COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF TWO WET PRECIPITATION METHODS ON THE YIELD OF CHICKEN EGGSHELL-DERIVED HYDROXYAPATITE

Abstract

Research into better and more improved biomaterials is at the forefront of modern biomedicine. A calcium phosphate compound known as Hydroxyapatite is one of the most bioactive and biocompatible osteoconductive ceramic materials currently known to man. It occurs naturally in the bones, teeth, and shells of some animals and the leaves, and stalks of some plants. It can also be synthesized artificially. Eggshells are very prominent sources of Hydroxyapatite and currently constitute waste, and environmental pollution due to ineffective, wrong, and incorrect disposal. In this research, two modified variants of the wet chemical precipitation method were used to produce hydroxyapatite from chicken eggshells gotten from the same source. The obtained samples were then characterized using XRD and SEM. The results of the characterization were analyzed to determine the most efficient, cost-effective, and less tedious method of production. It was discovered that although the orthophosphoric acid-based wet precipitation method was more efficient in producing phase pure hydroxyapatite, the nitric acid-based wet chemical precipitation method was found to be better than the orthophosphoric-based wet chemical precipitation method in terms of particle size, agglomeration, elemental analysis, and other observed properties.