Industrial Shrimp Shell Waste Valorisation Through Chitosan-Based Bioplastic Film Development
Keywords:
Bioplastic, Chitosan, Shrimp Shell Waste, Sustainable Packaging, Waste ValorisationAbstract
The rapid growth of the shrimp aquaculture industry has led to the generation of substantial quantities of shrimp shell waste, much of which is disposed of through environmentally unsustainable practices despite its high content of valuable biopolymers such as chitin and chitosan. Although previous studies have demonstrated the potential of shrimp-shell-derived chitosan for bioplastic production, most have relied on laboratory-scale materials obtained from non-traceable sources, thereby limiting their practical relevance to industrial waste valorisation. To address this gap, the present study utilised shrimp shell waste sourced directly from a traceable commercial shrimp farm to establish a traceable link between industrial aquaculture waste and the development of sustainable materials. In this study, chitosan was extracted from shrimp shell waste through sequential demineralisation, deproteinisation, and alkaline treatment before being processed into bioplastic films using the solution-casting technique. Three formulations containing 0%, 2%, and 4% (w/v) chitosan were prepared and evaluated in terms of moisture content, tensile strength, elongation at break, and Young’s modulus. The extracted chitosan produced homogeneous film-forming solutions and yielded transparent, flexible, and visually uniform films with smooth surface morphology. Mechanical characterisation revealed tensile strength values ranging from 1.11 ± 0.03 to 2.42 ± 0.08 MPa, elongation at break from 31.1 ± 1.5% to 104.3 ± 3.2%, Young’s modulus from 1.83 ± 0.2 to 35.8 ± 1.2 MPa, and moisture content between 16.02 ± 1.46% and 25.15 ± 24.76%. Notably, the 2% chitosan formulation exhibited the highest tensile strength, whereas the 4% formulation demonstrated the greatest flexibility. These highlight the characteristic trade-off between stiffness and extensibility commonly observed in biodegradable polymer systems. Overall, the findings demonstrate the feasibility of converting industrial shrimp shell waste into functional bioplastic films and provide practical evidence of a waste-to-material pathway that supports circular economy initiatives within the aquaculture sector. Although further optimisation is required to enhance mechanical performance, the study highlights the potential of industrial shrimp shell waste as a renewable resource for the development of sustainable biodegradable packaging materials.
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