Analysis of the suitability of marble waste for beach nourishment

Abstract

Marble waste, as a subproduct of the exploitation of marble quarries, could be reused as a replacement for the scarce sand sediment supply for beach nourishment. This work studied the suitability of 4 different types of marble (Bateig, Ivory Cream, Imperial Brown and Niwala). The method consisted of generating 3 samples for each type of marble and preparing them (i) with jaw crusher and D50 = 0.692 mm; (ii) with jaw crusher and D50 = 0.301 mm; and (iii) with ball mill and D50 = 0.268 mm. These samples were analysed using the accelerated particle wear test, and the mineralogy and morphology of the particles were studied using X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy. Results indicate that if the particle size is larger than 0.4 mm, durability increases between 2 and 4 times compared to a usual sand sample. The jaw crusher generates a smaller number of fractures to the particles than the ball mill, increasing the durability of the sample. If these criteria are followed, marble wastes can be used in beach nourishment, becoming a circular economy asset, alleviating the adverse environmental impact, saving resources and energy and reducing the total cost of nourishments.