Study on prawn shell waste into chitosan and its derivatives as value added products for cellulosic fibres

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to synthesize chitosan, N-octyl chitosan (NOCh) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCh) derivative from prawn shell wastes and identify their applications as modifiers on cellulosic fibres, jute and cotton, to develop quality textile fibres.Design/methodology/approachChitosan was obtained by deacetylation of chitin. NOCh was obtained by reductive amination of chitosan. Water-soluble CMCh was prepared by reacting chitosan with monochloroacetic acid in aqueous alkaline media at ambient conditions. Chitosan, NOCh and CMCh were applied on cellulosic fibres, and structure and physico-chemical characteristics of chitosan derivatives and modified fibres were investigated and analysed.FindingsThe molecular weight, degree of deacetylation and ash content of prepared chitosan were 1,39,958 Da, 85 and 2.33 per cent, respectively. The moisture content, water holding capacity and total nitrogen content were above 10, 450 and 6.5 per cent, respectively. Average degree of substitution of CMCh was 0.82 as determined by titrimetric analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra showed characteristic peaks of carbonyl group at 1,659 cm−1, –NH2 at 1,600 cm−1, symmetric stretching of C-H in the methyl group at 1,520 cm−1 and carboxylic group at 1,737 cm−1. Thermograms showed moderate thermal stability in treated fibres compared to untreated fibres. Surface morphology of the modified fibres exhibited smoother surface due to the absorption of chitosan, NOCh and CMCh.Originality/valueModification of jute and cotton by sorption of NOCh and CMCh introduced new functional groups on the fibre surface with chemical bonding, which was confirmed by FTIR. Surface morphology of the fibres was carried out by scanning electron microscopy. As the modified fibres also showed good dyeability and colour fastness as well as other properties, the chitosan derivatives as a textile modifier would be helpful to avoid synthetic petroleum-based chemical modifiers as well as to manage the environmental pollution from prawn shell waste and other toxic chemicals.