Eggshells!!!
INNER AND Lying between the eggshell and egg white, these two
OUTER transparent protein membranes provide efficient
MEMBRANES defense against bacterial invasion. If you give these
layers a tug, you’ll find they’re surprisingly strong.
They’re made partly of keratin, a protein that’s also in
human hair.
AIR CELL An air space forms when the contents of the egg cool
and contract after the egg is laid. The air cell usually
rests between the outer and inner membranes at the
egg’s larger end, and it accounts for the crater you
often see at the end of a hard-cooked egg. The air cell
grows larger as an egg ages.
CHALAZAE Opaque ropes of egg white, the chalazae hold the yolk
in the center of the egg. Like little anchors, they attach
the yolk’s casing to the membrane lining the eggshell.
The more prominent they are, the fresher the egg.
YOLK The yolk contains less water and more protein than the
white, some fat, and most of the vitamins and minerals
of the egg. These include iron, vitamin A, vitamin D,
phosphorus, calcium, thiamine, and riboflavin. The
yolk is also a source of lecithin, an effective
emulsifier. Yolk color ranges from just a hint of
yellow to a magnificent deep orange, according to the
feed and breed of the hen.
What Is an Eggshell?
An eggshell is the hard, outer covering of an egg. It consists mostly of calcium
carbonate, a common form of calcium. The rest is made up of protein and
other minerals (1).
In the past decades, eggshell powder processed from hen eggs has been used
as a natural calcium supplement. Eggshells are roughly 40% calcium, with each
gram providing 381–401 mg (2, 3).
Half an eggshell may provide enough calcium to meet the daily requirements
for adults, which is 1,000 mg per day (2, 4).
Studies in rats and piglets confirm that eggshells are a rich calcium source.
Moreover, they are absorbed as effectively as pure calcium carbonate (2, 5, 6).
Some even suggest its absorption is better than that of purified calcium
carbonate supplements.
A study in isolated cells found that calcium absorption was up to 64% greater
from eggshell powder compared to pure calcium carbonate. Researchers
attributed these effects to certain proteins found in eggshells (1).
Old age is one of the strongest risk factors for osteoporosis, but inadequate
calcium intake may also contribute to bone loss and osteoporosis over time.
If your diet is lacking calcium, taking supplements may help you reach your
daily requirements. Eggshell powder is a cheap option.
Calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance
found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite (most notably as limestone, which contains both
of those minerals) and is the main component of pearls and the shells of marine organisms, snails,
and eggs. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime and is created when calcium
ions in hard water react with carbonate ions to create limescale. It is medicinally used as
a calcium supplement or as an antacid, but excessive consumption can be hazardous.
ABSTRACT
1 Introduction
Since ancient times fertile eggs, unfertilized eggs and chicken embryo eggs have been used
by humanity as food and also in the treatment of diseases. We must take into account that
eggs were not created for human being feed, but generating a new life, therefore, that is
the reason why they are so complete and nutritive food 4.
The egg shell has the mainly function to protect the chicken embryo acting as physical
barrier for inhibiting microorganisms invasion and it also selects gaseous changes 1,9.
According to Thapon and Bourgeois, 1994 shell is approximately 11% of the total weight of
the egg and it presents contents of: calcium carbonate (94%), calcium phosphate (1%),
magnesium carbonate (1%) and organic substances (4%). So, egg shell is a rich source of
mineral salts, mainly calcium carbonate. Unfortunately, egg shell is an eggproduct industry
residue.
Nowadays, there is a great interest in finding new pure calcium carbonate sources 6. Calcium
carbonate obtained from bones flour, does not contain the same bioavailability of calcium
obtained from synthetic sources. Calcium carbonate from oyster shells contains lead vestige
among the others potential toxical elements such as aluminum, cadmium and mercury 15. In
the other hand, egg shell has an advantage for not containing toxical elements 11.
Eggproducts industries produce great amount of shells and their final destiny is an
environmental impact challenge. This work was designed to prepare and evaluate calcium
carbonate from egg shell because it has a potencial application in the development of a new
option of pharmaceutical excipient. The lack of information on these subjects suggests that
there is a promising area to be explored.
In this context, the main objective of this study was to investigate the physical-chemical
and thermal behaviour of calcium carbonate obtained from egg shell comparing to industrial
calcium carbonate.
