Final Report Summary - SHELLBRANE (Separating

eggshell and its membrane to turn eggshell

waste into valuable source materials)
Executive Summary:
Agricultural waste management is one of the most emerging problems of
food processors. The amount of the generated waste as well as the
cost of waste disposal is ever increasing across Europe. For egg
producers, to face the problem of the disposal of eggshell waste is a
challenge.
Some egg processor pay hundreds of thousands of euros to get rid of
their waste in landfills, while others process their eggshell waste
by grinding and burn up to convert it into animal feed and low level
products.
However, eggshell is a valuable source of other materials when the
mineral shell and the inner membrane can be separated. Calcium
carbonate from the shell itself can be used in paper manufacture,
fertilizers or painting. But the most valuable part is the inner
membrane because it can be a source of interesting products for
pharmacy, cosmetics or medicine, mainly for its content on collagen
and hyaluronic acid.

The aim of the ShellBrane project was to develop a method able to

separate both parts and disinfect the membrane in an easy and
environmentally friendly way.
The Consortium has developed a prototype able to process 60 kg/h of
eggshell waste, producing both membrane and mineral shell with a high
degree of quality. The system and prototype consists basically 3
steps accomplished by 3 modules:

• Separation module
Consists of a mechanical comminution step, followed by a density
based system that separates mineral shell from membrane

• Disinfection module
The disinfection step is a novel conception in use for a non-
aggressive sanitizing technology. This technology – which does not
use high temperature to destroy microorganism – preserves the
quality of the main components found in the membrane.

• Drying module
In the case of membrane processing, the drying is assembled jointly
with the disinfection module and uses cold air instead of heating.
In case of mineral shells – where no sensible components were found
– the system can use any heating system existing in the market.

Project Context and Objectives:

Agricultural waste management is one of the most emerging problems of
food processors. The amount of the generated waste as well as the
cost of waste disposal is ever increasing across Europe. Egg
processors face the problem of the disposal of eggshell waste.
According to EC regulations, industrial egg-shell is considered as
hazardous waste and it is collected by national authorities. This can
result in cost of the order of €100 000 per year in case of small or
medium sized egg-processors. However, eggshell is a valuable source
material or the additive for numerous branches of the industry, such
as, among others fodder and fertilizer producers, paper
manufacturers. Numerous types of collagens, hyaluronic acid or amino
acids of interest may be extracted from the eggshell membrane and
purified for numerous uses (e.g. dietary supplements, cosmetics),
which makes the separated eggshell membrane a highly valuable
material. This way the egg processors could avoid the cost of waste
disposal, moreover they can make extra profit by selling their side
product. The main goal of the project is to develop a method for the
industrial-scale separation of avian eggshell and its membrane. This
core process will be followed by a post-processing (e.g. drying,
freezing, etc.) and packaging mechanism to make the way-to-market
easy. This will provide an easy solution to the waste problem of egg
processors and putting to the market a valuable raw material for the
industry.
The ShellBrane project aims at increasing the competitiveness of SME
participants by providing a cost-efficient and sustainable recycling
solution for eggshell waste management. The SMEs have put together
this project in order to gain knowledge and R&D resources to further
exploit the possibilities in eggshell membrane and turn it into a
marketable raw material for the collagen industry.

MARKET RELATED OBJECTIVES:

• To provide a scalable ShellBrane system for different capacity
levels
• To achieve a market price for the eggshell membrane separation
module (1 kg/min of eggshell processing speed)
• To produce eggshell membrane at a competitive price
• To effectively demonstrate the ShellBrane system by the means of
field-tests for dissemination at the demonstration plant
• To validate the possible profit of egg processor companies using
the ShellBrane system; in this way they can turn their expenses on
disposal into income from the marketing of the eggshell membrane
• Disseminate the results confirming the return of investment for the
end users by the long-term savings and extra profit
• Disseminate the overall economic and environmental effects of
recycling the eggshell waste at a European level.

TRAINING, DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION OBJECTIVES:

• To manage the foreground knowledge, as well as to protect and use
the research results to the best advantage of the SME partners.
• To perform training and dissemination activities and to ensure that
SME participants will be able to assimilate the results by working
out an appropriate exploitation strategy.
• To provide a methodology as a tool for the technical SMEs enabling
them to “adopt and adapt” the ShellBrane system (i.e. treatment
specifications) to further target egg processors, during the post
project phase ensuring better exploitation of the results.
• To provide the possibility for SMEs in the egg processor sector to
reduce their cost and gain extra profit, which they can increase
their competitiveness with.

