Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04760-2

REVIEW ARTICLE

The production of environmentally friendly building materials

out of recycling walnut shell waste: a brief review
Mohanad Yaseen Abdulwahid1 · Abayomi Adewale Akinwande2 · Maksim Kamarou3 · Valentin Romanovski4,5 ·
Imad A. Al‑Qasem6

Received: 1 May 2023 / Revised: 8 August 2023 / Accepted: 12 August 2023

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023

Abstract
Agricultural waste is one of the wastes with a significant value in producing environmentally friendly materials that can be
used in the construction sector. This review paper focuses on the potential uses of walnut shell in some building materials.
Walnut shell is a type of agricultural waste that can be converted from waste into usable materials by incorporating it into
the manufacture of some building materials to achieve sustainability in the construction industry. Recently, walnut waste has
drawn the attention of researchers to generate building-friendly materials to boost sustainability in the construction field. In
this sense, the walnut shell’s low specific gravity makes it a viable material, as a cheap agricultural waste product, for the
development of building materials. According to a survey of the literature, walnut shells can be utilized in the production of
structural elements and thermal insulating concrete, up to 30% and 50% as particles respectively.

Keywords Walnut shell waste · Concrete · Mortar · Brick · Composite panels · Sustainability

1 Introduction using these wastes in the construction industry effectively

contributing to lowering environmental pollution as well
All waste, including construction, agricultural, and industrial as improving the mechanical and/or physical properties of
waste, contributes to environmental degradation. Research- building materials. It is assessed that roughly 998 million
ers in the construction sector have paid much attention to tons of agricultural waste is created yearly around the world
[1]. According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), 20–30% of fruits and vegetables are
* Mohanad Yaseen Abdulwahid wasted during post-harvest handling [2]. Most of the agricul-
[email protected] tural waste worldwide is dumped or burned, which ignores
* Valentin Romanovski its potential and severely impacts the environment [3, 4]. The
[email protected] use of fruit and vegetable waste in the construction industry
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, to lessen environmental pollution has recently experienced
Koya University, Koya KOY45, Kurdistan Region–F.R., Iraq a rise. Agricultural waste has been used in the construction
2
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, industry in a variety of ways, including as fibers, aggregate,
Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, filler, and pozzolanic materials. Using these wastes as ash
Nigeria or fibers helps to improve the mechanical characteristics as
3
Department of Chemical Technology of Binding Materials, a structural member and using it as a shell enhances the
Belarusian State Technological University, Sverdlova, 13a, thermal and acoustic properties for non-structural applica-
220006 Minsk, Belarus tions. In a recent study, He et al. [5] have concluded that
4
Science and Research Centre of Functional Nano‑Ceramics, future concrete industries may use agro-wastes as an alter-
National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, native source of sustainable and eco-efficient pozzolans. On
119049, Lenin av., 4, Moscow, Russia
the other hand, Jannat et al. [6] concluded that the partial
5
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, substitution of nutshell wastes for some building materials
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
(concrete, mortar, brick) can significantly increase cost-
6
Department of Civil Engineering, An-Najah National effectiveness and offer an effective solution to global waste
University, Nablus, Palestine

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 Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

