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InternationalJournalofMechanicalEngineeringandTechnology(IJMET)
Volume8,Issue2,February2017,pp.220231ArticleID:IJMET_08_02_027
Availableonlineathttp://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=8&IType=2
ISSNPrint:09766340andISSNOnline:09766359
IAEMEPublication

STUDIESONEXTRACTIONMETHODSOFCHITIN
FROMCRABSHELLANDINVESTIGATIONOF
ITSMECHANICALPROPERTIES
KishoreKumarGadgey
Head,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,
GovernmentPolytechnicCollege,Sanawad,MP,India

Dr.AmitBahekar
HeadandAssociateProfessor,
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,
OrientalUniversity,Indore,MP,India

ABSTRACT
This paper describes the most common methods for recovery of chitin from crab shell.
Deproteinization,demineralizationanddeacetylationarethemainprocessesfortheextractionofchitin
andchitosan.Themechanicalpropertieswereinvestigatedtorecognizetheirmechanicalapplications.
Chitinisthemostwidespreadbiopolymerinnature,aftercellulose.Ithasgreateconomicvaluebecause
oftheirbiologicalactivitiesandtheirindustrialandbiomedicalapplications.Chitincanbeextracted
fromthreesources,namelycrustaceans,insectsandmicroorganisms.However,themaincommercial
sourcesareshellsofshrimps,crabs,lobstersandkrillthataresuppliedinlargequantitiesbythe
shellfish processing industries. Extraction of chitin involves two steps, demineralization and
deproteinisation,whichcanbeprocessedbytwomethods,chemicalorbiological.Acidsandbasesare
requiredforchemicalmethod,whilethebiologicalmethodinvolvesmicroorganisms. Themechanical
propertiesofisolatedcrabchitinarehighlysusceptibletotheeffectsofhydration.Philippineblue
swimmingcrabwereusedfortheextractionofchitin.Theextractedchitinwasusedtoformpolymer
filmsatdifferentconditions.Polymerfilmswerealsoformedfromcommerciallyacquiredchitin.Itwas
observed that the films prepared at different conditions have greater ultimate tensile strengths as
comparedtothecommerciallyavailablefilms..TheChitindiscussedinthepresentstudyisanalyzed
mechanically. Thus ensuring the extracted Chitin and Chitosan could be considered for further
applications. Thisstudytherefore,intendstoextractandinvestigatethemechanicalperformanceof
chitinfromcrabshell.
Keywords:Biopolymer,Chitin,Chitosan,ChitinExtraction,CrabShell.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 220 editor@iaeme.com
 KishoreKumarGadgeyandDr.AmitBahekar

CitethisArticle:KishoreKumarGadgeyandDr.AmitBahekar,StudiesOnExtractionMethodsof
ChitinFromCRABShellandInvestigationofItsMechanicalProperties.InternationalJournalof
MechanicalEngineeringandTechnology,8(2),2017,pp.220231.
http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=8&IType=2