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES:

To answer the need for the development of a novel eggshell waste
processing method the scientific and technological as well as the
business related objectives are summarized below. The scientific
objectives are to support the technological development to achieve
the defined measurable objectives.

Scientific objectives:
• To provide optimized technical specifications for the separation of
the eggshell and the eggshell membrane.
o To create a knowledge base on the physical properties of the
eggshell-membrane adhesion
o To carry out experimental studies in order to find the most
appropriate physical parameters of the treatment
o To create a knowledge base on the relations of the applied
hydrodynamic processes and the adhesion between the mineral part of
the eggshell and the eggshell membrane
• To present an efficient ultraviolet technology based method for the
disinfection of the eggshell membrane
o To gain in-depth understanding of the disinfection process of the
separated eggshell membrane
o To find the most appropriate UV source in terms of output
irradiance and output spectrum
o To create a knowledge base on the most common infections in the
eggshell membrane
o Investigation of the possible effects of UV energy on the quality
of the extractable collagens
• To support the development by laying down the principals of each
technological processes

Technological and application related objectives:

• To develop the membrane separation system, the additional high
performance mixer and the membrane collection module (floatation
filtration)
o To create the fluidic system that transports the eggshell waste
through the separation chamber, the mixer and the membrane collection
module
o To decrease the required power level by the adequate dimensioning
of the treatment chamber
o To create the optimum mixing process to finalize the eggshell-
membrane separation
o To develop the membrane collection module by the means of forced
density separation
o To develop post-processing (e.g. drying)
• To design and manufacture the UV disinfection chamber providing a
homogeneous exposure for the treatment of eggshell membranes
• To deliver a prototype integrating all components
• To validate the system in field tests at the facility of end users
processing eggs

Project Results:
The Consortium has developed a prototype able to process 60 kg/h of
eggshell waste producing both membrane and mineral shell with a high
degree of quality. The system and the prototype basically consist of
3 steps accomplished by 3 modules:
• Separation module
Consists of a mechanical comminution step, followed by a density
based system that separates mineral shell from membrane

• Disinfection module
The disinfection step is a novel conception in use for a non-
aggressive sanitizing technology. This technology – which does not
use high temperature to destroy microorganism – preserves the
quality of the main components found in the membrane.

• Drying module
In the case of membrane processing, the drying is assembled jointly
with the disinfection module and uses cold air instead of heating.
In case of mineral shell – where no sensible components were found
– the system can use any heating system existing in the market.
A survey on market needs of the egg-processor sector and potential
buyers of eggshell membrane was performed to obtain information
necessary for the ShellBrane system specification. Based on the
results, the system specification was outlined. In the system
specification all parts of the ShellBrane system, i.e. the separation
process, the disinfection process, the post-processing, the
mechanical design and the overall requirements were specified
according to the needs of SME partners. All major parameters were
listed in detail for each step of the technology. The results of the
survey have been taken into account during system development.

