Learn the French professor, who converts the Austra shells into an environmental concrete

The seed cultivation, which is the tradition of centenary on the French coast, faces a hidden challenge. For every juice that reaches our dishes, it does not survive. There is an empty shell that creates mountains of waste that farmers must manage. With mortality rates of up to 50-90 % in some crops, these neglected shells represent both environmental load and a stuck resource.

Professor David Gregor and his research team at the University of Pao and Pays de l’ungour converts this marine waste into what they consider a building material in the future.

“If we notice the coasts around the world, we can see sea shells that are used to make concrete in places such as Senegal, Morocco and many coastal areas,” Professor Gregor explains. “The shells have long been raw materials in the traditional construction.”

However, what distinguishes your research is that it replaces the usual sand and gravel with crushed shells, which is a truly unconventional approach to modern construction.

The science behind this innovation is amazingly simple. Austra shells, biomass with mollusks, are basically natural limestone that consists of calcium carbonate. This makes it chemically similar to traditional building materials, but with unique advantages.

This concrete with shells can face multiple environmental challenges, starting with the decline in quarries. Professor Gregor also notes: “We keep resources, because we do not need traditional sand, increasingly rare around the world.”

Benefits go beyond preserving resources. By combining these shells with low -carbon cement, the resulting concrete is largely reduced by CO₂ emissions compared to traditional production methods.

Another possible feature is currently tested. “Our materials provide a greater vital compatibility,” says Grégoire, who makes them ideal for marine applications such as artificial coral reefs that prefer to renew ecosystems.

Innovation already shows its effectiveness in real applications. Dune du pilat visitors, the highest sand dunes in Europe, are running along the paths made of this oyster concrete, which resisted years of using intense pedestrians.

This work not only solves the waste problem, but also contributes to the creation of a circular model in which it becomes a waste of making another brick.