Chitosan II – Sustainable production of chitin and chitosan

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Project duration: 1 August 2019 to 31 January 2023

The aim is to optimise the production of chitin and chitosan by optimising the process using sustainable fermentation conditions. Until now, chitosan has been produced from crustaceans; in our process, this animal resource is replaced by specifically produced biomass. Conventional extraction of chitosan from crustaceans requires strong bases and acids, which, in addition to inhomogeneous products, generates considerable amounts of environmentally harmful waste. In this project, a product of high purity is to be generated through gentle and enzymatic extraction.

The long-term goal is to produce chitosan on a commercial scale without ecological conflicts. This should produce a cheaper and more attractive product of higher purity, as well as defined derivatives, and thus promote the wider use of natural chitosan. A core task of the project is to analyse the activities of the manufactured products and to evaluate their biocidal or growth-inhibiting effects. In addition, the range of applications of the newly produced chitosans is to be extended to bio-based plastics technology and biocontrol as a substitute for pesticides.

Benefits at a glance:

Controllable and controllable process through bioprocess technology
Organisms with a very short generation time
Improved chitosan purity
Sustainability compared to crab farming (no monocultures or aquacultures)
No ethical conflicts compared to animal farming etc.
Improved process flow with less space required and higher energy efficiency
Allergenic contamination can be avoided (important for the textile industry and products for medical use)
Local and season-independent production
Possibility of linking to various applications on site, e.g. textile chemical or pharmaceutical consumers
Enzymes can be recovered and reused (enzyme recycling)