AVGO Biotech 
Research and innovation
The NZIIC has provided AVGO Biotech with support from our Circular Economy team of industry and academic experts who investigated novel methods of eggshell separation.
Challenge
Every year, tens of millions tonnes of precious natural resources are used for the creation of calcium carbonate. The mining and importation of this material has a large carbon footprint associated with it, meaning current methods of collecting calcium carbonate have poor environmental credentials.
Fortunately, calcium carbonate can also be found in waste products such as eggshells. And there’s an abundance of them, with more than 250,000 tonnes of eggshells being produced in Europe annually.
Solution
The NZIIC has provided AVGO Biotech with support from our Circular Economy team of industry and academic experts who investigated novel methods of eggshell separation. This process involved separating the shell and membrane, purifying the shell in the making.
Impact
As a result, the process resulted in the creation of a pharmaceutical grade calcium carbonate which can be used in products such as dietary supplements, or antacids which are used to relieve symptoms of heartburn and indigestion. Using a product like eggshells, which would have previously gone to landfill can directly reduce 60,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted annually, and also reduce the need to destroy natural habitats in the quest of mining natural resources such as limescale and chalk to extract calcium carbonate.
