Applications of waste egg shell and egg shell membrane: a review
As poultry egg is a rich source of protein, World Health Organisation and all other health experts recommend human beings eat an egg daily. Therefore, there is a very high consumption of eggs throughout the world. The edible part of the egg is covered by a protective hard covering egg shell. With increasing egg consumption, egg shell waste is generated in huge amounts around the globe. Therefore, egg shell waste management became necessary to protect the environment as this can be hazardous. To overcome this problem, researchers and waste management experts are working on the development of techniques by which the egg shell waste can be used efficiently. As egg shell comprises mainly calcium carbonate and phosphate, it can be used for various industrial applications as a rich source of calcium, carbonates, CaO, etc. Because of the advantages of egg shell waste, it can be used for various industrial and household applications such as adsorbent, matrix, or reinforcement materials for making biocomposites, biotemplate, biocoating, glass foams, catalysts, etc. The present work discusses the egg shell and egg shell membrane applications in detail.