Process Engineering for Upcycling of Shell By-product: A Study in the Valorisation of Mussel Shells in the European Union

Abstract

The topic of blue bio-economy has been gaining a lot of interest recently. Practised responsibly, mollusc aquaculture is a highly sustainable food source that could play an essential role in securing food availability globally in the future. However, when refining molluscs and specifically mussels for their meat, a large side stream of shells is created that has to be taken care of to make this food source truly sustainable. Historically, mollusc shells have been used for several applications in many different cultures, and new research on this topic has been seeing higher volumes recently. This paper will research what these applications are, what laws and regulations apply to the use of mussel shells in the European Union, and how a valorisation process could be designed in the factory setting of Musselfeed AB.