Environmental assessment of pearl millet waste reinforced biocomposite ceiling tiles

Agricultural waste integration as secondary resource in the fabrication of sustainable building materials helps in reducing environmental impacts. Work presented here focuses on developing a biocomposite as an alternative to gypsum ceiling tiles by partially replacing gypsum with pearl millet waste. The waste incorporated in different proportions into the gypsum matrix. A comparative life cycle assessment of pearl millet waste and gypsum ceiling tiles assesses environmental impacts in midpoint and endpoint categories. In addition, leachate analysis examines potential leachate formation, while flexural strength test determines structural performance. Biocomposite tiles demonstrates reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 66.85% (1.80 kg CO2 eq) and lowered terrestrial ecotoxicity by 64.99% (4.93 kg 1,4-DCB eq) in the midpoint assessment. In addition, biocomposite tiles also show lower human health score of 88.36 mPt, indicating a 66.7% reduction in endpoint impact assessment. Furthermore, the leachate analysis shows 3869 mg/L of total dissolved solids and 2911 mg/L of total suspended solids. The flexural strength of biocomposite tile measured at 1.23 MPa aligns with the 1.21 MPa observed for gypsum ceiling tile, validating its comparable structural performance. Novelty of the work lies in exploring pearl millet waste as a sustainable building material, enhancing resource efficiency and reducing environmental burdens.