2 Experimental
The chicken egg shell, raw material (Gallus gallus domesticus, L.), Hy-line white eggs were
obtained from Sohovos AB Brasil – Sorocaba – SP – Brazil eggproduct industry. The calcium
carbonate was produced after it had gone through stages of: wash, dry, grind and
purification. The details on the treatment of the egg shells are suppressed because the
Sohovos eggproduct industry is in process of intellectual property submission request.
The XRPD patterns were recorded on an X-ray diffractometer (Siemens model D5000). The
samples were irradiated with monochromatized Cuk radiation (1.54056 A°) and analyzed
between 10-80° (2 theta). The voltage, current and pass time used were 40 kw, 40 mA and
1 s, respectively.
The thermal analysis method was used, as well as X-ray powder diffraction and microscopy.
These combining techniques provide quick and proper interpretations, offering the thermal
stability, molecular organization, particle size and the possibility of analytical quantification
of substances7,8,12. The properties of calcium carbonate obtained of the egg shell was
compared with the industrial calcium carbonate, purchased from LABSYNTH, batch number
71148 USP-FCC.
The thermogravimetric curve TG/DTG obtained for industrial calcium carbonate (Figure 1a)
showed a thermal stability up to 600 °C with a small mass loss (m = 1.8%) corresponding
to volatile material. The decomposition process occurs in a single step in a defined way,
between temperature range from 601 to 770 °C, with a m = 41.7% due to carbon dioxide
release, given rise to calcium oxide: CaCO3 (s) heat CO2 (g) + CaO(s). The calcium
carbonate usually decomposes at temperatures over 600 °C without fusion process 10.
The TG/DTG curve obtained for egg shell calcium carbonate is seen in Figure 1b. The curve
showed thermal stability up to 630 °C with a mass loss of m = 2.6% referring to volatile
material. The thermal decomposition process occurs at the temperature range from 636 to
795 °C with mass loss m = 42.5%, which corresponds to carbon dioxide release, in a
single step, in a defined way.
The kinetic data were calculated from plotting the mass loss vs. temperature of TG curves
obtained to different heating rates for both calcium carbonates. Figures 2 and 3,
demonstrate the superposition of TG curves obtained to industrial and egg shell calcium
carbonate, respectively. The inserted figure demonstrates the linear tendency of reaction
mechanism.
The activation energy (Ea) and Arrhenius frequency factor (Z) were calculated by Ozawa’ s
method for each five TG curves. The activation energy was obtained from a plot of
logarithms of heating rates (A) as a function of the inverse of temperature (1/T) for a
constant G(x), in which G(x) is the integrated form of the conversion dependence function,
f(x). The Ea values were 47.83 kcal.mol–1 ± 0.6% and 49.25 kcal.mol–1 ± 0.2% for
industrial and egg shell calcium carbonate, respectively. It was evidenced that the activation
energy required for the decomposition process of egg shell product is higher than industrial,
which pronounces its largest thermal stability. The Arrhenius frequency confirms the
stability of egg shell calcium carbonate; the obtained results were 3.469 x 10 9 for industrial
calcium carbonate and 5.011 x 109 for egg shell calcium carbonate. For both products the
reaction of degradation was governed by a zero order kinetic.
In order to characterize the crystallinity patterns of industrial and egg shell calcium
carbonate, XRPD analysis was performed for both samples. The diffractograms in Figure
4 indicate that diffraction patterns of industrial and egg shell calcium carbonate have similar
peaks. The patterns can be put upon being the differences only found in the intensity of the
peaks. The sharp peaks of both samples are characteristic of the high crystallinity of
samples.
Table 1 shows the reflections, d-distances and relative intensities (I/I0) of the observed
peaks in the patterns. The variation of samples reflections is small being larger in the
relative intensity. Studies have been considering that the similarity of patterns is
established if the scattering angles of the strongest reflections obtained from an sample
agree to about ± 0.2 degrees with that of the reference material; and if the relative
intensities of these reflections do not vary more than 20%2,5. The d-distance that considers
the distance among the crystal plans is similar between carbonates, however, the values of
the egg shell calcium carbonate is slightly smaller.