1.INTRODUCTION
In1799A.Hachett,aEnglishscientistdiscoveredamaterialparticularlyresistanttousualchemicals.Afterthat
HenriBraconnot,aFrenchprofessorofnaturalhistory,discoveredchitinin1811.Thenin1823,Odierfoundthe
samematerialininsectsandplantsandnameditchitine.Sinceallchitinbasedmaterialsarederivativesof
chitin,inthispaperthewordchitinisusedgenerallytodescribebothchitinanditsderivativesunlessmentioned
otherwise. Chitinisasubstancethatmakesuptheexoskeletonofinsectsandcrustaceans,whichcanalsobe
obtainedfromothersourceslikefungi,mushrooms,worms,diatoms,etc.[15].Likecelluloseitfunctionsasa
structuralpolysaccharide.Chitinisthesecondmostabundantnaturalpolymerinnatureaftercellulose[6].
Chitinanditsderivativeschitosanhaveseveralapplications,theseinclude,biomedical,food,emulsifyingagent,
wastewatertreatment,biocatalysts,textileandpaperindustryandagriculture[7,8].Theisolationofchitinfrom
differentsourcesisdependsonsourceandalsothepercentageofchitinpresentinsourcewhereitisfound
variesaccordingtotheoriginofthesource [23].Theextractionandcharacterizationofthechitinandits
derivativesfromdifferentoriginshavebeenreported.Theextractionandcharacterizationofchitinandchitosan
fromtwospeciesofcrustaceanofTunisianoriginhasbeenreportedbyLimametal.[9].Also,AlSagheeretal.
[10]producedchitinfromArabianGulfcrustaceanssourcestodeterminetheproteincontentinchitin.Abdou
etal.in[3],reportedTheproductionofchitinanditsderivativefromcrustaceanofEgyptianoriginwasreported
by.Abdouetal.[3],Yildizetal.[11]reportedtheextractionandcharacterizationofchitinandchitosanfrom
Mediterraneancrab.TheextractionandcharacterizationofchitinfromcrustaceanofNigerianoriginwasalso
reported.ItwasreportedthatsourcesofchitinsarehighlyavailableinNigeriaandareabundantintheruralareas
ofNigeria[12,13].Thesewastematerialslitterthebanksofriversconstitutingenvironmentalpollutionbecause
theyareunderutilized.ChitinandChitosanprovedtobeaversatileandpromisingbiopolymer.Theuseofthese
biopolymersisinvariousfields.Theyhaveanimportantroleasnaturalalternativeshavingsomebiological
properties and some specific applications like drug delivery, tissue engineering, functional food, food
preservative, biocatalyst immobilization, wastewater treatment, molecular imprinting and metal
nanocomposites. The molecular mechanism of the biological properties such as biocompatibility,
mucoadhesion,permeationenhancingeffect,anticholesterolemic,andantimicrobialhasbeenanareaofinterest
formanyresearchers[5].ShellfishincludingCrab,lobsterandcrayfishcontinuetopredominateduetoatleast
twofactors.Thefirstisthegrowthofaquaculture,andthesecondisthelargeincreaseinconsumptionof
crustaceans.Theobjectiveofthestudyistoutilizetheshellwasteofthecommerciallyimportantcrabto
produceanimportantbiopolymer.Themechanicalpropertieswasinvestigatedtorepresentthequalityofchitin
forvariousmechanicalapplications.Duetothewideapplicationofchitosan(alkalinehydrolysisofchitin);
different methods of chitin extraction have been published. Chitin can be extracted by fermentation and
enzymaticmethods.Whiletheextractionofchitinbybiologicalmethodinvolvemicroorganism,fermentation
isveryexpensive,enzymaticchemicalextractiondoesnotdenaturethechitin.Anothermethodthathasbeen
widelyreportedisthechemicalmethod[14],[15],[16],[17],[18]whichmakeuseofplentyalkaline.

Red snow crab shells were used as a starting material in this study. The contents of the main components in the crab
shells (chitin, protein, and calcium carbonate) were estimated by the ninhydrin-hydrindantin protein test and
gravimetric analysis; they were approximately 30%, 16%, and 55% as w/w, respectively, indicating the largest
proportion of the red crab shells was calcium carbonate.
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 StudiesOnExtractionMethodsofChitinFromCRABShellandInvestigationofItsMechanicalProperties

