Sustainable Technologies for Chitosan and Novel functional derivatives.
This project is funded by the technology strategy board's Collaborative R&D programme under the "Sustainable Materials and Products" call. The total value of the project is £1.793M of which £800,000 was contributed by the TSB. The consortium covers a wide range and includes Glyndwr University, Bangor University, Reading University, Marks and Spencer, Findus Group, NIAB, Innovia films and M-I SWACO and a number of SME's.
Chitin is a polysacchride found in the shells of crustaea such a prawns, crabs and lobsters. Chitin is a long-chain polymer of a N-acetylglucosamine, a derivative of glucose, and is found in many places throughout the natural world.
This project aims to develop a green, scalable method to produce chitin and chitosan biopolymers sourced from marine product waste. Compared to existing material and production methods these biopolymers would have a higher molecular mass and provide stronger materials, while reducing processing and energy costs. These raw materials have been shown to have antimicrobial properties and will be used to produce novel functional materials through chemical and enzymatic modification. Such functional materials will be employed in different applications such as novel seed pelleting formulations, which will increase water retention and germination and as antimicrobial coatings for novel packaging products.
