The potential of pulverised rabbit droppings as a soil stabiliser in compressed earth blocks

Abstract

This study assessed the potential of pulverised rabbit droppings as a stabiliser in compressed earth blocks (CEBs) to minimise the adverse impact of these droppings on the environment and also advance the discourse on sustainable building construction materials. Fresh rabbit droppings were collected, sun-dried, crushed, and sieved with a 2 mm mesh; 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10% and 15% of the pulverised droppings were mixed with dried laterite soil to produce the CEBs. Split tensile strength, compressive strength, dry density, water absorption, and erosion tests were conducted on the CEBs. The 5% inclusion of rabbit droppings resulted in an optimum split tensile strength of 0.215 N/mm 2 and compressive strength of 1.368 N/mm 2 , representing 17.5% and 8.1% increases, respectively, over the control. The erosion resistance of the blocks improved with the pulverised rabbit droppings from 5% and above. The water absorption reduced to 2.70% for 5% rabbit droppings inclusion from the control of 5.01%, representing a 46.1% reduction. The study concludes that the pulverised rabbit dropping inclusions in CEBs positively improved the properties of CEBs and, therefore, have great potential for use as a soil stabiliser in CEBs. It is recommended that 5% pulverised rabbit droppings should be used by CEB manufacturers to improve the properties of the blocks. Further studies should investigate the thermal, fire-resistance, chemical composition, and long-term durability properties of CEBs stabilised with pulverised rabbit droppings.