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Globally, 10 million tones of shells are produced from the bivalve mollusk family. Oyster shells make up 33% of that waste and are typically dumped in a landfill. Our OYSTERPLUS™ technology taps into the incredible potential of this waste to create a bio-based carbon source for plastic production.
OYSTERPLUS™ Is a marine waste-derived calcium carbonate (CaCO3) substitute that works with the majority of polymers. Once the oyster shells are collected, they are sent through a heat process that removes allergens. This neutralizes the additive of shellfish allergens so anyone can use a product enabled with OYSTERPLUS™.
After the allergens are removed, the oyster shells go through a sophisticated milling process to ensure a 1 to 2-3 micron particle size. Our facility has the ability to create 40,000 tons of OYSTERPLUS™ annually!
Once milled, OYSTERPLUS™ can be included in the production up to 50%.
Calcium carbonate is found around the world in many forms including, chalk, limestone and shellfish. It is a versatile material and can be used to create paper, plastics, paints and coatings. It can also be found in household and food items, and is a truly important material in the construction industry. Shellfish create carbon carbonate shells from filtering carbon and calcium from the water.
OYSTERPLUS™ reduces the environmental impact of conventional plastic with bio-based carbon sourced from oyster shells. This technology improves the mechanical characteristics of plastic, and reduces processing times, temperatures, and the dependence on fossil fuel-based resins.
In comparison to other bio-based resins, OYSTERPLUS™ is easier and seamless to integrate into production and actually supercharges production time!
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) completed on OYSTERPLUS™ found OYSTERPLUS™ has nearly 5x less climate impact than PE and PP.
LCAs measure the environmental impact of a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from cradle to grave. LCAs look at the following things to uncover the full impact of a product in the environment:
The environmental impact of a product is not just about its end-of-life disposal (such as recycling, landfill, marine, etc.), but rather a combination of all of the above.
OYSTERLEAN™ improves material flow and machine throughput and reduces the amount of energy used in the manufacturing process.
Yes! One of the main benefits to using OYSTERLEAN™ is the fact that the shells permanently take carbon out of the ocean when they are growing. According to studies, 8.36388 grams of carbon can be sequestered per 2-year lifecycle of an oyster.
OYSTERPLUS™ works with a all polymers and is best used as a whitening agent to replace limestone and titanium dioxide. This bio-based substitute is not a filler and can be included in production up to 50%.
OYSTERLEAN™ is white in nature so it works well to replace whitening agents like chalk, talc, limestone and titanium dioxide.
We don't just talk the talk, at Smart Plastic we prove everything we say with credible third-party testing. Below you will find the corresponding tests that apply to all our claims.
