At 38, Liu Peiwen is both a doctoral supervisor at Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) and founder of a company valued at nearly 100 million yuan ($14.72 million), built on an unlikely raw material: discarded crayfish shells.

In HZAU's College of Engineering, Liu studies how shells can be converted into chitin nanocrystals, protein nanoparticles and hollow nano-calcium carbonate. The materials can be used in battery separators, wear-resistant lubricants, high-performance coatings, pesticide adjuvants, pharmaceutical fillers and sealant raw materials.

Liu said the hardness of crayfish shells comes from chitin nanocrystals, rigid needle-like crystals harder than ceramics. Instead of selling shells cheaply as feed material, his team extracts high-value components from them.

One pesticide adjuvant can form a protective film on plant leaves, reduce pesticide use by 75 percent and raise the value from 8,000 yuan per metric ton as protein feed to 80,000 yuan per metric ton as a nano-adjuvant.

"Research has two purposes: one is to satisfy human curiosity, and the other is to solve real industrial problems. I mainly do the latter," Liu said.

After wrapping up his doctoral studies in Germany, Liu returned to Hubei province and joined HZAU in 2021. His startup has received provincial and district support, built a production line in Jiayu county, Xianning city, Hubei province, and is seeking deeper links with Hubei's crayfish industry.

A production line supports the industrial application of crayfish-shell materials. [Photo/new.hzau.edu.cn]

Products made from crayfish-shell materials show industrial potential. [Photo/new.hzau.edu.cn]

Liu Peiwen works with a student in the laboratory. [Photo/new.hzau.edu.cn]