What are the uses of chitin chemical?
Chitin is a white, horny substance found in the outer skeleton of insects, crabs, and lobsters and in the internal structures of other invertebrates. It is a polysaccharide consisting of units of the amino sugar glucosamine. As a by-product of crustacean processing, chitin is used as a flocculating agent for waste water, a wound-healing agent, a thickener and stabilizer for foods and pharmaceuticals, an ion-exchange resin, a membrane for chromatography and electrodialysis, a binder for dyes, fabrics, and adhesives, and a sizing and strengthening agent for paper. Sources: http://www.britannica.
Chitin´s future opportunies The innovative future EVVEN C.A. forecasts for socially responsible investment opportunities in its development project is to make best use out of all by products the shrimp is offering. In this page EVVEN offers an extract of its Business plan. Please see Executive Summary EVVEN C.A. is currently in contact with several scientific groups that have the capability to convert shrimp shell output into profitable Chitin/Chitosan. The World Market for Chitin and Chitosan products in 1999 was estimated by several sources to be 17,085 metric tons at an average value of $15,000 per metric ton or $255 million. Glucosamine, another product derived from Chitin, is sold in the health food market as a dietary supplement for the treatment of arthritic pain, has an estimated world market of $392 million. Chitin is the second most abundant polymer occurring in nature. Chitosan – a derivative of chitin – is obtained by a chemical deacetylation of crustacean chitin. Chitin/Ch
Chitin is used in industries as a water purification and as an additive to thicken and stabilize foods and pharmaceuticals. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
