By Ben
Coxworth
May 08, 2020
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Prof. William Chen (center)
holds a sheet of chitin polymer that was produced through the new fermentation
process Nanyang Technological University
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Chitin (and its derivative,
chitosan) has received a lot of attention in recent years. Among other things,
it's biodegradable, biocompatible, and it provides a use for seafood waste that
would otherwise just end up in landfill. Recent studies have shown that it could
be used in items like compostable
food wrap, wound
dressings, and even self-healing
car paint.
Typically, chitin is extracted
from crustacean shells via an acid treatment process. According to researchers
at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, however, this method is
expensive, consumes a lot of electricity, and may produce toxic waste products
that enter waterways.
Looking for a greener
alternative, they instead tried combining prawn shells with various types of
bacteria and fruit waste. The idea was that the glucose from the fruit would
boost the fermentation process, chemically breaking the shells down so that the
chitin could be easily extracted. A total of 10 different types of fruit waste
were used, including grape pomace, apple peels, mango skins, pineapple cores,
and banana peels.
Prof. Chen tends to the
fermentation setup Nanyang Technological University
The technique proved to be highly
effective, and when the harvested chitin was subsequently analyzed, it was found
to have a "crystallinity index" (which is a measure of purity) of 98.16 percent.
By contrast, samples of traditionally obtained chitin had an index of just 87.56
percent.
"Our research has led to not only
higher quality chitin but a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly
process too," says the lead scientist, Prof. William Chen. "While the various
types of fruit waste produced good results, the sugar from the pomace of red
grapes had the best performance. This is also a cost-effective method for
industry-scale operations, which could be of potential interest to wineries
looking to reduce and upcycle their waste."
A paper on the research was
recently published in the journal AMB
Express.
Source: https://newatlas.com/environment/fruit-waste-fermentation-chitin/Nanyang
Technological University