2.MATERIALSANDMETHODS

2.1.MethodsofChitinExtraction

2.1.1.Chemicalmethods
Intheexoskeletontissue,proteinandchitincombinetoformaproteinchitinmatrix,whichisthenextensively
calcifiedtoyieldhardshells.Thewastemayalsocontainlipidsfromthemuscleresiduesandcarotenoids,
mainlyastaxanthinanditsesters[19].Atraditionalmethodforthecommercialpreparationofchitinfrom
crustaceanshell(exoskeleton)consistsoftwobasicsteps(A)proteinseparation,i.e.deproteinisationbyalkali
treatment, and (B) calcium carbonate (and calcium phosphate) separation, i.e. demineralization by acidic
treatmentunderhightemperature,followedbyableachingstepwithchemicalreagentstoobtainacolourless
product[2022].Deproteinisationisusuallyperformedbyalkalinetreatment[23].Demineralisationisgenerally
performedbyacidtreatmentincludingHCl,HNO3,H2SO4,CH3COOH,andHCOOH;however,HClseemsto
bethepreferredreagent[23].Itwasshownthattheorderofthetwostepsmaybereversedforshrimpwaste
containinglargeproteinconcentrations,whichstemprimarilyfromtheskeletaltissueandtoalesserextentfrom
theremainingmuscletissue[8].Themajorconcerninchitinproductionisthequalityofthefinalproduct,which
isafunctionofthemolecularmass(averageandpolydispersity)andthedegreeofacetylation. Harshacid
treatmentsmaycausehydrolysisofthepolymer,inconsistentphysicalpropertiesinchitinandaresourceof
pollution [24]. High NaOH concentrations and high deproteinisation temperatures can cause undesirable
deacetylationanddepolymerisationofchitin [8].Percotetal.[25]reportedthat usinginorganicacidssuchas
HClforthedemineralisation ofchitinresultsindetrimentaleffectsonthemolecularmassandthedegreeof
acetylationthatnegativelyaffecttheintrinsicpropertiesofthepurifiedchitin.Similarly,accordingtoCrinietal.
[26] this method allows almost complete removal of organic salts, but at the same time reactions of
deacetylationanddepolymerisationmayoccur.Qualityimprovementcanbeobtainedbyimprovingthecontact
ofchemicalswiththeshrimpwaste,forinstancebyusingstirredbioreactors.Thiswouldallowreactionsto
proceedwiththesameefficiencyatshorterexposuretimeandatlowertemperature[27].Comparingdifferent
chitins (degree of acetylation, molecular mass and optical activity), variations of the characteristics of the
obtainedpolymerwereobservedaccordingtotheacidusedforthedemineralisation[26].Inaddition,chemical
chitinpurificationisenergyconsumingandsomewhatdamagingtotheenvironmentowingtothehighmineral
acidandbaseamountsinvolved[28].Thesechemicaltreatmentsalsocreateadisposalproblemforthewastes,
since neutralisation and detoxification of the discharged wastewater may be necessary [29]. Another
disadvantageofchemicalchitinpurificationisthatthevaluableproteincomponentscannolongerbeusedas
animalfeed[30].

2.1.2.Biologicalmethods
Analternativewaytosolvechemicalextractionproblemsistousebiologicalmethods.Theuseofproteasesfor
deproteinisation of crustacean shells would avoid alkali treatment. Besides the application of exoenzymes,
proteolyticbacteriaweresedfordeproteinisationofdemineralisedshells[24].Thisapproachallowsobtaininga
liquidfractionrichinproteins,mineralsandastaxanthinandasolidchitinfraction.Theliquidfractioncanbe
usedeitherasaproteinmineralsupplementforhumanconsumptionorasananimalfeed[31].Deproteinisation
processeshavebeenreportedforchitinproductionmainlyfromshrimpwasteusingmechanical[24],enzymatic
[32,33]andmicrobialprocessesinvolvingspecieslikeLactobacillus[31],PseudomonasaeruginosaK187[34]
and Bacillus subtilis [35]. Biological demineralisation has also been reported for chitin production from
crustaceanshells;enzymatically,usingforinstancealcalase,orbymicrobialprocessinvolvingspecieslikeL.
pentosus4023[21]orbyanaturalprobiotic(milkcurd)[36].Inthesebiologicalprocesses,demineralizationand
deproteinisationoccurmainlysimultaneouslybutincompletely[24].Lacticacidisformedfromthebreakdown
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 222 editor@iaeme.com
 KishoreKumarGadgeyandDr.AmitBahekar

