Use of Dried Papaya Milk in Chitosan Manufacture

Abstract

A new method for the production of chitosan from shrimp waste using dried papaya milk (OPM) has been developed. It involves the treatment of demineralized (with 4% HCI) shrimp waste with OPM followed by deproteinization with 3% NaOH and deacetylation with 50% NaOH. The use ofOPM brings about considerable reductions in the amount ofHCI (20%) and NaOH (40%), which are known to cause env.ironmental pollution problems. Typically, the degree of deacetylation (~O) of resulting chitosan was (67%) comparable to DO of conventional methods. Moisture content (9.12%) and ash content (0.09%) of resulting chitosan were significantly low compared to chitosan obtained by 100% chemical methods.