Andoko Andoko, Riduwan Prasetya, Bagas Dwi Cakra, Muhammad Zacky Syah, Aman Santoso
Chitosan is a versatile biopolymer with growing demand in biomedicine, food packaging, and environmental applications due to its biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties. However, producing high-quality chitosan with both a high degree of deacetylation (DD) and high yield efficiently remains challenging. This study introduces an autoclave-assisted deacetylation approach integrated with multi-objective optimization to shorten the chitosan production process from shrimp shell waste. Using response surface methodology (RSM), we optimized four key deacetylation parameters – NaOH concentration, temperature, reaction time, and solid-to-NaOH ratio – to maximize both DD and product yield. Optimized conditions (80% NaOH, 91.2 °C, 45 min autoclave time at 15 psi, 1:20 w/v ratio) produced chitosan with DD of 83.3% and yield of 85.0%, achieving a favorable balance superior to most literature reports. Notably, the autoclave-assisted process drastically reduced reaction time (to ∼2 hours) compared to conventional methods, without sacrificing deacetylation efficiency. Comprehensive characterization of the optimized chitosan showed enhanced material properties: higher crystallinity (79.9% crystallinity index) than a commercial sample (75.9%), greater thermal stability, improved mechanical strength (tensile strength 48.7 MPa vs 44.4 MPa for commercial), and stronger antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These improvements are attributed to the optimized deacetylation, which yields a more orderly and hydrogen-bonded polymer structure. This work offers a sustainable, time-efficient route for chitosan production from waste biomass, contributing a scalable method that meets industrial needs for high-performance chitosan while minimizing processing severity. The findings support broader adoption of autoclave-assisted chitosan synthesis for advanced applications in biomedicine, food packaging, and environmental management. © 2025 The Author(s)
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, State University of Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang City, Indonesia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Brawijaya University, Jl. MT Haryono 167, Malang City, Indonesia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, State University of Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang City, Indonesia
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