Speaker
Description
Industrially, the amount of chitinous waste based on cuttlebone discarded annually in some coastal areas of Morocco is considerable and harmful, is about 1,732, 034 tons. This biological waste constitutes a potential source of active biomolecules such as chitin, chitosan and aragonite. Interest in these natural resources is limited to fishing, and waste is dumped on the coast. In the present work, we propose an advanced valorization to obtain first chitin and chitosan with controlled physicochemical characteristics, and then the biomineral aragonite (CaCO3) by exploitation of the of cuttlefish bones marine waste. The composition of the ventral and dorsal face of the bone is well studied by ICP-OES. A chemical extraction process was applied on the dorsal side to extract chitin and chitosan, and aragonite on the ventral side was performed. Then, physicochemical characterizations by FT-IR, SEM, XRD, 1H-NMR, TGA/DSC, Potentiometry, and Viscosimetry were performed. In addition, DPPH and FRAP tests are performed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of chitosan.
Key words: Biological waste, Cuttlefish bone, Aragonite, Chitin, Chitosan, Physicochemical properties, Antioxydant activity