of glucose, creating the low pH, which improves the ensilation that suppresses the growth of spoilage
microorganisms.Lacticacidreactswiththecalciumcarbonatecomponentinthechitinfraction,leadingtothe
formationofcalciumlactate,whichprecipitatesandcanberemovedbywashing.Theresultingorganicsalts
from the demineralization process could be used as de and antiicing agents and/or preservatives [37].
Deproteinisation of the biowaste and simultaneous liquefaction of the shrimp proteins occurs mainly by
proteolyticenzymesproducedbytheaddedLactobacillus,bygutbacteriapresentintheintestinalsystemofthe
shrimp,orbyproteasespresentinthebiowaste.Itresultsinafairlycleanliquidfractionwithahighcontentof
solublepeptidesandfreeaminoacids[38].Deproteinisationanddemineralizationofcrab(Chionoecetesopilio)
shellwasteswascarriedoutbyJoetal.[39]usingSerratiamarcescensFS3isolatedfromenvironmental
samples (seaside soil in the southwestern area of Korea) which exhibited strong protease activity. The
demineralization and deproteinisation of natural crab shell wastes with 10 % Serratia marcescens FS3 as
inoculumswas84and47%after7daysoffermentation.Whentheshellwastewastreatedwith1%Delvolase
(GistBrocades, DSM, Heerlen, The Netherlands) as a reference, deproteinisation rate was 90 %. With a
combinationof10%SerratiamarcescensFS3culturesupernatantand1%Delvolase,deproteinisationrateof
theshellwastewas85%,whiletheratewas81%in10%SerratiamarcescensFS3culturesupernatantonly
.TheeffectofcrabshellsizeonbiodemineralisationbymeansofL.paracaseissp.toleransKCTC3074was
alsoinvestigated[40].Demineralisationwasperformedusingsampleswithfourdifferentparticlesizes(0.84
3.35,3.3510,1020and2035mm)with10%inoculum,5%shelland10%glucoseat30Cand180rpm
for7days.Shellsizehadaminoreffectondemineralisationefficiency[40].
Table1.ChemicalVsBiologicalmethodsforchitinExtraction

Chemicalmethod Biologicalmethod

ChitinRecovery

Demineralisation Mineralsolubilisationbyacidic Carriedoutbylacticacidproducedby

treatmentincludingHCl,HNO3, bacteriathroughtheconversionofanadded
H2SO4,CH3COOHandHCOOH. carbonsource.

Deproteinisation Proteinsolubilisationbyalkaline Carriedoutbyproteasessecretedintothe

treatment. fermentationmedium.Inaddition,
deproteinisationcanbeachievedbyadding
exoproteasesand/orproteolyticbacteria

Effluenttreatmentafteracidand
alkalineextractionofchitinmaycause
anincreaseinthecostofchitin.
Extractioncostofchitinbybiological
methodcanbeoptimizedbyreducingthe
costofthecarbonsource.
Solubilisedproteinsandmineralsmaybe
usedashumanandanimalnutrients.
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 StudiesOnExtractionMethodsofChitinFromCRABShellandInvestigationofItsMechanicalProperties

ChitinQuality
Themajorconcern Awiderangeofqualitypropertiesof Homogeneousnessandhighqualityofthe
inchitinproduction thefinalproduct.Usinginorganicacids finalproduct.
isthequalityofthe suchasHClforchitindemineralisation
finalproduct,which resultsindetrimentaleffectsonthe
isafunctionofthe molecularmassandthedegreeof
molecularmass acetylationthatnegativelyaffectthe
(averageand intrinsicpropertiesofthepurifiedchitin
polydispersity)and [41].
thedegreeof Thismethodallowsalmostcomplete
acetylation. removaloforganicsalts,butatthesame
timethereactionsofdeacetylationand
depolymerisationmayoccur[42].
Thecomparisonofdifferentchitins
(degreeofacetylation,molecularmass,
opticalactivity)obtainedwithfour
differentacidsshowedthatthepolymer
characteristicsvariedaccordingtothe
extractionmethodused[42].

