Synthesis, Characterization and Mechanism Study of Green Aragonite Crystals from Waste Biomaterials as Calcium Supplement

Abstract

In present work, environmentally benign green aragonite crystals were synthesized from waste chicken eggshells and bivalve seashells through a simple and low-cost wet carbonation method. This method involves a constant stirring of calcium oxide slurry and magnesium chloride suspension in aqueous solution with constraint carbon dioxide injection at 80 degrees C. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized aragonite were further compared with the aragonite synthesized from commercial calcium oxide. The morphological analysis, such as acicular shape and optimum aspect ratio (similar to 21), were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. The average crystal size (10-30 mu m) and specific surface area (2-18 m(2)g(-1)) were determined by particle size and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, respectively. Moreover, a schematic crystal growth mechanism was proposed to demonstrate the genesis and progression of aragonite crystal. Green aragonite can bridge the void for numerous applications and holds the potential for the commercial-scale synthesis with eggshells and bivalve seashells as low-cost precursors.