Abstract
Chitosan membranes were prepared by the casting method combined with alkali treatment. The molecular weight of chitosan and the alkali treatment influenced the water content and water permeability of the chitosan membranes. The water content increased as the NaOH concentration was increased from 1 to 5 mol/L. The water permeation flux of chitosan membranes with three different molecular weights increased linearly with the operating pressure and was highest for the membrane formed from chitosan with the lowest molecular weight. Membranes with a lower water content had a higher water flux. The membranes blocked 100% of compounds with molecular weights above methyl orange (MW = 327 Da). At 60 ≤ MW ≤ 600, the blocking rate strongly depended on the substance. The results confirmed that the membranes are suitable for compound separation, such as in purification and wastewater treatment.
Highlights
Chitin and chitosan are biopolymers contained in the exoskeletons of crustaceans that have recently attracted attention as reproducible biogenic components [1,2]
Chitin is formed from N-acetyl-D-glucosamine that is linked linearly with β-1,4 units, whereas chitosan is formed from D-glucosamine
NaOH = 1.0 and of the chitosan membranes prepared in solutions with various NaOH concentrations
Summary
Chitin and chitosan are biopolymers contained in the exoskeletons of crustaceans that have recently attracted attention as reproducible biogenic components [1,2]. They are significant for effective resource utilization, because they can be obtained from shells that are discarded during the processing of crabs and shrimps for food products [3,4]. Chitin is formed from N-acetyl-D-glucosamine that is linked linearly with β-1,4 units, whereas chitosan is formed from D-glucosamine (i.e., the deacetylation product of chitin). Both structures are similar to cellulose [5,6]. Industrial applications of membrane separation are wide-ranging and include fruit-juice condensation [17], artificial dialysis [18], desalination of seawater [19], and wastewater treatment [20,21,22]
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