2.2.MECHANICALCHARACTERISATION
Hempburnetal43],investigatedmechanicalpropertiesofthesolidcutileandtheisolatedchitinofthecrab,
ScyllaSerrata.AlltestspecimensweretakenfromlivecrabscaughtontheSouthernMozambiquecoast.Wet
anddryspecimensofpurecrabchitinweretested.Thesesampleswereobtainedfromwholecrablegsby
treatmentin20%KOHat293Kfor8hr.rinsinguntilneutralpH.followedbv24hrsteepingina5%HCl
solution.
Fernandoetal[44],extractedchitinfromPhilippineblueswimmingcrab.Forthepolymerfilmformation,
5%(w/v)lithiumchloride/N,Ndimethylacetamide(LiCl/DMAc)solventforchitindissolutionwasprepared.
ThecoveredmixturewasstirredatroomtemperatureuntilallLiCldissolved.Then,0.5%(w/v)ofextracted
chitinwasaddedtothesolution,andthesolutionwasagitateduntilthemixturebecamehomogenous.The
solutionwasthenpouredintoaglassmould,coveredwithpinholedaluminumfoil,andallowedtosetfor24
and96hours.Theformedgelsweresoakedinisopropanolandmethanol.Thesewerethencoldpressedbetween
filterpapers,glassplates,andbinderclips,thenovendriedovernight.Thedriedfilmswereagainsoakedin
isopropanol and methanol, then coldpressed for another 48hours. The finalfilms were characterized and
comparedwithcommerciallyavailableplasticfilmusingUTMtestingfortensilestrengthtests.SEMimaging
wasalsoconductedtoevaluatetheweakpolymerfilmssurfacemorphology.
Ofemetal[45],investigatedmechanicalpropertiesofDungenesscrabbasedchitin.Chitinfilmsweremade
accordingtoamodifiedpublished[46,47].Purifiedchitinwasroughlycrushedinadomesticblender,andthen
vacuumsievedusingaBuchnerfilterfunnelhavinganapproximatesizeof1.4mm.Thesievedchitinwas
dispersedinwatertomake0.5wt%content.ThepHvaluewasadjustedto3byaddingfewdropsofacetic
acid.Thesolutionwasstirredmagneticallyovernightatroomtemperature.Thesuspensionwasvacuumfiltered
usingWhitmanfilterpaper.Mechanicalpropertiesofsamplesweretested,intensionusingaUniversalTesting
MachineUTM(Instron5567).Tensamplesweretestedatastrainrateof3mm/minforeachgaugelength.All
specimenswereconditionedatatemperatureof23+2Cand50+5%relativehumidityfor48hoursbefore
testing.Thechitinnanofibrewaspressedforupto60minutesatatemperaturemaintainedat8090C.Thefilm
wasdriedinanovenatatemperatureof50Cfor48hours.
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 KishoreKumarGadgeyandDr.AmitBahekar

3.RESULTSANDDISCUSSION
Therecoveryofchitinbychemicalmethodusingconcentratedacidsandbasesinordertodeproteiniseandto
demineralise shellfish waste (the most industrially exploited) at high temperature can deteriorate the
physicochemical properties of this biopolymer and consequently its biological properties which results in
productsofvaryingqualitythatareneitherhomogeneousnorreproducible.

