High consumption of mollusk shells generates many waste mollusk shells.
To reduce and utilize these wastes, they can be cleaned and milled to
produce calcium carbonate (CaCO3) powders, which can be further used as
raw material for producing valuable products. This research presents a
simple, cheap, and environmentally friendly preparation of calcium
phosphates by using waste mollusk shells as a renewable source. All
synthesized calcium phosphate samples were characterized and confirmed
by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared
spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermal analysis. The
addition of phosphoric acid to mollusk-derived CaCO3 generated triple
superphosphate (TSP), which was consisting of two or more calcium
phosphate compounds. After the TSP powder was dissolved in water,
non-soluble powders were obtained and found to be dicalcium phosphate
dihydrate (DCPD, CaHPO4•2H2O). After removing non-soluble compounds and
then the self-evaporating process of the solution fraction to dryness,
the recrystallized product was investigated and confirmed as monocalcium
phosphate monohydrate (MCPM, Ca(H2PO4)2•H2O). This recrystallization
process produced highly purified Ca(H2PO4)2•H2O with high solubility and
phosphorus content that can be used as an effective fertilizer. The
green and low-cost preparation of calcium phosphates proposed in this
research will be valuable to reduce waste mollusk shells by reforming
them into value-added products. This information points out the
viewpoint of a zero-waste operation for obtaining sustainable
development, which could be selected as an effective technique for waste
management and recycling.