The morphology of particles was investigated by optical microscopy for both calcium
carbonates. The photomicrographs of products are show in Figure 5. The images of
industrial product (Figure 5a) and egg shell product (Figure 5b) indicate that these powders
are preferably crystalline, and the size of the egg shell product is larger than industrial
calcium carbonate crystals. The difference found between the crystals size can be related
with the thermal stability of egg shell product, once the structure and size of crystals are
directly correlated with the stability.
4 Conclusions
Through the thermogravimetric analysis it was evidenced that industrial calcium carbonate
decomposes at a temperature of about 30 °C less than the calcium carbonate obtained from
egg shell. The obtained kinetics parameters (Ea) and (Z) confirm that egg shell calcium
carbonate is more stable comparing with the industrial. The XRPD analysis demonstrates
that both products have similar cristallinity and the microscopy indicates that egg shell
carbonate has largest particle size. The results showed that both products have similar
physical chemical parameters, indicating that egg shell product should be an alternative of
pharmaceutical excipient. Furthermore, studies have been accomplished about the influence
of the egg shell calcium carbonate in the quality of pharmaceutical products like cosmetics.
References
1. BARON, F.; GAUTIER, M.; BRULE, G. Factors involved in the inhibition of growth
of Salmonella enteritidis in liquid egg white. J. Food Protect., v. 60, n. 11, p. 1318-1323,
1997. [ Links ]
4. CAMPOS, C. M. T. et al. J. Composition of -3 and -6 fatty acids in freeze-dried chicken
embryo eggs with different days of development. Braz. Arch. Biol. Tech., v. 47, n. 2, p.
219-224, 2004. [ Links ]
12. MEDEIROS, A. C. D. et al. Thermal stability of prednisone drug and tablets. J. Therm.
Anal. Cal., v. 64, n. 2, p. 745-750, 2001. [ Links ]
15. SCHAAFSMA, G. Bioavailability of calcium and magnesium. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., v. 51, p.
S13-S16, 1997. [ Links ]
Calcium carbonate, CaCO3, is found in nature giving hardness and strength to things such as
seashells, rocks, and eggshells. As hard as this substance is, it will react readily with hydrochloric
acid to yield carbon dioxide gas (and two other products). In this experiment students will design an
experiment by reacting eggshells with 2 M HCl to compare the calcium carbonate composition of
white (chicken) eggshells to brown eggshells.
A good quality eggshell will contain, on average, 2.2 grams of calcium in the form of calcium
carbonate. Approximately 94% of a dry eggshell is calcium carbonate and has a typical mass of 5.5
grams,1 although these values can differ depending on sources. Amounts as low as 78% have been
published. The remaining mass is composed largely of phosphorus and magnesium, and trace
amounts of sodium, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, and copper. In the case of brown versus
white eggs, a definitive difference in calcium carbonate amounts may be hard to uncover. However,
consider this. The color of the eggs is nothing more than a result of a different breed. The quality,
nutritional value, and taste are identical between white and brown eggs, though two notable
differences are size and price. Brown eggs are usually larger and slightly more expensive. The
reason for the price increase is because brown eggs come from larger hens, which need to be fed
more food daily. With a larger intake of calcium each day, one might expect the produced egg to
have a higher calcium carbonate content. However, since the eggs are larger, it must be kept in
mind that the calcium is spread over a larger surface area during egg formation. A brown eggshell's
increased tendency to break, when compared to white, is often attributed to this “thinning out” of
calcium during deposition.
To avoid the breakage of eggs before reaching market, the eggshells needs to be as strong as
possible. The strength of eggshells is mainly determined by the percentage of calcium carbonate in
it. In order to monitor the quality of eggshells, the following experiment has to be done to determine
the percentage of calcium carbonate in eggshells.
In this experiment, back titration is used. First, excess acid is reacted with the calcium carbonate in
eggshells.
2HCl(aq)+CaCO3(s)→CaCl2(aq)+H2O(l)+CO2(g)
Later, if we can find out the number of mole of unreacted acid, number of mole of calcium carbonate
can then be found out. The number of mole of unreacted acid can be found by titration with the
following reaction.
