Suitability of Eggshell Stabilized

Lateritic Soil as Subgrade Material for

Road Construction
A. J. Olarewaju(1), M. O. Balogun(2) and S. O. Akinlolu(3)
(1)

Civil Engineering Program, School of Engineering and Information

Technology (SKTM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,
Malaysia
Corresponding Author; e-mail: akinolajolarewaju@yahoo.com
(2)

Civil Engineering Department, Federal Polytechnic,

P.M.B. 50, Ilaro, Ogun State, Nigeria

(3)

Civil Engineering Department, Federal Polytechnic,

P.M.B. 5351, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT
Eggshell powder has not been used as a stabilizing material in most parts of the world. However, it could be a
replacement for other types of stabilization. This study is aimed at determining the geotechnical properties of
eggshell stabilized lateritic soil with a view to determining its suitability as stabilizing agent for lateritic soil.
Laboratory tests were carried out on eggshell stabilized lateritic soil and Cement stabilized lateritic soil in line
with BS 1377 (1990). Cement stabilized lateritic soil served as control experiment. The results of Atterberg
limits, California Bearing Ratio and compaction tests indicate that eggshell-stabilized lateritic soil at 8% have
similar engineering properties with Cement-stabilized lateritic soil at 2%. Though from this study, eggshell
powder mixed with lateritic soil has been found to possess low binding properties, it can be used to significantly
improve the strength of soil to be used as a subgrade where very high performance is not necessary. It could
serve as a fair replacement for use as stabilizers for subgrade but not for base and subbase. The capacity as a
stabilizer does not meet the minimum requirement for use as base and subbase materials for road construction.

KEYWORDS:

Eggshell, Cement, Lateritic Soil, Stabilization, Subgrade Material, Geotechnical

Properties.

BACKGROUND STUDY
Soil Stabilization is the process by which the engineering properties of soil layers can be improved or
treated by addition of other soil types, mineral materials or by mixing the appropriate chemical additive
into the pulverized soil and then carry out compaction [18, 19]. It is aimed at improving the soil density,
increase its cohesion, friction resistance and reduction of plasticity index. However, it is a must to obtain
adequate relevant information concerning the ground condition and soil properties relative to the grading
and any layer of the soil. Soil stabilization is used mainly in construction of earth dams, embankments,
sub grade, sub base, bases, run ways, pavements, etc [2, 15, 30, 31]. Two general methods of stabilization
are mechanical and additive. In mechanical method of soil stabilization, improvement of soil engineering
properties is done by the addition of other soil particles which are missing from its natural grading. In
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ground improvement projects, this normally leads to soil compaction, both deep and superficial. The soil
as a material is densified by mechanical means and is being used as fill in the construction of
embankments, earth dams, subgrade of roads, etc [16, 24, 26, 27, 33]. The increase in density is being
achieved by decreasing the air voids content with the water content remains approximately the same. Soil
stabilization through compaction is mostly carried out by field compaction which involves the use of
different compacting equipment. This equipment varies from hand punners to heavy vibrating plates,
power rammer, jumping frog rammer and also comprises of many types of rollers such as rubber-tyred
roller, wobbly wheel, sheep-foot and smooth steel-tyred, etc. Some of these rollers pulverize, moisten,
mix, lay and compact soil on one or more passes of the machine. It is possible to have 100% proctors and
100% modified proctor compaction in the field [18, 19]. Relative compaction is the ratio of field dry
density to maximum dry density multiply by 100 [3, 5, 6, 17].
In the additive method of soil stabilization, it refers to a manufactured commercial product that, when
added to the soil in the proper quantities, will improve the quality of the soil and soil layer. These
products are Portland cement, lime, lime-cement-fly ash, bitumen, alone or in combination. The selection
of these products depends upon the soil classification and degree of improvement in soil quality desired.
According to [19], modification method of soil stabilization usually results in something less than a
thoroughly cemented, hardened or semi-hardened material. The type of stabilization may be accomplished
by compacting, mechanical blending, adding cementing materials in small amounts, or adding chemical
modifiers. Cement and lime modifiers (cement-modified soil and lime-modified soil) are used in
quantities too small to provide high-strength cementing action. They reduce the plasticity of clay soils.
Calcium chloride or sodium chloride is added to the soil to retain moisture, to hold fine material for better
compaction, and to reduce frost heave by lowering the freezing point of water in the soil. Bituminous
materials, such as cutback asphalts or asphaltic penetrative soil binder, and certain chemicals such as
polyvinyl acetate emulsion are used to waterproof the soil surface to control dust [16]. Examples of these
modifications are soil cement stabilization plastic soil-cement, cement-modified soil and compacted
soil-cement. Sandy and gravel soils, sandy soils as well as silty and clayey soils could be effectively
stabilized with soil-cement stabilization. The stabilizers are lime, cement, bitumen, pulverized fuel ash or
fly-ash, etc. Eggshell powder has not been widely and commonly used.
As suggested by [12, 34], grouting is a process of injecting under pressure a fluid sealing material
(usually mixture of cement and water starting with a ratio of 5:1) into the underlying formations through
specially drilled holes for the purpose of sealing off or filling joint seams, fissures or other openings.
Grouting is mainly used to: cement the soil or rock macro-structure and thereby increase the strength and
stiffness of the mass; infill the pores or fissures and thereby reduce the compressibility and permeability
of the mass; a combination of these. This process is extensively used when pores or fissures are filled, as
a means of controlling the flow of ground water through soils and rocks [11, 33, 34]. The extent to which
a grout penetrates depends on its viscosity and on the pressure of injection. Reduction in permeability
using grouting is useful in the formation of grouted cut-offs under dams, grouting fissured rocks, grouting
sand and gravel to reduce air losses during construction work in compressed air, and sealing gaps in sheet
pilling. Strength and stiffness increase is very important in underpinning problems and in support of
excavation in tunneling, pipes, etc [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 32, 35].
Grout as it is, is a liquid either a uniform chemical substance or an aqueous suspension of solids that
is injected into the rocks or consolidated materials through special drilled boreholes to improve bulk
physical properties and/or to eliminate seepage of ground water. There are three basic types; Portland
cement-base slurries, chemical grouting solutions, and organic resins including epoxy resins. Grout can be
injected into the fissures in a rock or granular soils. Rock-fill and rubble masonry can also be grouted.
Cement grouts are usually used in these cases since the voids are fairly large. Gravel and sands can be
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grouted successfully by a variety of different processes as described in the previous processes [2]. Details
of stabilization criteria for different soil gradation of soils could be found in [9], [10], [19], [21], [22],
[23], [25], [31] and [35].
Eggshell waste falls within the category of waste food. They are materials from the preparation of
foods and drinks, if subjected to adequate preservation could be suitable for soil stabilization [9]. The use
of stabilization agents like cement, lime and bitumen proves expensive and requires an economic
replacement. It has been shown that eggshell primarily contains lime, calcium and protein. It has found its
use as a source of lime in the agricultural industry, which confirms that lime is present in considerable
amount in eggshell [1].

