This research addresses the growing global challenge of plastic waste, resource depletion, and industrial

reliance on non-renewable materials by exploring the potential of eggshell powder (ESP) as a biodegradable

and renewable alternative in sustainable product design. Although significant progress has been made in

properties in bioplastics, improve compressive strength in cementitious systems at low substitution levels, and

serve as a precursor for higher-value applications such as hydroxyapatite production. However, performance

trade-offs remain, particularly in tensile strength and workability, and challenges persist in scaling, dispersion,

and user-centered adoption. The study implies that ESP has strong potential for integration into sustainable

manufacturing and design practices, particularly in Malaysia where eggshell waste is abundant. It concludes

that bridging technical optimization with circular economy strategies and design-for-sustainability principles

will be critical to transforming ESP from laboratory experimentation into viable industrial practice.

Keywords— Biodegradable Materials, Renewable Material Innovation, Eggshell Powder (ESP), Sustainable

Product Design

composites outperformed PLA–walnut shell composites in several thermal and mechanical tests. Another study

by Zhang, Oh, Han, Meng, Lin, and Wang (2024) investigated ESP incorporation in cement-based materials,

reporting that partial substitution of cement with eggshell powder enhanced certain durability aspects while also

contributing to waste valorization. Despite these promising findings, trade-offs remain. Increases in ESP content

often corresponds to reductions in tensile strength or workability (Hashim et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2024), and

challenges surrounding particle size, dispersion, and compatibility with polymer or cement matrices persist.

Collectively, these findings suggest that although ESP represents a promising avenue for renewable material

innovation, further conceptual and experimental research is required to optimize its integration into

biodegradable product design while balancing environmental benefits with functional performance.

In Malaysia, the issue is particularly relevant given the significant volumes of eggshell waste generated annually.

compressive strength and durability, confirming its functional potential in construction materials (Zhang et al.,

2024). These findings highlight that Malaysia not only has abundant biowaste resources but also a growing body

of empirical evidence supporting renewable materials innovation. As such, ESP emerges as a strategic candidate

for advancing sustainable product design and strengthening the transition toward circular economy practices

within the Malaysian context.

Beyond Malaysia, numerous recent studies provide additional evidence supporting the viability of ESP as a

renewable filler and functional additive in both biodegradable polymers and cementitious systems. Laboratory

investigations have shown that ESP can enhance barrier, thermal, and selected mechanical properties when

incorporated into starch-based bioplastics and biofilms (Vonnie et al., 2022; Hashim et al., 2024; Li et al., 2024).

However, findings consistently emphasize the importance of optimal loadings, since excessive ESP content can

to dispersion, surface compatibility, and long-term durability (Babalola, 2024; Wibowo et al., 2024). Taken

together, these studies establish a solid experimental foundation for advancing conceptual work that integrates

ESP into product design frameworks, offering opportunities for innovation while highlighting technical

constraints that must be addressed through materials engineering and design strategies.

Despite this growing body of research, important gaps remain. Most existing studies concentrate on material

properties in specific domains such as bioplastics or cementitious systems, yet relatively few have considered

the broader integration of ESP into industrial product design frameworks that emphasize functionality,

manufacturability, and user-centered requirements. In the Malaysian context, although the availability of

eggshell waste is well documented, systematic investigations into its use within industrial design remain limited.

This paper therefore seeks to conceptualize the role of ESP as a sustainable material in product design by

relevant literature on the properties, applications, and limitations of ESP in bioplastics, cementitious systems,

and composite materials. This is followed by a conceptual discussion on the implications of these findings for

sustainable product design, emphasizing material innovation, design practices, and circular economy strategies.

The article concludes by summarizing key insights, articulating contributions to design scholarship, and

outlining directions for future integration of ESP into industrial design and sustainable manufacturing practices.

Biodegradable materials in product design denote materials that can be broken down by biological processes

into benign constituents within a defined timeframe, thereby reducing long-term environmental persistence and

facilitating circular flows of matter (Babalola, 2024). Renewable materials innovation complements

can improve barrier and thermal behavior in starch-based bioplastics while contributing rigidity and dimensional

stability as a filler (Hashim et al., 2024; Li et al., 2024). In cementitious and mortar systems, finely ground ESP

can partially substitute cement and alter hydration dynamics, sometimes enhancing early compressive properties

and enabling modest reductions in embodied carbon when applied at appropriate substitution levels (Shi, 2023;

Zhang et al., 2024; Islam et al., 2024). Reviews and recent syntheses further emphasize that ESP valorization

To situate ESP within product design scholarship, it is useful to draw on theories and models that integrate

materials science, design practice, and sustainability assessment. Circular economy theory provides a macro

framework by foregrounding strategies—reduce, reuse, recycle, and remanufacture—that make waste streams

like eggshells into feedstock for new material loops, and it helps evaluate whether ESP use contributes to closing

material loops at product and system levels (Babalola, 2024). Life cycle assessment models offer quantitative

tools to compare environmental trade-offs of ESP incorporation (for example, embodied carbon savings from

cement substitution versus impacts from processing and transport), enabling design decisions to be grounded in

measurable sustainability outcomes (Islam et al., 2024; Wei et al., 2021). At the materials-design interface,

composite micromechanics and filler–matrix interaction models explain how particle geometry, interfacial

adhesion, and loading fraction influence stiffness, strength, and failure modes; these models clarify why optimal

product design applications.

