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. 2025 Apr 15;18(1):171.
doi: 10.1186/s13104-025-07199-y.

Eggshell waste as a bioremoval agent for potentially toxic elements/metals and microbial contaminants from raw water of the Nile River in Egypt

Alaa Hosny  1 , Nada Wael  1 , Menna A Hossam  1 , Mariam Abdelmonem  1 , Salwa M El-Sayed  2 , Samah H Abu-Hussien  3 , Basma T Abd-Elhalim  4
Affiliations

Eggshell waste as a bioremoval agent for potentially toxic elements/metals and microbial contaminants from raw water of the Nile River in Egypt

Alaa Hosny et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Recently, microbial, and potentially toxic elements/metals (PTEs) contamination of aquatic ecosystems has been increasing in Egypt, owing to the bio-disposal of such pollutants in water effluents. This study focused on using Eggshell waste (ESW) as a bioremoval agent for metals and microbial contaminants from raw water of the Nile river in Egypt which considered the source for life for all Egyptians. ESW was collected from local bakeries in Cairo, Egypt, and prepared for use as bioadsorbent. All raw water samples were treated with prepared ESW and tested for initial and end concentrations of PTEs and microbial load contents. Moreover, Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) was performed to test ESW characterization properties before and after raw water treatment using ESW. Results obtained by SEM recorded irregular rhombus-like stereo structures with tiny pore structures and lamellar structures with enlarged pore architectures dispersed randomly on the surface before ESW treatment. After ESW treatment, SEM-EDX results indicated a regular and adhesive appearance on the surface of ESW. Moreover, current results revealed that bioremoval efficiency reached 94.4, 64.7, and 51.4% for removing lead, cadmium, and iron, using ESW, respectively. Moreover, ESW was highly effective in eliminating Escherichia coli throughout the first 4 h of contacting and inhibiting 70% of the microbial load incubated at 37 °C, and complete inhibition occurred after 24 h of contacting process. Overall, this study advances knowledge in bioremediation and offers practical solutions for water quality management using organic waste materials.

Keywords: Bioremediation; Eggshell waste; Microbial contamination; Nile river; Potentially toxic elements/metals; Raw water.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. All the pathogenic bacteria were eradicated by autoclaving for 20 min. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Locations of raw water samples collection at Shubra El-Khaima, Cairo, Egypt
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of eggshell waste (ESW), A) before treatment with raw water, B) Red circles show irregular rhombus-like stereo structure with tiny pore structures, C) Red circles show a lamellar structure with enlarged pore architectures dispersed randomly on the surface at 20 μm of magnification scale
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDX) of Egg shell powder (ESW) A) before potentially toxic elements/metals absorbance. B) Heave metals presence in the eggshell at two different scanning fields
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of eggshell waste (ESW) after treatment with raw water. Red circles show regular and adhesive appearance on the surface of ESW at 20 μm of magnification scale
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) of Egg shell waste (ESW) after potentially toxic elements/metals absorbance
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Step-by-step flowchart explanation of the ESW adsorption mechanism
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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