In parallel to the system specification laboratory trials were

performed to define the best separation technique for separating
eggshell membrane and the mineral shell. The ability of different
mills and crushing equipment was evaluated. In order to improve the
separation degree between the components, membrane and shell, other
parameters were studied. Laboratory trials were also performed to
define the disinfection parameters such as UV emitted power and time
of disinfection, the trial confirmed commercial UVC neon tube lamps
to be effective for the proper disinfection of the membrane.
Microbiological analyses were conducted in parallel to supervise the
bacteria killing rate. Eggshell membrane samples were analysed about
their content to see the UV effects on valuable chemical components
for the nutritional/cosmetic industries: Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and
collagen. The analysis proved that the UV treatment is not harmful
for the collagen and hyaluronic acid content of the membrane.
The development of the eggshell membrane separation system started in
month 4. As a first step the separation system demonstrator and the
scaled up equipment was designed. An experimental study was performed
on the effects of the separation process and laboratory test
measurements were carried out. All these tests helped to decide on
the appropriate process and equipment needed for the correct
separation. The eggshell waste should be crushed into a specific
particle size and then membrane and mineral shell would be separated
using appropriate turbulent flow, precise decantation system and
correct recovering of the separated membrane. The separation unit
prototype was constructed following the design. The separation unit
development work included the investigation of environmental friendly
solution for water re-using.
The parameters defined earlier were taken as basis to study the
adaptation of the UV source to a preindustrial apparatus. Furthermore
a study was conducted on the number of the lamps and their dimension,
power on the amount of eggshell membrane that needs to be
disinfected. The membrane disinfection subunit was developed based on
the design having the following advantages: easy handling equipment,
low production costs, low powering costs, low maintenance costs.
Apart the electronic and mechanic realization, an efficient test neon
methodology was developed to monitor the lamp failure status, so that
the operator of the pilot plant is never exposed to danger because of
the presence of the UV-C radiation.
The membrane dyer and mineral shell dryer of the ShellBrane system
have been designed, developed and manufactured. The membrane
disinfection and drying units were integrated into one combined unit
proposed exploiting the floating of the eggshell membrane (ESM) under
an air-flow at room temperature aimed to completely dry the membrane
without adulterating their hyaluronic acid and collagen content.
After the comprehensive search of commercially available packaging
systems, the membrane packaging unit was selected.
The process control electronics was developed in order to make an
intelligent system from the core technology components. The process
controller hardware electronics are based on a programmable automated
controller (PLC). The main concept of the PLC system has been
developed and the appropriate modules were selected together with the
detailed description of electrical connections and operation. The
control strategy was implemented to the control software, manual and
automatic mode was developed with emergency logging. The Graphical
User Interface (GUI) was developed in close consistence with the
control codes, important features of the GUI are the easy to use
touch screen interface, multi-language support and parameter base.
After developing the sub-systems in previous work packages, the
separation unit, membrane disinfection subsystem, control system,
membrane and mineral shell drier units were transported to the
installation site in Bábolna, Hungary. The pilot plant was installed,
connected and tested during a technical workshop week with the aim to
finalize the development of the prototype modules, find the possible
inconsistencies and corrective actions. To assess the complete
efficiency of the pilot plant, eggshell membrane samples were taken
at different disinfection time in order to investigate the
disinfection process of the disinfection unit. Microbiological
analyses were performed on these membrane samples confirming the
achievement of the disinfection level dictated by the European
regulation (EC) 2073/2005. A search was conducted on collagen and
hyaluronic acid extracting methods and laboratory trials were
performed on extracting collagen and hyaluronic acid from membrane
samples prepared by the ShellBrane system. The trials were successful
and both collagen and hyaluronic acid was extracted.
The ShellBrane system was further tested and validated under real
conditions at the installation site in Bábolna, Hungary. The
performance of the system was measured and optimized. Eggshell
membrane samples were prepared with different setups and UV treatment
parameters for new microbiological analysis.

During the project meetings the RTDPs shared the result with the SMEs
by facilitating the take-up of the knowledge gained among the SMEs.
BDN was giving presentations on the separation unit, speeches of
LABOR were on the membrane disinfection unit, while ATEKNEA presented
on the membrane drying unit, the packaging unit, mineral shell dryer,
the control system and usage of the control panel. The trainings were
backed up not only by PowerPoint presentations but also with videos
and live prototype demonstration to ease the take up of the
knowledge.
The ShellBrane website was set up successfully at the beginning of
the project. It contains a public part with major information of the
project as well as a restricted area for consortium members with the
possibility of up- and download documents and viewing restricted
information. The website has been updated at every important project
related event and important news but at least in every three months.
The address of the website:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190721001656/http://shellbrane.eu/.
The consortium management actions took place as planned: after
establishing the channels necessary, communication has been running
smoothly led by the project coordinator with the active involvement
of consortium members. General project meetings have been organized
on a six month basis, while technical meetings have been held every 3
months. Beside the meetings, some mutual partner visits took place
and Skype discussions were organized. Continuous update and
communication have been done on a regular basis towards the Project
Officers.
During the M24 general meeting held on 9-10 April 2014 in Bábolna and
Budapest, Hungary the consortium reviewed and discussed the project
status as well as the performance and results. SME partners were very
satisfied with the work of RTD partners, since the associated results
were achieved, during the meeting evidences were presented and a live
prototype demonstration underlined the fully functional SHELLBRANE
system.

