The Effectiveness of Chitosan Extraction from Crustaceans’ Shells as a natural coagulant

Abstract

Crustaceans’ shells are one of the resources that can be used as raw materials for chitosan extraction. Chitosan can act as bio-coagulant to remove turbidity through coagulation process. Usage of chitosan extracted from biopolymers are safer and environmentally friendly that can substitute synthetic coagulant such as alum and lime (calcium oxide) which may cause diseases to humans. This study aims to extract chitosan from waste crustaceans’ shells which are crabs (Litopenaeus Vannamei) and shrimps (Matuta Victor) as well as to analyse the effectiveness of chitosan as a natural coagulant. By using the following concentration of chemicals, 0.5N and 1N of HCl for demineralization, 0.5N and 1N of NaOH for deproteinization and, 50% of NaOH for deacetylation. Crab sample A had been the most effective against crab sample B, shrimp sample A and shrimp sample B in terms of conductivity removal percentage, TSS removal percentage, and COD removal percentage, which was 73.02%, 98.93% and 33.95% respectively. In conclusion, crustaceans’ shells contained chitosan has great potential to be used as bio-coagulant.