Facile production of chitin from crab shells using ionic liquid and citric acid.

Facile production of chitin from crab shells was performed by direct extraction using an ionic liquid, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (AMIMBr), followed by demineralization using citric acid. First, dried crab shells were treated with AMIMBr at elevated temperatures to extract chitin. Supernatants separated by centrifugation were then subjected to a chelating treatment with an aqueous solution of citric acid to achieve demineralization. The precipitated extracts were filtered and dried. The isolated material was subjected to X-ray diffraction, IR, (1)H NMR, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis; the results indicated the structure of chitin. On the basis of the IR spectra, the degree of deacetylation in the samples obtained was calculated to be <7%. Furthermore, the protein content was <0.1% and the M(w) values were 0.7-2.2×10(5).