The incredible, edible and CO2-absorbing egg
No doubt there were plenty of broken eggs on Mischief Night over the weekend. The mess of shells and yolk might have at least been doing some good for the world, though you may disagree as you scrape the hardened goop off your windshield.
Scientists at the University of Calcutta report egg membranes are able to absorb 7 times their weight in carbon dioxide.
Lead researcher Basab Chaudhuri, publishing in the International Journal of Global Warming, even suggests people should leave their eggs out for a while to absorb the CO2 in their homes. Umm, I appreciate a good wacky brainstorm of how we're going to tackle our greenhouse gas problem, but this seems like it will go splat. And probably stink, too.
Sure, there are a lot of eggs in the world, edible and non-edible. In the U.S. alone there were 6.47 billion table eggs produced in the month of April, according to United Egg Producers. But egg membranes would eventually decompose, putting the CO2 back into the flow of the carbon cycle. And that's too bad, because I'd love to crack a couple of eggs over the tailpipes some older model SUVs in the name of saving the Earth, but besides mean-spirited fun, it wouldn't accomplish much. I hate to waste food, anyway.
The researchers instead suggest separating the 100-micrometer-thick membrane from the shell and storing it away somehow. They've developed a way do this using a weak acid, but they think a mechanical separation would be more viable on a commercial scale. In the meantime, I would think composting your egg membranes might be the most eco-savvy thing you could do with them.
If ever viable, the CO2-sucking powers of the membranes would have to be taken along with the carbon output of the egg industry. An interesting solution but I wouldn't put all your carbon sequestration hopes in this basket.
Related on SmartPlanet:
- GMO trees for sequestering more carbon?
- Rising debate over carbon sequestration: should we bury CO2?
- Crystal storage for carbon dioxide and hydrogen
Image: Flickr_nickweeleroz
Via: Cleantechnica
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com