management. The utilization of agricultural waste materials makes it easier to incorporate into some building materials,
in all its forms in the construction industry leads to achiev- like concrete.
ing economic gains. According to Jalam et al. [7], using Additionally, as walnut shell is a porous material, add-
rice husk ash and oil palm shell reduces the price of mass ing it to some building materials may cause a phenomenon
concrete and plaster mortar by 41% and 12%, respectively. known as random porosity and an increase in the number
According to Kareem et al. [8], concrete produced utilizing of open pores, which will improve the material’s ability
oil palm shells as aggregate is more cost-effective and envi- to absorb water and its thermal conductivity coefficient
ronmentally beneficial. Oil palm shell concrete offers the [16]. In view of the aforementioned, walnut shells have
potential for cost savings of up to 42% [8]. The most recent recently emerged as a material that deserves considera-
study by D’Eusanio et al. [9] highlights the potential of tion by academics working to produce environmentally
using peach shells as an efficient and sustainable substitute friendly building materials, especially for thermal and
for conventional lightweight aggregates by pointing out the sound insulating purposes.
enhanced properties seen in lightweight concrete specimens The primary goal of this research is to examine prior
prepared with higher roasting temperatures [9]. studies’ experimental results of some building materials
Raut et al. [10] reviewed that the reusing of agricultural including walnut shell waste (WSW). The impact of WSW
waste products leads to the development of sustainable con- as a powder and aggregate for producing sustainable build-
struction material when it s used in a proper method. Regard- ing materials is investigated. Drawing findings regarding
ing the use of insulation, numerous studies have shown that specific advantages, quantities of combinations, optimal
natural materials function as thermally and acoustically as walnut shell waste, and attempting to quantify the benefits
commercial manufactured alternatives. Agricultural byprod- are all part of the review.
ucts utilized as thermal insulation in buildings allow for a
favorable influence on ­CO2 emissions [11]. Using agricul-
tural waste to develop sustainable building materials was 2 Walnut shell characterizations
effective because the materials developed complied with
established building codes. This therefore shows that agri- One of the most significant dried fruits in the world is the
cultural waste has the potential to replace traditional build- walnut [17]. Walnut fruit is mainly composed of shell, husk,
ing materials and achieve long-term economic, ecological, skin, and core (Fig. 1, modified from).
and social sustainability [12]. Solid agricultural byproducts According to the latest statistics on walnut production, it
like oil palm shell, coconut shell, periwinkle shell, date seed, peaked at 2.31 million metric tons in 2021–2022, and it is
and walnut can be utilized as a cost-effective, eco-friendly, anticipated to rise to 2.6 million metric tons in 2022–2023
and readily available substitute for artificial or manufactured (Fig. 2). China produced around 1.1 million metric tons of
materials in the production of lightweight aggregate (LWA) walnuts in 2021–2022, making it the world’s largest walnut
for concrete. This is particularly advantageous as these mate- producer. With over 657.7 thousand metric tons, the USA
rials are abundantly produced in the region [8]. ranked second for walnut output (Fig. 2).
One of the significant agricultural wastes is walnut shell. Walnut shell makes up 67% of the overall weight of
Almost all walnut processing businesses have trouble selling the natural product and they typically comprise cellu-
and disposing of the shell [13]. Walnut shells are a nuisance lose 25–50%, hemicellulose 20–40%, and lignin 10–35%
to the environment because they take so long to degrade. [19–22]. Table 1 shows the physical properties of walnut
A financial burden could result from the disposal. On the shells according to previous studies.
other hand, burning the shells produces a large amount of The walnut shell is characterized by a very low content of
carbon dioxide, a recognized pollutant that makes global mineral components. The composition of the mineral part in
warming problems worse [14]. Additionally, the walnut shell terms of oxides (wt%) is as follows: CaO, 58.4; ­Al2O3, 6.14;
is a product that is both environmentally friendly and safe ­Fe2O3, 5.42; ­SiO2, 4.11; MnO, 3.11; ­K2O, 2.4; ­Na2O, 2.1;
for people and animals, has a suitable level of strength, does ­SO3, 0.94; MgO, 0.81; ZnO, 0.14; others, 16.43 [27]. The
not decay, and essentially does not lose any of its quali- characteristics of the nut shell as a fuel are as follows: Wa =
ties over time [15]. The walnut shell, when compared to 7.93; A = 1.30; Ydaf = 77.58; C = 51.17; H = 6.37; N = 0.47;
other agricultural byproducts, possesses superior technical S = 0.08; O = 41.91 [28]. Thermal analysis data and FTIR
specifications [13]. Because of the high lignin content, it spectra are shown in Fig. 3. The broad peaks at 3350 ­cm−1
has much greater strength and decay resistance than materi- and 2960 ­cm−1 corresponded to –OH and –CH (aliphatic)
als like straw, husks, and sawdust [13]. On the other hand, bonds. The peaks at 1566 ­cm−1, 1705 c­ m−1, and 1100 ­cm−1
walnut shell differs from bamboo, wood, and rice husk in corresponded to C=C stretching vibrations in the aromatic
that it is easier to crush and has varied particle sizes, which ring bands, carboxylic acid groups, and phenolic groups.

