In Brazil, chitosan is a bioadhesive, biodegradable and potentially antimicrobial polymer with multiple applications: in agriculture, for pest control and preservation of agricultural products; in industry, for the manufacture of biodegradable coatings and packaging; in the pharmaceutical sector, for the manufacture of dressings and encapsulation of drugs.
Research carried out at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), at its campus in Araras (state of São Paulo, Brazil), has shown that chitosan can also be used as a natural antimicrobial agent in the production of bioethanol, replacing sulfuric acid, which is currently used to control bacterial contamination in the industrial process. Most interestingly, the developed process uses sugarcane molasses as the raw material for the bioextraction of chitin, the precursor of chitosan, from shrimp waste. This offers the possibility of producing chitosan in the plant itself, according to the concept of circular economy.
Tags: Brazil, chitosan, ethanol
Category: Research
