Oyster shell heat pack is an eco-friendly cost saverBy Chien Hui-ju and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerA water-activated heat pack developed from oyster shells is expected to generate at least NT$10.35 million (US$357,155) annually for the industry, the Fisheries Research Institute said on Monday. The flameless cooker is made from oyster shells, so it is more environmentally friendly and safer than chemical-based alternatives, and production costs could fall 20 percent, the institute said. Council of Agriculture’s Fisheries Research Institute assistant researcher Ye Nien-tzu, right, and others yesterday in Taipei hold up signs introducing a water-activated heat pack developed by the institute. The institute in 2018 began introducing ways to better utilize the shells in the hope of advancing a circular economy, she added. Researchers found a way to transform the calcium carbonate in the shells into calcium oxide on contact with water, emitting heat in the process, Yeh said.

Source: Taipei Times October 17, 2020 15:56 UTC