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Science devises ways to recycle crustacean shells
Posted On: June 6, 2013It was only a matter of time before scientists found a way to recycle the 750 000 tonnes of crustacean shells which are disposed of in the EU every year.
Asia has successfully managed to extract polymer chitosan (used to make filters, foils and wound dressings) produced from shrimp shells. But in Europe crustaceans contain more lime, so processing is more complex and not economical. Also, the high content of calcium carbonate (known as CaCO3) of EU crab shell waste has prevented cost effective conversions to chitosan so far.
However, a solution has come from the ChiBio Project, which is developing an integrated biorefinery for processing chitin rich biowaste, to specialty and fine chemicals. ChiBio is led by the Straubing Project Group BioCat of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, with a consortium of 11 European partners and has been awarded EU funding of nearly EUR 3 million.
Primex Launches Microencapsulated LipoSan Ultra
Posted On: May 22, 2013Primex has introducted a microencapsulated version of its LipoSan Ultra that is designed for weight loss beverages.
The new and unique weight loss ingredient is an innovative development and line extension of Primex’s ordinary weight loss ingredient LipoSan Ultra, a patented product based on ChitoClear chitosan and succinic acid, which has an extraordinary ability to bind to dietary fat so it is not absorbed by the body.
The original product has been used as a food supplement for weight management. LipoSan Ultra chitosan is a dietary fiber and will as such improve the nutritional value of the functional food consumed, the company said.
ChiBio project looks to develop biorefinery to turn chitin biowaste into monomers
Posted On: February 24, 2013In many Asian countries, shrimp waste is converted to chitosan, a commercially valuable compound with a myriad of applications ranging from use as a biopesticide to biomedical solutions in tissue engineering, non-viral gene delivery and enzyme immobilisation. The problem is that European crustacean shells harbour higher levels of calcium carbonate, thus making the Asian approach unviable.
Now, an EU funded research project called ChiBio aims to convert crustacean shell waste into basic building blocks, or monomers, that would serve as precursors for plastics. Current industry standards rely on petroleum based sources to produce these materials. The project’s main goal is to “develop an integrated biorefinery for processing chitin rich biowaste to gain biobased monomers for the polymer industry,” says Lars Wiemann, who heads the project from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, in Straubing, Germany. He believes that the protocol used in the project could also be applied to other novel biogenic materials, such as insect carapaces or fungi.
Shrimp waste in Venezuela useful to produce artificial skin
Posted On: January 15, 2013A plant that will process shrimp waste to obtain chitosan has been opened recently in Zulia state. This polymer may be used to make artificial skin to treat patients having burns and diabetes, among many other medical, agricultural and environmental applications.
The Ministry of Planning and Finance invested VEB 6,000 million (USD 1.4 million) for opening the plant Innovaquita Environmental Innovation, in San Francisco town.
Through this initiative, the waste of the shrimp industry will no longer be a problem for the environment in zones such as El Malencón, in the central area of Maracaibo.
This is the first chitosan processing plant in Venezuela and the third one in Latin America.
Company to convert seafood waste into products
Posted On: December 4, 2012A company that plans to convert seafood waste into a range of commercial products will move into an empty bottling plant in Opelousas, creating 50 new jobs over five years.
AgraTech International said Wednesday it will spend $10 million to renovate the old Yoo-Hoo plant. The company will process shrimp, crawfish and crab shells to get chitosan, which is used in everything from water-repellant glass coatings to sunscreen lotion and from dental membranes to nasal sprays to treat nosebleeds.
The new jobs will pay an average annual salary of $50,000, plus benefits. Louisiana’s economic development department estimates 51 new indirect jobs will also be created.
Characterization of allergenic and antimicrobial properties of Chitin and Chitosan and formulation of Chitosan-based edible film for instant food casing
Posted On: November 19, 2012Derived from shrimp shells, chitin and chitosan are non-toxic, biodegradable and biocompatible. However, some residual proteins from shrimp shells such as tropomyosin and arginine kinase could remain in these products and cause allergic reactions among consumers. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigation of their antimicrobial activity and allergenicity before applying to edible packaging for instant noodles. Two antibodies were raised against the purified shrimp tropomyosin and total crustacean protein extracts. Analysis by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting using these generated antibodies and sera of seafood-sensitized patients confirmed that there was the presence of tropomyosin in chitin and chitosan samples. Chitosan can inhibit the growth of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Purified chitosan retains the antimicrobial property of normal chitosan.
Beating shoe smells with crab shells
Posted On: September 19, 2012Portuguese researchers are working to make anti-microbial shoes by treating leather with a modified chemical from crab shells. Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide made from the deacylation of chitin, the structural component that makes up the shells of various crustaceans. In fact, chitin is the second most common dietary fibre after cellulose; however, it’s chitosan’s anti-microbial properties that are being exploited by Joana Amaral and colleagues at the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar.
Uranium from seawater idea boosted with shrimp shells
Posted On: August 30, 2012Oceans hold billions of tonnes of uranium at tiny concentrations, but extracting it remains uneconomical.
A report at the 244th meeting of the American Chemical Society described a new technique using uranium-absorbing mats made from discarded shrimp shells.
Uranium is currently mined from ore deposits around the world, but there are fears that demand may outstrip the supply of ore as nuclear power becomes more widespread.
At issue is the tremendously low concentration of uranium in seawater: about three parts per billion, so that just 3.3mg exist in a full tonne of water. As a result, extracting it is an inherently costly process. Much work carried out in Japan in recent decades has sought to address that.
Researchers in Japan came up with a design of a mat of plastic fibres impregnated with molecules that both lock onto the fibres and preferentially absorb uranium. That work culminated in a 2003 field test that netted a kilogram of the metal.
Chitosan used to lengthen shelf life of bananas in China
Posted On: August 30, 2012Scientists have figured out how to use chitosan — a substance derived from shrimp and crab shells — to delay the ripening of bananas for up to two weeks. Scientists speaking in Philadelphia at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society described experiments designed to develop a spray-on coating that consumers could use themselves.
The coating, a “hydrogel,” is a superabsorbent material made from chitosan. Xihong Li, PhD, who presented the report, noted that chitosan is a great option for the feat because of its action in killing bacteria that cause produce to rot.
Shrividya Enterprises announces addition to capacity of Chitin and Protein
Posted On: August 20, 2012Shrividya Enterprises, Mumbai, India based manufacturer of Chitin and Protein announced increase in the production capacity: Chitin capacity is increased from 40MT Per year to 60MT per year and Protein capacity increased from 108MT per year to 216MT per year
Chitin is basic raw material for upstream compounds such as ,Glucosamine Sulphate and Chitosan.Chitin Is Extracted from shrimp/ Prawn shells. Chitin is light in weight and white in colour. Shrividya Enterprises is established manufacturer of chitin since 1999. It has a manufacturing facility in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, India. Now Shrividya enterprises can supply upto 60MT per year. This increase in capacity will help meet growing customer demand for Chitin.
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