METHODOLOGY
Eggs are mechanically separated into weight groups starting from smallest weight consisting of
pullet, small, medium, large and extra large. A method of obtaining the true shell color is by using the
photo-electric determination of percentage reflectance. The method depends on the ability of the shell to
reflect light, which is a function of shell color. Another method is visual scoring method which may be
applied by awarding an average store to eggs in the color range. The materials that were used for the
study essentially are: Lateritic soil sample, Portland cement, Eggshell and Water. The soil sample used for
this study is obtained from a borrow pit in Ilaro, Ogun Sate, Nigeria that was in use for Lagos-Abeokuta
road dualization in Ogun State, Nigeria as well as road construction in Lagos State, Nigeria. According to
[36], Ilaro is on co-ordinate 3O 00N, 6O 42E. It has geology comprising of sedimentary basin (Ilaro
Basin) shearing boundary with Dahomey Basin. It has large deposit of lateritic soil that can be stabilized
with cement, lime, bitumen, etc [37]. According to [18] and [37], ratios of silica to sequioxide is
represented by SiO2/(FeO3 + Al2O3) which if less than 1.33 indicates laterite, but if greater than 2, is an
indication of non-lateritic soil.
The eggshell was obtained from Obasanjo Agricultural Farm at Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The
eggshell was air-dried, broken manually and then milled into powdery form which was collected in
polythene bags and stored under room temperature. The eggshell was finally sieved through BS sieve
75m. In accordance with [4], tests were carried out on the eggshell stabilized and cement-stabilized
lateritic soil samples with cement-stabilized lateritic soil serving as control experiment. These tests are:
the classification test (i. e. natural moisture content, specific gravity, particle size analysis and Atterbergs
limits test) as well as the determination of engineering properties (i. e. compaction test, California Bearing
Ratio test, CBR, compressive strength test) of the unstabilized samples of the three soil samples.
Stabilizing material was then added to each of the soil sample in certain percentages of 2%, 4%, 6% and
8% of the soil by weight of eggshell after which the Atterbergs limit test was carried out as well as the
determination of engineering properties of each of the samples. Finally, the optimum requirement of the
eggshell on each of the sample was determined. Details of the laboratory procedures could be found in [3]
and [4].

RESULTS AND DISCSUSSION

The results of variation of plastic limit and plastic index with stabilization effect are graphically
presented in Figure 1. In addition to this, the variation of optimum content, maximum dry density and
CBR with percentage stabilization mix are presented in Figure 2. Finally, the results of compaction test
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with varying moisture content for egg-shell powder and Portland cement mixed with lateritic soil are
graphically presented in Figure 3.

Figure 1: Variation of plastic limit and plastic index with stabilization effects

Figure 2: Variation of optimum content, maximum dry density and CBR with percentage stabilization mix

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Figure 3: continues on the next page.

