Aquatic-Derived Biomaterials for a Sustainable Future: A European Opportunity

Roberto Nisticò

doi:10.3390/resources6040065

Abstract

The valorization of aquatic-derived biowastes as possible feedstock for the production of value-added chemicals and materials is proposed here as a sustainable alternative compared to the exploitation of the more conventional (fossil) resources. In this context, the comprehension of the opportunity related to the valorization of the shellfish industry biowaste for the production of useful materials, especially focusing on chitin and its derived byproducts, is investigated. The large amount of waste produced each year by the shellfish processing industry seems to be an appealing opportunity for the European market to produce valuable products from underutilized waste. In order to highlight this important market-opportunity, the actual European situation concerning the shellfish volume of production is presented. The industrial processes necessary for the recovery of chitin, chitosan, and their derivatives are largely described, together with a wide description of their peculiar (and interesting) physicochemical properties. Even if nowadays the scientific literature suggests that this class of biopolymers is very appealing, further research is still necessary for overcoming some criticisms still present in the extraction and valorization of such substrates. However, the principles of both circular economy and green chemistry encourage the reduction of such biowastes and their exploitation as an alternative resource for a global sustainable future.

Highlights

Studies in the field of renewable resources have dramatically increased in the last decades due to the high economic interests in the valorization of sustainable feedstocks for obtaining useful and valuable chemicals and materials [1,2,3,4,5,6]
As widely-reported by Kerton et al [1], more than 70% of our planet surface is covered by oceans and other aquatic environments, which potentially offer a wide variety of different biomasses, namely plants andvertebrates
The environmental problems affecting our planet are largely due to human overexploitation of natural resources, including fuels, minerals, water, land, and biodiversity

Summary

Introduction

Studies in the field of renewable resources have dramatically increased in the last decades due to the high economic interests in the valorization of sustainable feedstocks for obtaining useful and valuable chemicals and materials [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Most of the studies in this topic are involved in the valorization of agricultural and/or municipal wastes (mostly lignocellulosic- and starch-based substrates) as starting materials for the creation of new products, especially as fillers or additives in the development of both polymeric and composite materials [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16] This is, for instance, the case of Mater-Bi, a starch-derived commercially-available bioplastic (produced by Novamont S.p.A., Italy) [17,18,19,20]. European situation was provided, deepening the European market and possible future scenarios

Fish Market and Waste Management

The Chitin Industry Case Study

Chitin: A European Opportunity

Findings

Conclusions and Future Perspectives