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Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

Fig. 1  Different parts of walnut fruit and the corresponding byproducts (modified from [18]), and representation of the microstructure of a hard
walnut shell according to [13]

Fig. 2  Walnut production: a

worldwide 2012–2022, and b
top country production of wal-
nuts (2021/2022) (https://​www.​
stati​sta.​com/​stati​stics/​675967/​
walnut-​produ​ction-​world​wide/)

Table 1  Some physical Density (kg/m3) Moisture content % Conductivity (W/mK) Color
properties of walnut shell
according to previous studies 785.3–851.2 [23] 6.34–10.11 [24] 0.118–0.147 [25] Sandy brown [26]

Fig. 3  TGA and DTA curves a

[28], and FTIR spectra b [13] of
walnut shell

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 Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

The schematic representation of a hard shell’s microstruc- Recently, researchers in the construction sector have
ture is shown in Fig. 1. Three layers make up the shell’s shown great interest in the possibility of using walnut shells
microstructure, with the inner layer being the most porous in the construction industry such as concrete, brick, and pan-
and the outer layer being the densest [29]. It is possible to els for development sustainability.
take advantage of the high porosity of the hard walnut shell
by combining them with concrete for sound or thermal insu-
lation purposes. Conversely, when walnut shells are treated
with chemical treatments, the porosity increases. 3 Potential of walnut shell in construction
Coşkun et al. [30] mention that the walnut shell (WS) materials
when treated with HCl (HWS), ­H 2 SO 4 (SWS), and
­H3PO4(PWS) leads to create more pores in the structure. 3.1 Concrete and mortar mixes
Figure 4 shows that that walnut shell treated by ­H2SO4
(SWS) has a much larger and deeper porous structure. It Building design and construction must address not only
might imply that all activated WSs can be used to construct structural properties but also thermal and acoustic proper-
materials with high porosity to provide thermal and acoustic ties [35]. Traditional organic heat insulating materials have
insulation. about 80% of the market thanks to their excellent thermal
Huge amounts of walnut shells are produced as agri- insulation capabilities and reasonably inexpensive cost
cultural byproducts and are either thrown away or burned [36]. The lightweight of walnut shells made it a material
to produce fuel [18, 31]. The disposal of walnut shells has that researchers in the construction sector are considering
become a significant environmental problem because it is producing lightweight concrete for insulation purposes.
difficult to decompose, leading to a problem as it wastes The specific gravity of walnut shells is around 1.2 to 1.4
resources and pollutes the environment [14, 32, 33]. Wal- [37], which is almost half that of natural aggregate whose
nut shells are one of the agricultural wastes that can be a specific gravity is approximately 2.6 to 2.7 [38]. In sectors
suitable substitute for synthetic or manufactured materials of application where thermal isolation is desired, the use of
for use as lightweight aggregates in concrete production large walnut shells produces better results [39].
due to their low cost, low density, and eco-friendliness. The use of walnut shells as fine aggregate in concrete
environment and are available in the region where they mixes has been studied by Kamal et al. [40]. The over-
are produced in abundant quantities [12]. The high avail- all findings supported the replacement of fine aggregate
ability and several unique properties of walnut shells such in concrete with up to 30% of walnut shells at a water/
as lower density, lower water absorption, higher strength, cement ratio of 0.38, producing concrete with adequate
and bio-resistance characteristics have made it popular in compressive strength and lower density and water absorp-
the building construction industry [34]. tion than standard concrete [40].

Fig. 4  SEM image of walnut

shell [30]

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Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

