Shrimp shell waste as a potential raw material for biorefinery—a revisit

Abstract

The world’s economy is highly dependent on fossil fuels. The utilization of plant materials for the production of ethanol is a severe problem economically and socially, and mainly for the environment. Shrimp shell waste is a potential raw material for the production of biofuel. The use of shrimp shells and its chitinous material for the manufacture of biofuels is a sustainable way to reduce the cost of the ethanol as well as to reduce the environmental pollution caused by selfish waste. Several microorganisms are known to produce chitinolytic enzymes, which can convert chitin into its monomer, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamine. The chitin, as well as N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamine, can be utilized by the microorganisms as the sole carbon source for biofuel production. In this study, the extraction of chitin from shrimp shell waste, use of chitin and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamine as the sole carbon source, simultaneous saccharification, and fermentation of chitin and utilization of raw shrimp shell as a biocatalyst for production of bioethanol and biodiesel were discussed.