Evaluación del secado de cáscaras de huevo a escala de laboratorio para su aprovechamiento industrial.

The Cuban industry La Purísima produces sauces and dressings for the national gastronomy; but it does not have a process for the deposition of chicken eggshells, as a result, 220 kg of eggshells are dumped daily, which generate a negative impact on the environment. The research evaluates the drying of hen eggshells with protein membrane on a laboratory scale, with a view to revalorizing this waste in the production of a calcium-rich poultry feed supplement. The calcium carbonate content of the shell was determined to confirm the potential application of the residue. The drying curve and drying rate curve was obtained by experimental measurement in a drying oven under aeration at 90 °C. The calcium carbonate content of the residue was 93.33 %. The drying curve was fitted to an exponential mathematical model as a function of the drying constant and the moisture in equilibrium at a temperature of 90 °C. The drying regime of the solid presented a period of decreasing drying rate up to a moisture value of 0,021 kg of water / kg of dry solid, for lower values, this presented a deviation from the exponential function in its rate. The utilization of residual eggshells proved to be an attractive source of calcium carbonate with potential for its use in the production of feed supplement for poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]