Nowadays, oysters have become a seafood dish loved by the whole world. Oyster meat is extremely rich in nutrients, it contains high nutritional content including proteins such as Glycogen and Amino Acids, minerals such as Calcium and Zinc. Therefore, the amount of oysters used as food is very large. After processing dishes, the amount of discarded oyster shells is very large. If discarded into the environment, it will create a large amount of waste. However, oyster shells are a rich source of Calcium Carbonate – an important mineral in the body, for livestock, plants and environmental treatment. With such a source of nutrients, what are the effects of oyster shells? Can they be used? Let’s follow the analysis and evaluation below:
Physical properties of oyster shells
Study of the physical properties of oyster shells by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD):
- Figure 1, measuring the special surface by BET and analyzing the microstructure by electron microscopy (SEM)
- Figure 2 shows that the chemical composition of oyster shells is mainly CaCO3 (about 96%) and other minerals in negligible amounts.
| CaCO3(%) | SiO2(%) | MgO (%) | Al2O3(%) | SrO (%) | P2O5(%) | Na2O (%) | SO3(%) | Total (%) |
| 95.994 | 0.696 | 0.649 | 0.419 | 0.33 | 0.204 | 0.984 | 0.724 | 100.0 |
Table 1: Chemical composition of oyster shells (Source: https://www.researchgate.net/)
Figure 1: XRD pattern of oyster shells (Source: https://www.researchgate.net/)
Figure 2: Microstructure by SEM electron microscope (Source: https://www.researchgate.net/)
What effect does oyster shell have on humans and production activities?
Oyster shell powder extracted from oyster shells has many different applications in industry. Including food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, beer and cement industries, water purifiers:
- Oyster shell powder is very useful in developing skin care cosmetic products. It has many benefits for the skin.
- Oyster shell powder is used to increase the shelf life of foods. Specifically noodles, tofu, sausages and fried chicken.
- Oyster shell powder is used as a supplement for livestock and poultry to supplement organic calcium especially for dairy cows and egg-laying hens.
- Oyster shell powder has many benefits in agriculture: balancing soil pH, improving nitrate absorption, supporting enzyme formation and strengthening plant cell walls. The coarse texture of oyster shells also helps increase soil porosity. In addition, oyster shell powder is also used to reduce soil acidity in fields and agricultural land, which is very useful for growing more food.
- Oyster shells are also very suitable for use as a biological filter medium in trickling filters or multi-chamber filter systems. Oyster shells are washed with Co and then dried to ensure that they do not contain any harmful bacteria, molds or pathogens.
Figure 3: Products processed from oyster shells are being traded on the market
Bavabi – the No. 1 brand in oyster processing in Vietnam
With the great benefits of oyster shells, since 2020 BAVABI has researched technology to produce oyster shell powder. Providing an organic source of Calcium for biological fertilizer products. Contributing to supplementing Calcium instead offor lime powder for organic farms. Sterilized oyster shell powder for animal feed. Specifically for dairy cows, egg-laying hens, for ornamental birds… to ensure a clean, organic farming process.
Bavabi is also looking for opportunities to cooperate with domestic and foreign partners to consume large quantities of oyster shell powder and oyster shells in Van Don.
Hopefully, after knowing the effects of oyster shells, you will know how to handle oyster shells after processing. Avoid creating new sources of waste for the environment. In addition, if you are a processing and manufacturing unit wishing to take advantage of the value of oyster shells in large quantities, you can contact Bavabi for further support. For details, contact Hotline 0971.900.688.
