Effect of Alkali Concentration Towards the Degree of Deacetylation Via Ultrasonification in the Production of Chitosan from Shrimp Shells

In this study, the influence of alkaline concentration in the deacetylation process was investigated. The experimental conditions varied from range of various concentrations from 20 wt % to 60 wt % of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) mixed with chitin and heated using ultrasonic bath at a temperature of 70 °C for 60 minutes. FTTR spectroscopy test was carried out to show the presents of chitosan and to calculate the degree of deacetylation (DD). It was found that the highest DD achieved was 79.04%. The impact of DD is on the performance of chitosan in coagulation and flocculation of edible oil wastewater through turbidity and oil and grease test. Ultrasound technique was applied in the deacetylation process. Ultrasound irradiation increases chemical reaction and improve the deacetylation process. The improvement is based on the quality of the chitosan produced on its ability in treating waste water. Chitosan produced at an optimum concentration of 40 wt % NaOH, performed exceptionally well in treating edible oil wastewater where it shows 63.2% removal of oil and grease. However, turbidity results did not show significant result on effect of NaOH concentration