HCl(aq)+NaOH(aq)→H2O(l)+NaCl(aq)
Percentage by mass of calcium carbonate in eggshell can then be calculated by the following
formula:
Chapter 2
THEORY & METHOLOGY
PRINCIPLE OF THE EXPERIMENT
During this experiment, the percentage of CaCO3 in an eggshell is determined by reacting the
eggshell with hydrochloric acid. The equation for this reaction is:
2HCl (aq) + CaCO3(s)→Ca2+ (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l) + 2Cl- (aq)
This reaction cannot be used directly titrate with the CaCO3. Instead, an excess of hydrochloric acid
is added to dissolve the eggshell, and the remaining acid is titrated with NaOH solution to determine
the amount of acid that did not react with the eggshell. The equation used to determine the amount
of leftover acid is:
HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) → H2O (l) + Na+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
CHEMICALS USED
2 M HCl Phenolphthalein
2 M NaOH
PROCEDURE
White and Red colour eggshells have taken and the protein membrane was removed on the
inside of the eggshells.
The eggshell was washed with distilled water
Dried in an oven for few minutes.
The eggshell was then grounded into fine powder by mortar and pestle.
2g of eggshell powder is weighted accurately by using an electronic balance and it was
transferred to a conical flask.
25.00 cm3 of HCl was pipetted to dissolve the eggshell powder.
Distilled water was added to the flask until it reached about 100cm3. The flask was swirled
gently.
Put the solution into cubed for two days.
Faltered the solution using filter papers.
Pippet out 25.00 cm3 from each solutions to titration flasks.
The solution was then titrated with standardized NaOH.
Repeat another two samples from each solution.
Collect the correct burette readings at the end point.
Chapter 3
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
THE COLOR CHANGE OF THE SOLUTION
White egg Brown egg
Colourless pink Colourless pink
Chapter 5
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUTION
CONCLUSION
Percentage of CaCO3 in red eggshells= 99.4%
Percentage of CaCO3 in white eggshells= 95.0%
DISCUSSION
Source of errors
The eggshell powder did not dissolve completely
Variation in visual judgment at the end point
Instrumental errors of the electronic balance
The eggshell was not fully dried
Some droplets of solution may still adhere on the beaker and the glass rod which lead to the
reduction in number of moles of excess HCl
REFERENCES
http://www.google.lk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=caco3+percentage+in+eggshell&btnG=Goog
le+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=
http://wwwchem.csustan.edu/chem1102/Egg.htm
http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Determine-Percentage-Mass-Calcium-Carbonate-
Eggshells/165593
http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/poultry/multistate/koelkebeck1.htm
About Calcium
Before I go into the directions for making your own
calcium powder from eggshells, here is a little
information you should know about calcium, because
there are differences.
1. There are two main kinds of calcium you can use as a supplement. Calcium
carbonate and calcium citrate.
2. Calcium carbonate is what 95% of the eggshell is made of, and it most
closely resembles our own bones and teeth. The other minerals found in
eggshells help our bodies actually use and absorb the calcium. You do need to
take calcium carbonate (eggshell calcium) with food, and it is the hydrochloric
acid in our stomachs that helps us absorb the calcium.
3. Calcium citrate is another form of calcium that can be ingested. It does not
have to be taken with food, since the acid it contains helps your body
metabolize it. There are some who feel one type of calcium is better than the
other, but essentially, they both do the same thing. I prefer the carbonate form
because it is closest in composition to our own bones and teeth.
4. Here is a government website that explains all about calcium, including the
amounts to take depending on your age, gender, and other factors.
The quality of the shell of your eggshells is only as good as the food the
chickens eat and the environment in which they live. If those poor chickens are
in a cruel and inhumane laying torture chamber (i.e. a large egg farm where they
are caged their whole life and often have their beaks cut so they don't harm each
other from stress), I will not support them. I haven't bought commercial eggs in
years.
I'm fortunate enough to raise my own chickens, so I know how they live and eat.
Plus, I don't clean them off with chemicals and bleach, as commercial eggs
are. But if you cannot do that, then PLEASE buy the best eggs you
can: Pasture raised, organic, soy free.
Don't get pasture raised confused with pasteurized. Pasture raised refers to the
way the chickens get to live their lives in addition to what they eat. Pasture
raised eggs are more expensive. But, to me, that expense is worth it---
especially if you are feeding children.
If you can't raise your own chickens, try to source your eggs from local farmers
or backyard egg sellers. People who raise chickens in their backyards often sell
their extra eggs to offset feed costs.