The extant literature collectively demonstrates that ESP is a technically promising and widely available feedstock

for renewable material innovation, with reproducible benefits for thermal stability, barrier properties, and certain

mechanical metrics in starch-based biocomposites and modest performance gains in cementitious systems when

used at controlled substitution levels (Hashim et al., 2024; Li et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2024). Systematic reviews

and scientometric studies corroborate a rapid growth in ESP research and highlight expanding application

domains from packaging to construction and biomedical scaffolds (Babalola, 2024; Mobarak et al., 2023;

Wibowo et al., 2024). Nonetheless, three interrelated gaps constrain the translation of these material advances

into design practice. First, most studies remain domain-centric and experimentally bounded, emphasizing single

manufacturing have not been studied comprehensively enough to assure consistent part quality in mass

a validated class of renewable, biodegradable materials capable of underpinning commercially viable,

sustainable product designs.

Table 1

Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual framework that links global sustainability imperatives to the adoption of

materials innovation, which emphasizes resource substitution and waste-to-resource transformation. Eggshell

powder emerges at the convergence of these streams, functioning as a calcium carbonate–rich biowaste that

can be valorized into polymers, composites, and cementitious systems. The incorporation of ESP into material

innovation processes illustrates a practical application of Eco-Design Theory, where design decisions integrate

environmental performance alongside technical requirements (Telenko et al., 2022). These material

composite reliability (CR) values above 0.70 will confirm internal consistency, while average variance extracted

(AVE) values above 0.50 will establish convergent validity (Hair et al., 2022). Discriminant validity will be

assessed using the heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT). This rigorous validation procedure ensures that the

constructs reliably capture the dimensions of biodegradable and renewable material innovation with ESP in

product design.

These findings highlight that eggshell powder (ESP) represents a promising renewable and biodegradable

material with applications in sustainable product design, though its performance depends heavily on material

loading, processing, and context of use. In bioplastics, ESP has been shown to improve barrier and thermal

properties at moderate filler fractions, but excessive incorporation can induce particle agglomeration and reduce

2021). However, higher substitution levels often compromise workability and long-term durability, indicating

the need for admixtures and tailored mix designs to balance environmental and structural performance (Paruthi,

2023). Beyond direct filler roles, the conversion of ESP into high-value products such as hydroxyapatite opens

opportunities for biomedical and specialty material applications, although these pathways require further life

cycle analysis to ensure that environmental gains outweigh the processing inputs (Mobarak et al., 2023;

Oladipupo et al., 2024).

Despite these advances, current research remains fragmented, with limited integration of material science

findings into holistic product design frameworks. Most studies focus on performance metrics at laboratory scale,

yet few address manufacturability, scalability, or user-centered design considerations that are critical for

industrial adoption (Wibowo et al., 2024). For Malaysia, which generates over 70,000 tons of eggshell waste

product design and industrial practice.

Future research should focus on experimental validation of ESP integration into diverse product categories,

supported by standardized testing protocols and comparative life cycle assessments. Studies should also

investigate user-centered perspectives, exploring consumer acceptance of ESP-based products and their

alignment with market trends in sustainable design. Furthermore, multidisciplinary collaborations between

designers, engineers, and policy makers are needed to develop scalable production systems, certification

standards, and incentive mechanisms that can accelerate the adoption of ESP as a mainstream sustainable

material in product design.

Practically, ESP presents opportunities for industries in Malaysia and beyond to reduce landfill waste and

reliance on petroleum-based materials. Its application in bioplastics, composites, and cementitious materials can

contribute to reducing carbon footprints, while also offering designers an accessible, low-cost, and locally

sourced sustainable material. Adoption, however, requires investment in surface modification, standardized

processing, and scalable manufacturing pathways to ensure consistency and performance in real-world

applications.

As a conceptual paper, this study is limited by its reliance on secondary data, which restricts empirical testing of

ESP’s performance under varied industrial conditions. Delimitations include the focus on ESP as the primary

thermal, and compressive properties when appropriately integrated into bioplastics and cementitious systems

(Hashim et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2024). However, its effectiveness depends on careful optimization of material

loading, particle size, and processing techniques, as excessive incorporation often compromises tensile strength

or workability. Malaysia’s significant annual generation of eggshell waste underscores the timeliness of

valorizing ESP within circular economy frameworks to reduce environmental burden while supporting

innovative product development.