The Technological Institute for Children’s Products and Leisure (AIJU, Ibi, Alicante / Spain; www.aiju.info) is working in a consortium that is undertaking a project to extract materials, including calcium carbonate, from egg shell. The consortium recently held a meeting in Estella, Navarra / Spain to initiate the three year project, called “Eco-Shell”.

AIJU is participating in the consortium that includes Eggnovo (Villatuerta, Navarra / Spain; www.eggnovo.com), which has developed the technology for the separation of egg shell on an industrial scale, EU project management specialist Iniciativas Innovadoras (Navarra / Spain; www.iniciativas-innovadoras.es), and the University of León (León / Spain; www.unileon.es), which is providing the physical, chemical and biological analyses required for the validation of the products' characteristics.

The expected results of the project are the reduction of the amount of egg-shell wastes that end up in dumping sites and the reduction in the amount of mineral calcium carbonate that is used in plastics, animal feed and dietary supplements, providing many environmental benefits, AIJU said. The decline is expected to total almost 14,000 t/y in 2017.

Calcium carbonate is used as a filler in plastics such as PE, PP and PVC, and can improve many properties including elasticity in blow moulding, surface finish of products and flow.