SHELLBRANE · Separating eggshell and its membrane to turn eggshell waste into valuable source materials

Agricultural waste management is one of the most emerging problems of food processors. The amount of the generated waste as well as the cost of waste disposal is ever increasing across Europe. Egg processors face the problem of the disposal of eggshell waste.According to EC regulations, industrial egg-shell is considered as hazardous waste and it is collected by national authorities. This can induce cost of the order of €100,000 per year in case of small or medium sized egg-processors.However, eggshell is a valuable source material or additive for numerous branches of the industry, such as, among others fodder and fertilizer producers, paper manufacturers. Numerous types of collagens, hyaluronic acid, or amino acids of interest may be extracted from the egg shell membrane and purified for numerous uses (e.g. dietary supplements, cosmetics), which makes the separated eggshell membrane a highly valuable material. This way the egg processors could avoid the cost of waste disposal, moreover they can make extra profit by selling their side product.The main goal of the project is to develop a method for the industrial-scale separation of avian eggshell and its membrane. This core process will be followed by a post-processing (e.g. drying,freezing, etc.) and packaging mechanism to make the way-to-market easy. This will provide an easy solution to the waste problem of egg processors and putting to the market a valuable raw material for the industry.