e in landfills. experimented with adding HEC to enhance the texture and
While processing the waste (drying, grinding, and acetic acid achieve properties like those of a "cif" abrasive cleanser.
treatment) adds 0.35 kg CO₂e per kilogram, the combined
effect of avoided landfill emissions and reduced cement While aiming for a CIF-like consistency, the team also
production emissions yields a net reduction of 1.41 kg CO₂e considered the performance of "Axion" dishwashing paste as
per kilogram of waste used. a benchmark for cleaning efficacy. After evaluating multiple
variations, the team narrowed the options down to two
Implementing this approach across ParkRoyal's entire shell primary formulations and ultimately selected the final version
waste output would reduce emissions by 85,784.4 kg CO₂e presented in Table 4.
annually. This dual strategy not only mitigates landfill impacts
but also significantly lowers the carbon footprint of cement
production, showcasing a scalable model for sustainable
industrial practices. With all the illustrations made above, the
estimated cost of the cement will be about $0.834/100g.
Eco-Solution 3 – Formulation of Abrasive
Eco-Detergent
ParkRoyal identified a significant volume of shellfish waste
arising from buffet operations. To address this, the team
developed a sustainable solution by repurposing the shells.
The process involves collecting, cleaning, drying, and grinding
the shells into a fine powder. This powder is then dual acid-
treated with 2.0M hydrochloric acid and 6% oxalic acid to Table 4: Finalised Formulation of Abrasive Eco-Detergent
enhance its properties. Subsequently, the treated shell powder Methodology. HEC, sodium alginate was weighed and
is incorporated into an abrasive detergent formulation, further mixed with a portion of sterile saline. The thickeners will
enhanced by the addition of an eco-enzyme solution derived swell (Mixture 1). Both preservatives, benzyl alcohol and
from fruit waste fermentation. This initiative exemplifies sodium benzoate, are weighed and mixed to dissolve
ParkRoyal's commitment to sustainability by diverting waste with a portion of the sterile saline and combined with the
from landfills and creating a valuable cleaning product from surfactants, SLS and SLES (Mixture 2). All the chemicals
natural resources. were dissolved, and both Mixture 1 and Mixture 2 were
blended manually. All carbonates and the treated shell
Formulation. Inspired by the success of "Cif" abrasive waste powder will be folded into the liquid mixture
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