An environmentally friendly approach for the comprehensive utilization of shrimp shell waste was reported. Instant catapult steam explosion (ICSE) was employed for shrimp shell waste pretreatment. After ICSE, lower crystallinity and greater surface areas of shrimp shells were achieved, which significantly enhanced the extraction of chitin. Compared to the traditional method, weaker organic acid (HCOOH) and much lower dosages of KOH (90% molar less) were used, and chitin with a high demineralization rate (98.2%) and deproteinization rate (97.7%) was obtained. The wastewater was neutralized by simply intermixing, and it was recycled as a potential plant fertilizer because it contained more oligopeptides, calcium, and potassium, but it was less salty and therefore non-toxic to plants. The whole process produced less solid waste and no waste water. The obtained chitin also showed a low degree of acetylation (50.5%), which demonstrates the potential for environmentally friendly preparation of chitosan in dilute alkali through ICSE.
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