The removal efficiency of oil and grease from cafeteria wastewater by using chitosan from shrimp shell

Abstract

Chitosan, natural cationic polysaccharides is synthesized by deacetylation of chitin, one of the major structural elements of exoskeleton of crustacean shrimps. Due to its combination of many unique properties such as no toxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, chitosan has been widely used to adsorb fat and heavy metal absorbents. The present study was undertaken to demonstrate that chitosan extracted from shrimp shell wastes had ability in fat and oil adsorption. In the process, 50% chitin in shrimp shells was first obtained and converted into for 25% chitosan through demineralization, deproteination and deacetylation process. The highest adsorption performance at 72% was achieved at the chitosan sample at the condition composed of 0.6 g chitosan agitating in 400 mg/L of synthetic water comprising of fat and oil, shaking at 90 rpm/min for 10 min. and thus equilibrating for 15 min. at room temperature. Its fat and oil removal efficiency was a effectively close the with that of commercial chitosan (86% and 85% oil and grease removal efficiency). The synthetic chitosan revealed 68.42% adsorption efficiency in treating in water sample with 570 mg/L of oil and fat from the effluent in the canteen at Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon, North Campus. Therefore from overall, the chitosan prepared from shrimp shells could possibly be further developed for future application in oil and fat removal from waste water treatment system.