Figure1StressStraincurvesforisolatedcrabchitinfailedintension[43].
Fig.1showsthegeneraltensilestressstrainbehaviorforwetanddrycrabchitin,Hempburnetal[43],.Itcanbe
seenthatbothwetanddrycrabchitinarenotfollowingtheHooksLawandthatneitherexhibitsaclearproportional
limit.Whereasdrycrabchitinshowsasharplydefinedfailurepointimmediatelybeyondtheultimatestress,wet
chitindoesnothaveaclearlydelinedfailurepoint.Theisolatedcrabchitinshowsmarkedlydifferentmechanical
propertiesdependinguponthestateofhydration.Whilethebreakingstressforwetchitinwas19.96+1.6MPathat
ofdrychitinwas36.24+2.2MPaorabouttwicethewetstrength.Theelasticmodulusincreasedfromawetchitin
valueof330to1095MPawhendry.Thestrainatbreakingdecreasedfromn6.1percentinthewetstateto3.4per
centondrying.Theseresultsareconsistentwiththequalitativeobservationsthatwetcrabchitinfeelsrubbery
whiledrychitinisstifferandsomewhatbrittle.Dynamicmeasurementsofthetorsionalrigiditymodulusexhibiteda
similardependenceonthestateofhydration.Therigiditymodulusforwetcrabchitinwas27.844.7MPawhichis
considerablylowerthanthatof18326MPaobtainedfordrychitin.Theincreasedvalueofthetorsionalrigidity
modulus,thehigherelasticmodulus,thestrengthandthedecreasedvalueofthebreakingstrainfordrychitinare
resultsoftheconsiderableinfluencewaterhasonthegeneralpropertiesofchitinstructures.Theseresultsareentirely
inkeepingwiththosereportedforotherarthropodchitins[48,49,50].Thiswaterchitininteractionalsomanifests
itselfinlargechangesinthedampingofelasticoscillationsofcrabchitinstrips.Thedampingcoefficientofdrycrab
chitin(0.023)isanorderofmagnitudelowerthanthatofwetcrabchitin(O120)andtogetherwiththeincreased
strainatbreakingsuggestsaroleforwaterthatismoreactivethanmerelyfillingthegapsleftbehindonremovalof
theproteinandsaltphases.Thisisreminiscentoftheroleofwaterinthemechanicalbehaviorofwoodaswell[51].
AscanbeseenfromTable1,wetcrabchitinisaboutasstrongasbothwetprawnandbeetlechitincutinthesame
planeaswellasregeneratedprawnchitin.Thismoreorlessuniformvalueforthestrengthofwetchitinpersists
despitethegrosslydifferentarchitecturalarrangementsseenintheexamplescited.Regardingtheelasticmodulusfor
wetchitin(Tablel),theeffectsofdehydrationarevirtuallythesameandthereisacharacteristicratioofabout3:1for
theincreaseintheelasticmodulusondrying.Theloosenatureofthechitinlamellaehasalsobeenobservedin
anothercrabspecies[52].Itwasfoundthatthecrabexoskeletonisanaturalcompositeconsistingofhighly
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 StudiesOnExtractionMethodsofChitinFromCRABShellandInvestigationofItsMechanicalProperties

mineralizedchitinproteinfibersarrangedinatwistedplywoodpattern.GadgeyandBahekar[53]reportedthe
mechanicalpropertiesofvariouscrabshells.

Table1MechanicalPropertiesofchitinfromdifferentsources
Ultimate Elastic Elongation Torsional
Tensile Moddulus atbreaking Rigidity Damping
Source Reference
Strength Modulus Coefficient
(MPa) (MPa) (%) (MPa)
Crab
Wet 20 330 6.1 285 0.12 Hempburnetal.[43]
Dry 36 1095 3.4 18326 0.023 Hempburnetal.[43]
Prawn
Wet 13 475 2.8 24728 0.036 Joffeetal.[57]
Dry 21 1220 1.8 68275 0.023 Joffeetal.[57]
Beetle
Wet 26 630 2.0 HempburnandBall[49]
Dry 80 2900 0.6 HempburnandBall[49]
Regenerated
Prawn
Joffeand
Dry 47 2050 10.0
Hempburn[58]

Fig.2showstheextractedchitinfromthePhilippineblueswimmingcrabshellsFernandoetal.[44],.Itcan
beseenthatthepowderexhibitsalightredtoorangecolor.Thepolymerfilmsformedfromtheextractedchitin
isalsoshowninFig. 2.Thesefilms were subjectedtotensile loadingandcomparedtothe commercially
availableplasticfilm.

Figure2ImageoftheextractedchitinandpolymerfilmfromPhilippinblueswimmingcrab.
ItcanbeobservedfromFig.3thatbothextractedchitinbasedfilmshavehighertensilestrengthsthanthe
filmpreparedfromcommerciallyacquiredplasticfilmwithonly18.90MPa.Itcanalsobeobservedthata
longerformingtimeincreasedthetensilestrengthofthefilmto44.22MPa.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 226 editor@iaeme.com
 KishoreKumarGadgeyandDr.AmitBahekar

Figure3Ultimatetensilestrengthofextractedandcommerciallyacquiredplasticfilm[44].