Abdulwahid and Abdullah [41] studied the possibility of 62.57% when compared to the reference slab, and that the
using walnut shells (5%, 10%, 15%) as a partial replace- crack breadth at failure for the concrete with walnut coarse
ment for sand in mortar mixes. Among the characteristics aggregate was bigger for the reference slab [48].
that were examined were dry density, thermal conductivity, Abed et al. [47] studied the compressive strength of hard-
compressive strength, and flexural strength. For treatment, ened cement-walnut shell ash composite. The results showed
the walnut shells utilized in this study were soaked in boil- that the incorporation of the walnut shell ash resulted in an
ing water for two intervals of time: half an hour and 1 h. improvement of the compressive strength, decreasing the
According to the study’s findings, soaking the walnut shells density and slightly increasing the water absorption. The
in boiling water for half an hour improved the behavior of optimum strength for the cement-ash composites is obtained
the mortar compared to the ones that were not. As a result, at the level of 22 wt% of walnut shell ash as replaced by
a mortar that is agreeable in strength, effective as a thermal cement using W/C=0.42 [47].
insulator, and environmentally friendly is produced [41]. According to Kamal et al. [48], walnut shell ash can be
The study conducted by Hilal et al. [42] used walnut used as a green binder to partially replace cement. Cement
shells as coarse aggregate to produce lightweight self- paste setting times can be maintained by replacing some
compacting concrete. The obtained results obviously of the cement with walnut shell ash up to 22% by weight
show that the optimum volume ratio of WS is 35% for of cement. Additionally, the findings indicated that using
getting lightweight structural SCC with appropriate fresh agricultural waste as partial replacements in cement (such as
and hardened properties [42]. walnut shell ash) is one way to reduce the risks brought on
Mohammed et al. [43] had used ground walnut shells as by incorrect waste management. It also significantly lowers
a fine aggregate in ratios (10 to 30%) partial replacement of the cost of construction [48].
fine aggregate at different water-cement ratios (0.4 and 0.5). The feasibility of reusing walnut shell wastes (WS) as
Dry density and compressive strength at 28 days of curing fine aggregates in lightweight self-compacting mortar was
age were examined after exposure to an elevated temperature discussed by Boukhelkhal et al. [49]. According to the test
of 400 °C and 600 °C for 2 h. The results showed that the results, a 30% substitution ratio was determined to be the
first series with a w/c of 0.5 produced lightweight cement ideal volume ratio of WS for producing lightweight struc-
mortar that is appropriate for structural requirements before tural SCM with good thermal insulation and suitable fresh
and after exposure to 400 °C when the optimal GW utili- and hardened characteristics [49].
zation ratio was 20%. The remaining mixes, however, are Beskopylny et al. [13] examined the impact of using wal-
appropriate for non-structural uses [43]. nut shells (5 to 30%) as a partial replacement for coarse
Kozub and Castro-Gomes [44] studied how effectively aggregate on the strength and density of concrete in a recent
waste ground walnut shells work as an alternative to fine study. The findings demonstrated that a walnut shell dose of
aggregate in the production of geopolymer mortars. The 5% led to an increase in concrete’s strength characteristics of
results showed that the partial replacement of sand with up to 3.5% as well as the maximum strength-to-density ratio.
ground walnut shells in fly ash–based geopolymer compos- Additionally, efficient partial replacement of coarse material
ites allows for a significant reduction in thermal conductivity with walnut shells reduces the need for crushed stone by up
(over 50% compared to the reference sample), allowing the to 10% and the volume of concrete by up to 6% [13].
use of these composites as insulation materials [44]. Regarding the microstructure study, Fig. 5 displays
Cheng et al. [45] studied the possibility of the devel- microstructures of samples of hardened cement paste with
opment of a sustainable lightweight wet-mix shotcrete by the control composition (a), walnut shell content of 5% (b),
replacing natural coarse gravel with a kind of byproduct, and 30% (c), which demonstrated the greatest and worst val-
walnut shell. This study found wet-mix shotcrete incorpo- ues of strength characteristics, respectively.
rating PET fiber with the walnut shell of about 35% coarse Figure 5c shows that the microstructure of hardened
aggregate replacement could be used for roadway support as cement-paste samples taken from concrete with a walnut
lightweight shotcrete per the requirements of mine support. shell content of 30% has many voids and microcracks.
Additionally, the study demonstrated that the walnut shell’s The increased water absorption of the walnut shell when
specific gravity is obviously lower than that of the natu- compared to the mineral aggregate is the main cause of the
ral aggregate. A walnut shell can therefore be considered a creation of microcracks along the area of contact between
lightweight aggregate [45]. the cement gel and the organic aggregate. As a result, more
Hama and Abdulghafor [46] investigated the effects of coarse aggregate, solidified cement paste, and microcracks
using a walnut shell as a lightweight aggregate to partially at the edges of the contact zone diminish the anchoring of
substitute coarse aggregate on various properties and load- the walnut shell in concrete and its strength properties [13].
deflection behavior of concrete. The findings revealed that The potential of recycling walnut shell wastes (WS) as fine
the concrete with 50% WA had a notable drop in strength of aggregates in a lightweight self-compacting mortar (SCM)

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 Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

