Chemical extraction of chitin from American lobster (Homarus americanus) shells optimized through response surface methodology

Chitin extraction from the shells of American lobsters (Homarus americanus) was optimized through the use of response surface methodology (RSM). The demineralization step was optimized to minimize the ash content of shell samples and the deproteination step was optimized to minimize the protein content of the chitin product. At a laboratory scale, one set of optimized conditions for the demineralization step was 7.35 % w/w acetic acid at a 40 mL/g of powdered lobster shell ratio for 15 min; this lowered the ash content from 39.62 % to 0.41 +/- 0.08 %. A set of optimized conditions for the deproteination step at a similar scale was 4 % w/w sodium hydroxide at a 43 mL/g demineralized shell ratio heated to 95 degrees C for 83 min. These conditions were indicated to entirely remove protein from the resultant chitin. Average yields under optimized conditions were 23.43 +/- 1.75 % for demineralization and 30.33 +/- 0.02 % for deproteination, though a demineralization reaction with larger biomass input had a higher yield at 40.31 %.