DETOX DIET
DETOX RECIPES
FOOD-MOOD CONNECTION
WEIGHT LOSS
WEIGHT LOSS RECIPES
WOMEN'S HEALTH
TAGS: ALEX JAMIESON, ALEXANDRA JAMIESON, CALCIUM FOR PMS, CHEAP CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT, CRAVE CAST
RECIPES, CRAVINGS TYPES RECIPES, EGGSHELL CALCIUM RECIPE, PMS SUPPLEMENT, PMS
SUPPLEMETN, SUPPLEMENTS FOR PMS SYMPTOMS, WHY DO I CRAVE CHOCOLATE PMS?, WHY DO I CRAVE DAIRY
PREV POST
NEXT POST
PMS make you crave chocolate and sugar?
What if you could ease your PMS with something you probably throw away every day?
I love discovering new ways to use what I already have, especially when it means finding a use
for something I would normally throw out.
Like any good hippie I’ve been composting my eggshells for years, knowing that returning the
minerals from the shells to my potted plants nourishes the soil.
But wait – why don’t I use the rich calcium from those same shells for my bones and health?
Several studies show that “chicken eggshell calcium is a useful way to enrich human bone
strength.”
But the more I looked into the benefits of calcium on our health, the more excited I got. It seems
that calcium mal-absorption and osteoporosis are at epidemic levels, as is our addiction to sugar.
And since sugar’s high acidity actually causes our body to leach calcium from our bones to
balance our blood pH levels, it’s even more important that we get enough calcium, and stop
draining it with poor diet choices, to protect our bones.
How can we protect our bones and naturally reduce our sugar cravings?
1,000-1,500 mg of calcium a day can help reduce and even eliminate many symptoms of
PMS, including “hypocalcemia,” a hormone-induced state that makes it harder for our female
bodies to absorb calcium.
Estrogen, the chief female sex hormone, can lower the absorption of calcium from the intestines
by inhibiting the activities of the parathyroid hormone. Which means we need even more
calcium, and balanced hormones during our cycle to help our body get the calcium we need.
And I’ve just discovered that eggshell calcium, that is calcium made from powdered egg shells,
are a wonderful source of the mineral to answer this problem.
Since eggs are so cheap (get it “cheep”) using your otherwise discarded eggshells as a calcium
supplement seems like a great way to help keep your bones strong and your PMS symptoms
(including cravings) low.
In addition to making strong bones and teeth, calcium is critical in the release of
neurotransmitters, chemicals that serve as messengers between cells within the nervous system,
which means when you have enough calcium in your body, your brain and moods are healthier!
1/2 teaspoon of chicken eggshell calcium contains roughly 90% of your daily
recommended calcium intake, or 1,000-1,500 mg.
And since most dairy products have an acidic effect on the body, and just can’t be digested by
most adult humans, getting enough calcium from cheese isn’t possible.
Yes, greens like kale and bok choy are good sources of calcium too, but many of us are walking
around without sufficient calcium stores in our bones, and it’s high time we did something about
it.
Here’s a safe, easy way to make your own eggshell calcium at home:
Wash your eggs before cracking them for normal use, and save the shells until you have 1 dozen
empty shells.
Place the shells in a pot with enough water to cover and place over high heat.
Boil the eggshells for 10 minutes to kill any bacteria. This is very important to eliminate any
salmonella.
Drain the eggshells in a fine meshed strainer or colander.
Place strained eggshells on a cookie sheet and bake at 200F for at least 30 minutes to dry
completely.
Place the dried shells in a clean coffee or spice grinder and pulverize to a powder.
Keep your new eggshell calcium in an airtight jar and take 1/2 to 1 teaspoon a day for 1,000-
1,500 mg of easily absorbable and cheap calcium.
I tried adding the powdered calcium to my Green & Clean Protein smoothies at breakfast, but it
made it more a CRUNCHY than a SMOOTHIE.
So I recommend just adding the 1/2 – 1 teaspoon to 1/2 cup of water and slurping it down. Easy!
Resilience is your ability to adapt to and handle stress and adversity. When you feel
resilient, you own your confidence.
It’s the bones of your life and character that keep you upright and alive.
It’s the skills and mindset that keep you moving positively forward, with hope and a sense of
humor, gosh darnit.