Recovering and processing of high value food and pharmaceutical ingredients from waste egg shells

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Nottingham Trent University (NTU)'s contributions will reflect its expertise in the chemical and biological analysis ofmaterials at all stages of the process. The research facilities of the Prof. Carole Perry's Biomolecular & Materials InterfaceResearch Group will be utilised in addition to the facilities within the School of Science and Technology to support thedevelopment of the materials for commercial exploitation. As required, materials will be analysed to ensure that they meetthe requirements for proposed pharmaceutical and healthcare applications (e.g. British Pharmacopeia).Material Collection and Pre-Processing1. Evaluation/development of continuous collection methodologies, including:Determination of variation in process critical factors such as organic content, water content, albumin and yolkcontamination of collected material, particle sizing.Optimise transit and pre-processing stabilisation of raw material (storage time limits, temperature limits, concentration ofstorage solution).2. Evaluation/development of initial processing approaches:Determine particle sizing resulting from different milling parameters (time, initial water content, milling speed) and developoptimised milling parameters and QC methodology.Determine powder properties resulting from different drying parameters (time, initial water content, drying speed) and develop optimised drying parameters and QC methodology.Determine and check specification of processing raw materials e.g. site water supply, base and alcohol (trace metalscontent, elemental profile and purity) and develop QC methodology for raw materials.Analytical services to determine effectiveness of initial processing output (testing to British Pharmacopeia grade CaCO3).Primary ProcessingIterative evaluation of different continuous processing approaches, conditions and materials3. Evaluation of the influence of processing variables on process output:Process; NaOH concentration, alcohol concentration/type (ethanol or isopropanol), position of milling in process (before,during or after).Process conditions; temperature, volume of treatment: mass of feed material ratio, time and mixing rate.Materials; continuous monitoring of starting materials and end product in relation to the desired specification (testing toBritish Pharmacopeia grade CaCO3). In addition intermediate stages in the process and the extent to which raw materialscan be recycled in the process will be monitored/evaluated as necessary.QC methodology will be developed for the process.Secondary Processing - AgglomerationIterative evaluation of different continuous agglomeration approaches4. Evaluating the influence of processing variables on the agglomeration process:Influence of processing on particle/agglomerate size including coating thickness and structure from the atomic(crystallography) through to micro and macroscopic scales (microscopy) including particle and coating porosity.Organic content of particles, influence on formulation pH and general composition (chemical and elemental [e.g. Fe, Al, Pb,As, Cd, Hg and total heavy metals] analysis, purity of calcium carbonate, moisture content) using relevant analytical,microscopic and spectroscopy methods.Determine material compliance to any relevant regulatory standards pre and post-agglomeration.Comparative studies will be conducted with at least 3 competitor materials.Combination of process steps to demonstrate process complementarityNTU will support AvGo in evaluating the process developed to date though analytical testing of product output to checkconformity, e.g. testing to British Pharmacopeia grade CaCO3, and providing guidance in the event of any complianceissues detected.NTU will also assist in consolidation of process operations, evaluating opportunities to file for new intellectual property andcomposition of the final project report.