Fig. 5  SEM image of samples of hardened cement paste a 0%, b 5%, and c 30% (modified from [13])

is investigated by Boukhelkhal et al. [49]. WS waste was strength relative to the control sample when the materials
substituted for natural sand in the experiment at different were employed individually, but the walnut shell lowered
replacement ratios (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%). The findings it [34].
indicated that a volume ratio of WS of 30% substitution was
ideal for obtaining lightweight structural SCM with suitable 3.3 Polymer and panel composites
fresh and hardened characteristics [49].
The building, construction, and civil engineering industries
3.2 Brick and block materials use polymers and composites extensively in a variety of
structures for a variety of purposes. One of the most sig-
El Hammouti et al. [50] investigated the effect of thermal nificant types of polymeric materials for use in building and
insulation of mud bricks made with walnut shells (WS). The construction applications is polyurethane (PUR) [51, 52].
results showed that the inclusion of 20 wt% WS decreased Due to their rich organic nature (lignin content of 50%, cel-
the thermal conductivity of clay by 45.22%, resulting in an lulose content of 24%, hemicellulose content of 24%) and
increase in thermal resistance. The numerical results showed low ash content (3.4%), walnut shells can be used for the
that the use of the created composites improved residential manufacturing of high-value bio-polyols for the creation of
structures’ energy performance, allowing for correspond- a new class of PUR foams [53, 54].
ing savings of energy for heating and cooling needs (10.8% The lignin content of walnut shell, which is around
7.94%), which motivated the suggestion to utilize WS as a 44.54%, is mentioned by PATHAK as having potential
new aggregate for construction [50]. benefits for improving thermoplastic compatibility. It also
On the other hand, Barnabas et al. [27] found that wal- has a specific flame-retardant property that is crucial for
nut shell addition (0 to 10 wt%) lowered the thermal con- composite used as building materials [55]. Walnut shells
ductivity of burnt clay bricks while an increase in specific are inexpensive, with 1 kg of walnut shells obtained in
heat capacity was noted at 950 °C and 1100 °C. Also, it Poland (Central Europe) costing around $0.12 in 2017.
was concluded that the study established the use of wal- Therefore, the use of this type of filler can be justified in
nut shells for the development of sustainable energy-effi- low-cost polymer composites [56].
cient bricks. WSP can be used to manufacture lightweight In an experimental study, Salasinska et al. [56] demon-
burned bricks, and its application can help to lower the cost strated that the incorporation of large amounts of finely
of creating economical building bricks by reducing the cost ground walnut shell (up to 50%) into thermoset polymer
of agricultural waste [27]. allows the preparation of inexpensive composites with
Jannat et al. [34] have discussed the effect of the utiliza- acceptable mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties,
tion of two agro-wastes eggshell and walnut shell on some particularly in the case of non-structural applications. In
properties of unburnt clay blocks. The experiments were contrast, microstructure analysis indicated that the compos-
carried out on three series of samples in which first egg- ites’ increased stiffness and hardness were attributable to
shell (10–50%) and walnut shell (5–20%) were incorporated the reinforcing effect produced by the presence of pulver-
individually and then combined (5% walnut, 10–30% egg- ized walnut shells [56].
shell) in the mixture to assess their influences on the physi- According to Członka et al. [57], the polyurethane (PU)
cal and mechanical properties of the unburnt clay blocks. composite foams that are reinforced with 1, 2, and 5 wt%
This study performed the following tests: density, capillary of walnut shells (WS) and silanized walnut shells (SWS)
water absorption, linear shrinkage, flexural and compressive have improved successfully. The best outcomes came from
strength. The results indicated that the eggshell enhanced the modifying PU foams with 1 weight percent of S WS. As an

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Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

