Oyster shells can also be made into a camping cooking tool! Oysters, commonly known as oysters in Taiwan, are an economically important shellfish in Taiwan. After the meat is harvested, the shells can be recycled. The Ministry of Agriculture's Fisheries Research Institute has made oyster shell powder into a self-heating pack. In just two minutes, the water in the outer box can be heated to over 90°C, which heats the pack. This is suitable for military use or camping enthusiasts, and can even be included in disaster prevention kits. Taiwan's annual production of discarded oyster shells is approximately 120,000 metric tons. The Fisheries Research Institute is in talks with manufacturers to integrate the production and sales of related products, and the product is expected to be available in September next year (2025).
MIT Oyster Shell Powder Heat Pack: Suitable for camping, military, and disaster prevention
The Ministry of Agriculture's Water Research Institute held a research results sharing meeting titled "From Oyster Class, Real Oysters" at the Taiwan Smart Agriculture Week yesterday (11th). The Institute's processing group presented its oyster shell recycling technology. Associate researcher Gao Yifeng said that after oyster shells are ground into powder and then modified into calcium oxide, a thermal reaction will occur when water is added, which can heat water to over 90°C. When used with a seasoning pack, the ingredients can be heated to about 50°C within 8 minutes without lighting a fire, and maintained for about 20 to 30 minutes, which is a temperature suitable for human consumption. The heating effect is comparable to commercially available heating packs. Whether it is military use, camping or eating out, you can enjoy hot food anytime, anywhere, and it can even be used as a disaster prevention product.
Zhang Jinyi, director of the Water Testing Institute, stated that he had received inquiries from military personnel seeking eco-friendly heating packs made in Taiwan, rather than China. In fact, the oyster shell eco-friendly heating pack technology was successfully developed and patented during the pandemic, but it was well-received but not commercially successful. Gao Yifeng explained that a manufacturer had expressed interest in investing in production equipment, but after evaluation, they found that the machinery would need to be imported from China, and Taiwanese wages were too high, posing challenges with both costs and regulations.
Gao Yifeng explained that since the MIT is not a non-profit organization, even if they possess the technology, they still need to connect with external funding, production, and marketing blockchains before a MIT product can be launched. He noted that they are currently contacting manufacturers to set up production lines and assessing market demand, with the product expected to be available as early as September of next year.
Oyster shell powder can be used in more than just heating. It can also be used in skincare products and marine restoration.
Besides heating, oyster shell powder can also inhibit bacteria and preserve freshness. The Water Testing Institute has designed a "controlled atmosphere antibacterial device" with two layers. When the freezer temperature is insufficient, the citric acid ice in the upper layer melts and drips onto the oyster shell powder in the lower layer, where it combines with the calcium carbonate and releases carbon dioxide, inhibiting the growth of spoilage bacteria and preserving the freshness of the ingredients.
Other innovative high-value products include nacreous peptide skincare products, which have whitening or firming effects; they can also be made into vegetable and fruit detergents, biodegradable lunch boxes, PLA antibacterial films, cat litter, etc.
One of the key elements of the 2050 net-zero emissions strategy is the materialization and value-added reuse of agricultural surplus resources. The Hydropower Research Institute established an oyster shell recycling demonstration site in Penghu in 2023, with an annual processing capacity of 600-700 tons of discarded oyster shells, producing three different sizes of oyster shell powder, thereby launching a circular economy for Penghu oyster shells. Oyster shell powder, primarily composed of calcium carbonate, the same component as coral skeleton, can be manufactured through alkaline activation technology into molding and 3D printing materials. This material can be used as a substrate for marine and coral restoration, and has the potential to replace cement as a coastal engineering material.
Sources: Environmental Information Center
