Production and Characterization of Chitosan from Shrimp Waste Article Critique

The word plastic has been mainly associated to negative things concerning our
environment. Even though people around the world constantly use it and need it, it does not
cancel the fact that it is bad for our environment. What then can be used as a solution to this
dilemma? The answer: Bioplastic. Over the years, researchers have experimented on what
can be the most efficient material to use in making bioplastic. Researchers have been
developing Shrilk, a new bioplastic that uses shrimp shells as its main constituent. It is made
from the chitosan, a protein known for its strong mechanical properties, extracted from shrimp
shells and a fibroin protein from silk. Chitosan has been very beneficial to several industries like
pharmaceuticals, biochemistry, and biotechnology. Its effective extraction, however, needs
more research, according to the article.

The article thoroughly discusses the process on how to effectively extract chitosan from
shrimp shells. The shrimp shells were washed with tap water then crushed with mortar and
pestle. Chitosan is then isolated through a three-staged process: Demineralization,
deproteinization, and deacetylation. This process used chemicals to effectively extract
chitosan from the shrimp waste. Throughout this process, the physiochemical and functional
properties - moisture and ash content, water binding capacity, fat binding capacity, etc - of
chitosan is measured and analysed.

In conclusion, among the treatments used in the study 3% HCI and 4% NaOH found to
be used successfully to extract chitin. Although 60% NaOH treatment yields highest
deacetylated chitosan with maximum solubility, 50% NaOH treatment could be used to get
high quality chitosan of 79.57% degree of deacetylation and 97.02% solubility with minimum
chemical utilization. (Hossain & Iqbal, 2014)

The article is very direct and has all the necessary details. From its title, the reader can
easily identify what the researchers are trying to do and what the article is composed of. It
also contains an abstract where the authors provided an overview of the whole article. It
contains the methods used, the variables and the necessary findings. It is a concise yet full of
substance that will make the reader interested in reading the article. In short, it mentioned all
the major points of the article.

The article started with an introduction which the readers may find extremely useful,
especially if they do not have much background knowledge on the topic. It thoroughly
explained how the research/experiment came to be, the researchers’ reason on researching
this particular topic, their goal, and its benefits to the community. It also provided explanations
and definitions on certain terms that people are not familiar with. These things will enable the
reader to better understand the next parts of the article. The objectives and the problem are
also mentioned.
The method is perhaps the most detailed part of the article. It presented the materials,
procedures, as well as the characteristics of the variables in the study. The procedure was
presented in chronological order which makes the data easier to understand and makes the
procedure easier to follow. A labelled table was even included for the reader to better see
the structure of the experiment; included in this table are the necessary chemicals that are
needed to be used, the approximated time to complete each process, as well as the
temperature the variable needed. This makes it easy to follow and replicate the procedures
and methods of the experiment. The method part also included the characteristics of the
chitosan that the researchers measured and its significance to their goal. It also provided the
formulas and computations which will make it easier for someone to replicate the procedure
in a different ration and proportions.

The results of the experiment were extremely detailed and organized; a labelled table
was provided for the reader to better see the results without diving into mountains of text. After
reporting the results of the experiment, the researchers then discussed its meanings and
implications on their study which leads us to the conclusion. The authors properly and directly
stated their conclusion on the study. They found an effective way to extract chitosan from
shrimp shells. The conclusion contained a detailed answer on what that ‘effective way’ is and
the necessary materials to be used for it to be replicated on the future researcher/s’ or
experimenter/s’ desired outcome.

The references of the article is properly cited and organized in alphabetical order. It also
used fairly recent studies however, most of the references came from the 90s and the 80s. I
think that this is because, as previously stated, there are not much research conducted on this
topic so I think that the reference dates are quite understandable.

All in all, the article has left a very good impression on me for its direct and detailed way
of presenting the study. It was well-written, organized, and most importantly, the topic can be
useful in recycling shrimp waste products. This study proved that you can, indeed, turn trash
into treasure. Those things are, perhaps, the best features and strengths of this article. I also
learned quite a lot of new terms that can be useful in future researches and endeavours. The
only thing I would probably change are the references. By providing more recent references,
the study will increase its validity and will be more well-founded.

Bibliography
Hossain, M., & Iqbal, A. (2014). Production and characterization of chitosan from shrimp
waste. J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 12(1), 153–160.