Applications of industrial eggshell as a valuable anthropogenic resource

The literature shows that applications for industrial eggshell may be grouped into two categories: raw material and operating supply. In the first case, the options are food additive, soil amendment, purified calcium carbonate, cosmetics and biomaterial composite. As operating supply, ES may be used as catalyst and sorbent. Although the economic profit should be evaluated in each case, the environmental benefit of those potential applications is in general high. Considering ES properties and the soil properties in large areas of Europe (acidic pH and low topsoil organic carbon content) the production of Ca-rich compost obtained through composting seems to be a particularly interesting approach toward “circular economy”.