Extraction and characterization of snail shell waste hydroxyapatite

Snail shells contain CaCO3 and can cause environmental problem due to the microbes and bacteria activity in the shells. However, the waste can be mitigated and used to use the high calcium content. It can be converted into hydroxyapatite (HAp). This study discusses the synthesis of hydroxyapatite from the snail shells using the hydrothermal method. XRD test showed that the phase, size, shape and bond were similar to HAp commercial. Diffraction measurements of raw snail shell powder showed the highest peak at 2θ = 33.15°, while heating at 105°C and sintering at 700°C produced highest peaks at 29.44° dan 26.24°. The SEM image shows rhombohedral and orthorhombic crystal structures. The HAp particles spanned from the smallest to the biggest were 26.9 μm–322 μm respectively. FTIR revealed the phosphate and hydroxyl functional groups as constituent groups of HAp. The characterization analysis shown similarities between the standard and synthetic HAps made of snail shells. This research provides a theoretical basis and new research directions for the synthesis of snail shell HAp as raw material and the application of synthesized HAp samples as recommendations for further research.