{"id":182512,"date":"2026-10-19T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T05:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=182512"},"modified":"2026-10-13T12:07:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T10:07:05","slug":"researchers-use-eggshells-yes-eggshells-to-make-stronger-lighter-metal-alloys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/researchers-use-eggshells-yes-eggshells-to-make-stronger-lighter-metal-alloys\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers Use Eggshells (Yes, Eggshells) to Make Stronger, Lighter Metal Alloys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\u00a9 Bharat Gwalani<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that uses powdered eggshells to produce high-quality magnesium alloys, which have a wide variety of automotive, aerospace and biomedical applications. The eggshells are used as a low-cost, environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional calcium materials, which are manufactured from ore using an energy-intensive process.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calcium materials, such as calcium carbonate and calcium oxide, are used in a wide variety of applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cFor example, calcium carbonate and calcium oxide are important materials for manufacturing metal alloys,\u201d says Bharat Gwalani, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at North Carolina State University.<\/strong> \u201cBut producing those calcium materials relies on a complex process making use of mined materials. We\u2019ve demonstrated a technique that allows us to skip a step. Rather than processing ore to make calcium materials and then using those materials to produce metals or metal alloys, we\u2019ve shown that you can produce a high-quality metal alloy using eggshells.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Eggshells are 95% calcium carbonate, and the process the researchers use to incorporate the eggshell into alloys converts it into calcium oxide and nascent calcium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere are many benefits to this,\u201d Gwalani<\/strong> says. \u201cThere are fewer steps. You have a reliable, sustainable supply chain. Eggshells are inexpensive. And you use far less energy, because you do not have to go through the process of creating calcium products from ore.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For this proof-of-concept work, the researchers used eggshells to produce stronger, harder magnesium alloys, which have a combination of strength and weight that makes them useful for things like electronics and aerospace equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cCalcium is added to magnesium to improve its mechanical properties,\u201d says Gwalani.<\/strong> \u201cWe wanted to see if we could use biogenic waste \u2013 eggshells \u2013 to produce the necessary calcium materials during the manufacturing process.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For this process, the researchers begin by drilling a series of evenly spaced holes into a cylindrical block of magnesium. Those holes are then filled with finely ground eggshells. This block is then placed into a steel cylinder. A steel mandrel with a hole in the center is then lowered into the cylinder. The mandrel essentially serves as a pestle in a mortar, pressing down on the magnesium block and spinning at 300 rotations per minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process is called friction stir extrusion. As the mandrel presses down and spins, several things happen at about the same time. The eggshell powder is mixed into the surrounding magnesium, creating friction between the particles of eggshell and the metal. This friction converts the calcium carbonate into calcium oxide and calcium \u2013 and produces the high-strength alloy Mg2<\/sub>Ca. Lastly, the downward pressure of the mandrel forces the magnesium alloy out through the hole, producing an extruded rod of the finished product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis work shows that you can produce high-value, high-quality magnesium alloys using an inexpensive, sustainable, biogenic waste material,\u201d says Gwalani.<\/strong> \u201cThis is a scalable, energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible way to produce magnesium-based composites using biogenic waste materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019ve already demonstrated that this approach has applications beyond magnesium and eggshells,\u201d Gwalani<\/strong> says. \u201cWe demonstrated earlier this year that you can use the same approach \u2013 friction stir extrusion \u2013\u00a0to produce magnetic composites<\/a>\u00a0by grinding magnetic samarium-cobalt (SmCo5<\/sub>) powder into scrap aluminum.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The paper, \u201cCircular Manufacturing of Mg\u2013Eggshell Composites: Transforming Biogenic Waste into Functional Reinforcements<\/a>,\u201d is published open access in the Journal of Magnesium and Alloys<\/em>. First author of the paper is Aniruddha Malakar, a former postdoctoral researcher at NC State who is now at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The paper was co-authored by Fu-Yun Tsai, a postdoc at NC State; Md Jasim Uddin, Charles Perkins and Caleb Schenck, Ph.D. students at NC State; M. R. Gaur, a former visiting scholar at NC State; X. Li, Julian Escobar and T. Wang of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; X. Ma of the City University of Hong Kong; and J. Jain of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This work was done with support from the Office of Naval Research Global, under grant N00014-23-1-2758; and from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Original Publication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCircular Manufacturing of Mg\u2013Eggshell Composites: Transforming Biogenic Waste into Functional Reinforcements\u201d<\/strong>; Authors<\/em>: A. Malakar, North Carolina State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; F.Y. Tsai, M. J. Uddin, Charles Perkins, Caleb Schenck, M. R. Gaur and B. Gwalani, North Carolina State University; X. Li, Julian Escobar and T. Wang, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; X. Ma, City University of Hong Kong; and J. Jain, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; DOI<\/em>:\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jma.2026.102290<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable and frugal manufacturing approaches that reduce waste, energy use, and cost while enhancing resource efficiency are increasingly vital for next-generation materials development. In this study, a friction-based solid-state extrusion technique was employed to fabricate magnesium\u2013eggshell composite rods using waste eggshells as a calcium carbonate CaCO3<\/sub>\u00a0source. The combination of frictional heating, intense shear deformation, and mechanical mixing created a dynamic thermo-mechano-chemical environment that enabled homogeneous dispersion of the eggshell powders and induced extensive dynamic recrystallization in the Mg matrix. Transmission electron microscopy revealed nanoscale fragmentation of CaCO3<\/sub>particles and interfacial reactions forming CaO and MgO, confirming in-situ decomposition and reaction-driven bonding between the reinforcement and matrix. The refined grain structure and in-situ oxide formation together contribute to enhanced interfacial integrity and microstructural stability. This work demonstrates a scalable and energy-efficient pathway to produce Mg-based metal\u2013matrix composites by reusing biogenic waste, aligning sustainable processing with advanced alloy design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that uses powdered eggshells to produce high-quality magnesium alloys, which have a wide variety of automotive, aerospace and biomedical applications. The eggshells are used as a low-cost, environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional calcium materials, which are manufactured from ore using an energy-intensive process. Calcium materials, such as calcium carbonate and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":182532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"A $3.5 million USDA Research Facilities Act award will help NC State establish a first-of-its-kind, fully integrated poultry layer and egg processing research, training and innovation facility","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[24044,6630,7059,26475,26178,28723,5528],"supplier":[3767,1083,2718,3791],"class_list":["post-182512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-aerospace","tag-agriculture","tag-automotive","tag-biomedicals","tag-eggshells","tag-magnesiumbased","tag-sustainability","supplier-city-university-of-hong-kong","supplier-indian-institute-of-technology-delhi","supplier-north-carolina-state-university","supplier-pacific-northwest-national-laboratory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182512"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182540,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182512\/revisions\/182540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182512"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=182512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}