As a summary, the main results achieved are as follows:

• All necessary laboratory trials were completed
• The best separation method was selected
• The membrane disinfection method has been optimized
• The ShellBrane system was fully designed with the assistance of SME
partners reflecting the content of the system specification
• All parts of the ShellBrane system constructed and successfully
integrated
• The system was tested and validated at the installation site
• Microbiological analyses were performed on the separated, dried and
disinfected eggshell membrane proving its collagen and hyaluronic
acid content
• The capacity of the ShellBrane system reached the targeted level
defined in the system specification

Potential Impact:
The commercialized result is the primary project foreground which is
the complete SHELLBRANE system, based on a combination of physical
separation methods, such as flotation filtration and streaming, and
disinfection using ultra-violet irradiation and post-processing.
Further results cover results that may be subject to IP protection as
secondary project foregrounds:

The ESM disinfection subunit, a UV disinfection subunit

Studies on the disinfection mechanism (D2.3) confirmed that solutions
available on the market are the most technically effective and the
most cost saving. The consortium put together the idea of combining
the membrane disinfection and the drying unit (see in D5.1) this
solution is innovative and the partners will keep the know-how as
trade secret.

The ESM separation unit, an enhanced separation method using

turbulent flow
During the continuous discussions partners expressed that they look
at the separation unit as the core technology and the key novelty of
the project, therefore SME partners are considering its protection
with trade secret.

The process control system, control unit operating software

As the control unit is created based on available software
application the unit is protected as a separate system component with
trade secret.

Socio-economic impact and wider societal implications:

Egg is a basic food and approximately 25% of the egg consumption
(called ‘in product’) people eat as ingredient in other dish, thus
it has already been processed by food/agriculture manufacturers.
According to the FAO statistics in the EU27 the volume of egg
production reached 6.7 million tonnes in 2011 .
Throughout the past decade, annual egg production in the European
Union has hardly changed fluctuating between 6.6 and 6.8 million
tonnes. Currently, the egg industries in the Community are in crisis
as earlier this year, it was claimed that producers in many of the 27
member countries had failed to conform to the ban on conventional
battery cages, which came into effect on 1 January 2012. They were:
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
the Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain.
The resultant possible culling of layers and the time lag involved in
switching to less intensive production systems will guarantee that
egg production in the Community will fail to reach recent levels.
Indeed, it is considered that the shortfall could be somewhere
between 15 and 20 per cent. To some extent this cut–back will be
offset by gains in European countries outside the Community and in
particular, Russia and the Ukraine. Nevertheless, it looks as though
the total for Europe will contract from the peak of 10.5 million
tonnes achieved in 2010 to around 10.2 million tonnes in 2012. Of the
6.7 million tonnes of eggs produced in the EU, about 1.8 million
tonnes or 27 per cent are used by processors for the production of
egg products. There are just over 100 processing plants in the EU,
and according to Filiep Van Bostraeten, CEO of Ovobel Ltd, the
proportion of eggs processed could rise to between 30 and 35 per cent
by 2015. Some product users in the food industry are only using non-
cage eggs to help boost the animal welfare–friendly image of their
business and branded products.
On the other hand it is estimated that by 2012 consumption of eggs in
further processed form used in bakery, confectionery products,
sauces, pastas, other food and non-food products, will gain a market
share of approx. 30% in the EU-27 , therefore the problem of eggshell
waste is likely to increase thus increasing the need for a
sustainable solution.
In 4th November 2013 the opportunities for the egg industry were
discussed in the IEC Madrid Conference . Professor Hughes explained
that the combination of difficult financial times; an increased
awareness of the environmental impact of producing beef; people in
developed countries choosing to eat less red meat as they age; and
recent negative publicity, has all led to a decline in red meat
consumption, but provides major opportunities for the egg industry.
While the meat industry is facing increased pressures, Professor
Hughes believes these factors provide a very egg-friendly
environment. Shoppers are looking to reduce their grocery bills;
there is strong interest in natural, lightly processed foods; and
there is an increase in the trend to cook meals at home; all of
which, according to David Hughes, are good news for eggs.

Perspectives and challenges for the EU egg sector

Pascale Magdelaine, ITAVI and Véronique Gonnier, CNPO raise the
attention to the fact that egg producers in the EU must comply with
new standards for layer housing. ITAVI and CNPO have carried out a
short survey by questioning European experts in order to determine
the changes in housing systems by 2012 and to provide some thoughts
for the long term in order to enrich a French forecast driven by
INRA, ITAVI and CNPO. The survey in eight important member states
makes clear that considerable differences between countries exist.
For ten years and more, production systems within the EU have
registered a strong diversification, with a switch from cages to
alternative housing systems, due first to the new consumers’
expectations concerning animal welfare, and secondly to the European
welfare regulation implementation.

