(667a) Chemical Composition Study for Eggshells of Different Categories

Waste management has globally become a major concern due to the increased waste-load. Eggshells are still largely discarded as waste. Numerous studies have already been carried out to address the critical issues and eggshells are now used by pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries in various extents. Recent studies claim that calcium oxide (CaO) obtained from waste eggshells also has catalytic activity for trans-esterification of trygliceride. However, the study of chemical composition for eggshells is limited in literature. It is therefore assessed in the present study. The eggs were classified into three categories of hens, layer and ducks. The egg samples of each category were collected from various sources and compounded. The shells of each category was washed, air-dried and passed through calcination in a muffle furnace separately. The calcined samples were analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) to determine the chemical composition. It was found that eggshells of all three categories contain approximately 99 wt% CaO. The chemical composition was found similar. It can therefore be concluded that the eggshells are not required to be screened into different categories for bulk uses.