Fig.4showthestressstraincurvesforchitinfilmfordifferentgaugelengths,Ofemetal.[45].Thetrend
showsthatthehigherthelengthofthetestedmaterialsthelowerthestressatfailure,thepercentagedecrease
graduallyincreasesfrom6.1at10mmgaugelengthto15.2at50mmgaugelength.Thisdecreaseisthoughtto
be due to defects, the larger the specimen size; the more probable it is to have defects. This result is in
agreementwithGriffithstheory[54],whereathinnermaterialtendstobeclosetoitstheoreticalstrength.In
otherwordsthegradualdecreaseintensilestrengthisanindicationofthepresenceofstrengthlimitingdefects,
[55]thisdefectscouldbevoids,minorcuts,nonuniformthicknessoffilmsetc.Therewasanincreaseinstrain
asthegaugelengthdecreases.Thedecreaseinstraingraduallyincreasesfrom14.5%at10mmgaugelengthtoa
maximumof21.7%at30mmandfinallydropsto10.7%at50mmgaugelength.Higherultimateelongation
valuesareassociatedwithincreasedtoughness.ltisalsoobservedthatthehigherthegaugelengththesmaller
themodulus.Thismaybeattributedtostrengthlimitingdefects.Themechanicalpropertiesobtainedhereare
comparable with various reported properties in the literature. Depending on the method of chitin film
preparation,Yusof etal.,[56]reportedYoungsmodulusbetween1.2and3.7GPawhilethetensilestrength
rangedbetween38.3and77.2MPaandthe%strainbetween4.7and21.3%.Ifuku etal., [47]however
reportedaYoungsmodulusof2.5GPaandatensilestrengthof40MPaforchitinfilm.

Figure4StressStraincurveforchitinfilmsheetatdifferentgaugelength[45].
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 227 editor@iaeme.com
 StudiesOnExtractionMethodsofChitinFromCRABShellandInvestigationofItsMechanicalProperties

4.CONCLUSION
Theimportanceofchitinandchitosanresidesintheirbiological(biodegradability,biocompatibilityandnon
toxicity)andphysicochemicalproperties(degreeofacetylationandmolecularmass).Recently,theseproperties
are widely applied in agriculture, medicine, pharmaceutics, food processing, environmental protection and
biotechnology.Theextractionofchitinbychemicalmethodusingconcentratedacidsandbasesinorderto
deproteinise and to demineralise crab shell waste at high temperature can deteriorate the physicochemical
propertiesofthisbiopolymerandconsequentlyitsbiologicalproperties,whichresultsinproductsofvarying
qualitythatareneitherhomogeneousnorreproducible.Nowadays,anewmethodbasedontheuseoflacticacid
bacteriaand/orproteolyticbacteriahasbeenusedforchitinextraction.Thismethodallowstoproduceagood
qualitychitin. Althoughthebiologicalmethodseemstobeapromisingapproachfordemineralisationand
deproteinisation, the use of this method is still limited to laboratory scale because demineralisation and
deproteinisation have not yet reached the desired yields if compared to the chemical method. The
physicochemicalconditionsthatinfluencethefermentationarethekeyfactorsofthisbioprocess.Theresultsof
thecrabs,ScyllaSerratachitinshowthatthetensilebehaviour,elasticmodulusanddeformationpropertiesof
isolatedcrabchitinarecompletelyconsistentwiththoseofotherarthropodanchitins.Thechitinextractedfrom
thePhilippineblueswimmingcrabwascharacterizedmechanically.Aftertheformationofpolymerfilmsfrom
theextractedchitin,itwasfoundthatthechitinpolymerfilmshavehighertensilestrengthupto44.22MPaas
comparedtocommerciallyavailableplasticfilmsstrength18.90MPa.Itwasalsofoundthatshorterforming
timesfavortheformationofsurfaceroughnesswhichloweredthetensilestrengthofthefilm.Themechanical
propertiesofDungenesscrabbasedchitinextractedbychemicalmethodcouldnotbeobservedconfirming
earlierreportedreports.Differentgaugelengthsgivedifferentmechanicalpropertiesthatarestressandstrainat
failureandtheYoungmodulus.Thevariationinmechanicalpropertieswasattributedtostrengthlimitingdefect
someofwhicharenonuniformthicknessoffilm,voidandminorcutonthefilm.Whilethestrainandstressat
failuredecreasesasthegaugelengthdecreasestheYoungModulusincreasesasthegaugelengthdecreases.

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