Specific national regulations

Regulatory backgrounds and consumer demands are quite different in
the member states and explain the various national shares of the
different production systems. Germany and the Netherlands have better
anticipated the 2012 deadline, due to specific national regulations
and under the pressure of the retailers who have banned all cage eggs
(including enriched cages).
In 2010, German eggs were already produced for over 90% in
alternative systems while these systems in 2008 only represented 40%
of laying hens. The share of alternative systems is expected to grow
in all the countries. Higher growths are expected in the United
Kingdom for free-range productions, and in the Netherlands for barn
production. The Netherlands follows the same trends as Germany, but
with a two years delay. The other countries, such as Denmark, France,
the United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain are expecting a switch from
conventional cages towards enriched cages rather than the barn
system. In 2012, the share of alternative systems (codes 0-1-2) will
grow in all the surveyed countries, and the share of cage systems
will decrease from 43% to 13% in the Netherlands, from 78% to 66% in
France and from 50 to 40% in the United Kingdom.

Thoughts for 2025 scenarios

Several experts underlined the high level of investments needed in
order to fulfil the 2012 regulation and, in consequence, think that
few changes will occur between 2012 and 2025 or only after 2020. Long
term egg consumption is expected to be slightly higher or stable in
2025 because of good health and nutritional assets and less concerns
about cholesterol. Processed egg products should take an increasing
part in the total egg consumption (up to 35-45%, depending on the
country), due to a general trend towards convenience food. The egg
processing industry is expected to develop its supply in alternative
eggs under the pressure of some users (food industry and catering
industry) looking for a positive and animal welfare friendly image
for their business and for their brand.

Import from third countries

Some experts anticipate that, by 2025, the egg processing industry
could import the main part of its needs from non EU countries.
Although most of the experts questioned think the production units
will keep concentrating, those production units will probably remain
family farms and the growth of the average size will be limited by
environmental constraints, in particular in the Netherlands and in
Belgium. The contractual relations between the producers and their
downstream partners (industry and retailers) should tighten. In the
United Kingdom, where the structures are already strongly
concentrated and integrated, this trend could be more marked. As it
was explained by Karin Galloway in April 2013 each year, “an
estimated 76 billion eggs are consumed in the United States. Prior to
final consumption, about 25 billion of those eggs are first processed
into egg products. The egg-processing plants must break those eggs
before further processing occurs. In doing so, these plants generate
an estimated 600,000 tons of eggshell waste per year.
It’s likely that processed egg consumption — currently 30% of all
eggs produced — will grow due to increased demand for ready-prepared
meals, cake mixes, fast-food and other food-preparation formats.
While this is good for the egg-product processing plants, the
disposal of eggshell waste is an ever-increasing problem.
Eggshell waste disposal can be costly. Medium-sized egg-product
processing plants can generate as much as 7 tons of wet eggshell
waste daily. These eggshells typically are centrifuged, but still
contain moisture in the 14-18% range. Many egg-processing plants must
rely on the costly hauling of this waste to landfills.
Moreover, while waiting for disposal, the messy holding containers
exude an unpleasant odour affecting the work environment and
neighbouring community. It is also not at all unusual that as local
landfill sites close, egg processors end up hauling the eggshell
waste to ever-more-distant landfills.
Smaller companies often compost their eggshell waste and spread it
onto their crop growing acres. This method of recycling works until,
as might be expected with a growing business, the volume of shell
waste exceeds field capacity. The processor may then find itself
facing the same costly hauling to landfill sites.”

Based on this current market situation the consortium SME partners

believe that the exploitation potential can be exploited at two
levels:
• After automatization and serial production they can target the
market of SHELLBRANE machine buyers: egg processor companies, egg
powder and liquid egg producers, pasta manufacturers, caterers, egg
processors, pre-cooked food producers, pasta producers (1st scenario)
• After further research on membrane they can target the market of
eggshell membrane users (buyers of the membrane raw material for
collagen & hyaluronic acid): chemical and food supplement production
plants, pharmaceutical and biomedical sector, cosmetics industry (2nd
scenario). Materials to be gained from eggshell and products based
from egg-shell collagen are collected as part of the market watch and
detailed in Attachments 2 and 3 of Final PUDF. IMPULS drew a draft
calculation on how much collagen and HA can be obtained from the
membrane, market potential price of HA and collagen, market
information about desirability of eggshell membrane products and what
is the right way to go on. The SMEs believe that the potential of
selling collagen is huge. It is possible to obtain about 4 g of
collagen from 1 kg of membranes, because the most of collagen is
impossible to free from proteoglycan complex. ~96% of collagen is
insoluble.

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