illustration, the addition of 1 wt% of S WS might improve building construction [62]. Sound-absorbing panels with
the compressive strength of PU foams by 15%, the flex- soundproofing properties can be made from walnut shell
ural strength by 9%, the impact strength by 6%, and the waste, which can be used in industry, transportation, con-
thermal insulation qualities by 0.023 W ­m−1K−1. It can be struction, etc. as well as for decorative purposes in spaces
concluded from these advantageous effects that the use of such as cinemas, malls, and spas [63].
WS and SWS as natural fillers in PU composite foams can da Silva et al. [64] reported the potential of MDF
encourage a new application path in turning agricultural modified with walnut shells to improve IAQ. MDF panels
waste into valuable resources for developing a new category with 5, 10, and 15 wt% walnut shells incorporated were
of green materials [57]. compared to a control sample with no shell. The results
The potential of walnut shell particles as a reinforcing show that the incorporation of walnut within the MDF
agent in the thermoset matrix composite is investigated by panels showed excellent promise for the future of MDF
Mittal et al. [58]. The experimental findings demonstrated as a building material. This is particularly important as
that increasing the filler content of composite materials up MDF has been identified as a problematic material due to
to 35 wt% boosted their mechanical strength and modulus. its high formaldehyde emissions [64].
A balanced mix of strength, stiffness, and toughness was On the other hand, Akgül and Çamlibel [65] noted that
demonstrated by the epoxy-based composite reinforced walnut shell is a material that is already tough. It is supe-
with 35% fine walnut particles, demonstrating its suitabil- rior to wood fiber when applied to the surface of MDF and
ity as a structural material [58]. increases SHA (screw-holding ability). This could be uti-
Pradhan and Satapathy [59] have studied the charac- lized to enhance the panelboards’ surface qualities for usage
terization of walnut shell powder (WSP)–filled polyester in various applications [65].
composite. It was observed that the inclusion of walnut
shell powder does not improve mechanical properties
but enhances the thermal properties of composites with 4 Conclusions and future perspectives
20 wt% of filler content. With the addition of 20 wt% of
WSP, the thermal conductivity of polyester is found to This article explores the use of walnut shell waste in the
have dropped by about 42% [59]. production of building materials. It is shown that relatively
Das Lala et al. [60] examined the possibility of using few articles publish the results of using walnut shell waste
walnut shell powders as a natural filler as reinforcements in the production of ceramic bricks, where its use is seen as
in the epoxy matrix. They studied the comparison between the most promising due to the possibility of using them as a
finely powdered waste rubber seed shell (RSS) and walnut burnable additive. The main criteria of the studied materials
shell (WNS) as reinforcements in the epoxy matrix Lapox are density, strength, and water absorption. Frost resistance
B11 to develop composite material using the stir casting and destruction under the influence of acids and alkalis are
process. Both the composites with superior properties are practically not studied. There is also practically no economic
further compared with the properties of some prominent assessment of the use of walnut shell waste in the produc-
timbers listed in standard IS 883 1994 structural timber tion of building materials. In general, the use of walnut shell
codes based on their availability in the northeastern (NE) waste for producing environmentally friendly building mate-
region of India. Both composites’ characteristics are dis- rials has a number of potential perspectives, including:
covered to be notably superior to those of the specified
timber examples. When compared to a Sundari wood speci- Sustainability: the use of walnut shell waste as a raw
men, RSS and WNS composite exhibit increase in tensile material for building materials can help reduce the
strength of 123% and 72%, respectively. Additionally, the amount of waste. This can help promote sustainability
compressive strength of the RSS and WNS composites is and reduce the environmental impact of construction.
increased by 792% and 722% when compared to the Sund-
ari wood specimen. The study investigates the possibility Cost-effectiveness: walnut shell waste is a low-cost and
of a composite made of rubber seed and walnut shells as a abundant raw material, making it an attractive option for
potential replacement for traditional timber products [60]. producing building materials. This can help reduce the
In addition to partially alleviating the wood shortage in cost of construction and make environmentally friendly
some walnut-rich nations like Iran, Zahedi et al. [61] note building materials more accessible.
that using walnut shells in composite production may also
have positive social and environmental effects. Improved insulation: walnut shell waste has been shown
Composite panels with a polyurethane (PU) foam core to have good thermal insulation properties, making it a
and a covering material such as gypsum, engineered wood, suitable material for use in building insulation. Walnut
or some composites are used as structural elements in

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shells as particles can replace aggregate in the produc- 2. Maraveas C (2020) Production of sustainable and biodegradable
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Author contribution Mohanad Yaseen Abdulwahid: conceptualization; 2_​26
formal analysis; investigation; methodology; resources; supervision; 12. Maraveas C (2020) Production of sustainable construction mate-
data curation; validation; writing—original draft; writing—review and rials using agro-wastes. Materials 13(2):262. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
editing. Abayomi Adewale Akinwande: formal analysis, investigation, 3390/​ma130​20262
data curation. Maksim Kamarou: formal analysis, data curation. Val- 13. Beskopylny A, Stel’makh S, Shcherban E, Mailyan L, Meskhi B,
entin Romanovski and Imad A. Al-Qasem: formal analysis; investiga- Shilov A, Chernil’nik A, El’shaeva D (2023) Effect of walnut-
tion; data curation; validation; visualization; writing—original draft; shell additive on the structure and characteristics of concrete.
writing—review and editing. Materials 16(4):1752. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3390/​ma160​41752
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