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Figure 3: Compaction test with varying moisture content for egg-shell powder and
Portland cement mixed with lateritic soil

The specific gravity of lateritic soil sample was found to be 2.56. This value is in agreement with [18]
and [20]. [8] gave the specific gravity of clay minerals (Halloysite to be in the range of 2.0 to 2.55 and
Biotite is in the range of 2.8 to 3.2). However the specific gravity of eggshell was found to be 1.09. In
addition to this, [8] stated that most clay minerals have specific gravity that falls within a general range of
2.6 and 2.9. The specific gravity of eggshell is much more lower that that of soil. The results also showed
that the liquid limits (LL), plastic limits (PL) and the plasticity index (PI) of the lateritic soil sample is
30.20%, 13.48%, and 16.72% respectively. This shows that the soil samples have low plasticity.
According to [13], [14] and [32], liquid limit less than 35% indicates low plasticity, between 35% and
50% indicates intermediate or medium plasticity, between 50% and 70% high plasticity and between 70%
and 90% very high plasticity [29].
It can be observed that the CBR values for percentage eggshell-stabilization were much lower
compared to cement-stabilization. These values as observed are shown in Figure 2. It can be seen that the
CBR values of the lateritic soil increased considerably on stabilization with cement. This shows that load
bearing capacity of the soil increased with the stabilization mix. At any given moisture content, the CBR
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of a soil will increase if its dry density is increased, i.e., if the air content of the soil reduces. Thus, a
design dry density should be selected which corresponds to the minimum state of compaction expected in
the field at the time of construction. The increment in the CBR values satisfies this minimum requirement
that qualifies them for road construction. With the addition of eggshell, the CBR value of the soil reduced
from 18.38% at 0% stabilization to 13.74% at 2% of eggshell stabilization and increased to 21.09% at 8%
eggshell additive. For cement stabilization, it increased from 18.38% at 0% stabilization to 28.44% at 8%
cement stabilization. Also, it can be seen that the soil gives similar CBR properties when stabilized with
8% eggshell powder as well as 2% cement. California Bearing Ratio test results for 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%
egg-shell stabilized lateritic soil are 13.74%, 14.01%, 18.17% and 21.09% respectively while that of
Portland cement stabilized lateritic soil are 21.7%, 23.00%, 27.98 % and 28.44% respectively [1].
Increase in the addition of eggshell powder and cement in percentages to the soil sample caused a
change in the liquid limits and plastic limits, which consequently affects the plasticity index of the soil. It
shows that liquid limits increased from 30.20% for unstabilized lateritic soil to 37.10% for eggshell
powder stabilized soil and increased to 32.20% respectively for cement-stabilized lateritic soil at 8%
stabilization. It also revealed the plastic limits increased from 13.48% for unstabilized lateritic soil to
24.14% for egg-shell stabilized soil and 34.40% for cement at 8% stabilization respectively. The plasticity
index (PI) of lateritic soil reduced from 16.72% to 12.96% for egg-shell stabilized lateritic soil and 2.2%
for cement-stabilized lateritic soil which is the optimum. In addition, the plasticity index reduced from
17.29% to optimum value of 12.96% for eggshell-stabilized lateritic soil and from 12.54% to optimum
value of 2.20% in cement-stabilized lateritic soil (Figure 1). According to [8], [13] and [32], a reduction
in plasticity index is an indication of improvement in soil property. Increase in the addition of eggshell
powder by weight of soil sample caused a reduction in the optimum moisture content and corresponding
increase in the maximum dry density as shown in Figure 3. For cement stabilization, the maximum dry
density increased whereas the optimum moisture content reduces (Figure 3). Finally, the results of
compressive test shows that eggshell-stabilized lateritic soil has very weak binding properties at water
mix ratio investigated. It was observed that as the water mix ratio increases, the lateritic soil-cement mix
becomes more workable; hence, the strength of the cube increases.

CONCLUSIONS
It can be seen that soil studied (lateritic soil) belongs to A-2-6 (4) group under the granular materials
according to the AASHTO rating; i.e., it is regarded as good sub-grade soil. The soil sample is classified
as a silty or clayey gravel and sandy soil according to AASHTO classification system. According to
Casagrande soil classification, lateritic soil without stabilization is classified as inorganic clay of medium
plasticity. A 2% cement stabilized lateritic soil possess similar characteristic as 2%,4%,6% and 8%
eggshell-stabilized lateritic soil as they are all in the class of inorganic clay of medium plasticity. From
compaction test result, it can be seen that both eggshell powder and cement significantly increased the
optimum moisture content and maximum dry density of the soil. An 8% eggshell stabilized lateritic soil
possesses close optimum moisture content and maximum dry density properties as 2% cement stabilized
lateritic soil. California Bearing Ratio reveals that 8% eggshell-stabilized lateritic soil compares favorably
with 2% cement stabilized lateritic soil while compressive strength reveals that eggshell powder possesses
low binding property.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The contributions of Aina Adebayo Paul, Ojo Temitope Sunday and Mustapha Yusuff Olanshile of
Civil Engineering Department, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Nigeria are gratefully
acknowledged. Many thanks to Mr. S. A. Oderinde, Mr A. O. Adeyinka and Mr Aro Moses of Soil and
Material Laboratories, Civil Engineering Department, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro Ogun State, Nigeria.
Special thanks to Engr. Adam of Civil Engineering Department, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, EkitiState, Nigeria.

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