The poultry sector has devoted great efforts to optimizing the quality of the shell, both in eggs intended for incubation and in eggs intended for human consumption. Once the eggshell has fulfilled its protective function, it becomes a by-product that must be managed.
However, in a display of ingenuity, German and Australian researchers have found a new application for eggshells, energy storage.
The idea is based on taking advantage of the composition of the shells and membranes, rich in calcium carbonate (CACO3) to obtain calcite. This calcite is used in powder form on a metallic lithium anode in a non-aqueous electrolyte, so that the solution conducts electricity.
Tests carried out with this system have shown high energy conservation efficiency (up to 92% over 1,000 charge and discharge cycles). The next step will be the creation of a low-cost lithium-ion capacitor that includes the material obtained from eggshells.
Read full article: Minakshi, M., Visbal, H., Mitchell, D., & Fichtner, M. (2018). Bio-waste chicken eggshells to store energy. Dalton Transactions, 47(47), 16828-16834. doi: 10.1039/c8dt03252a
