EVALUACION ECONOMICA DE LA OBTENCION DE QUITOSANO A PARTIR DE DESECHOS DE LANGOSTINO

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El trabajo realizado ha permitido evidenciar la viabilidad económica de la producción de este biopolímero con fines comerciales o de investigación, demostrando que este proceso representa una alternativa tecnológica para el tratamiento de los desechos de crustáceos, eliminando la contaminación ambiental generada por la disposición de estos y obteniendo un producto con un alto valor agregado. Sin embargo, se da cuenta de la falta de mercado en el país para la venta de este producto, por lo que no se recomienda invertir en este momento. Estudiar la posibilidad de un mercado externo podría ser una alternativa a este proyecto.

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ABSTRACT

The shrimp processing plant Camanchaca S.A, located in Tomé, VIII Region has a low performance rate of just 10%, which means that a great amount of the crustacean becomes waste. This situation creates a financial loss for the company, as well as an environmental problem, having to carry their debris to dumping sites. Waste exploitation presents an opportunity for industrial development and, at the same time, a smart solution to the environmental problem they create.

Crustacean waste contains extremely valuable components, such as proteins, lipids, pigments and chitin. Chitin is a cellulose-like biopolymer, which is widely distributed in nature, especially in marine invertebrates. Chitosan, its deacetylated form, has a great value in view of its applications. The use of these two functional polymers, especially chitosan, has a wide range of applications in diverse scientific fields, including applications in biomedical, chemical and food industries.

This project presents the results obtained when we characterized Chitosan, a synthesized polymer obtained from the extracted chitin from shrimp waste. Chitosan was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, Fourier transform (FTIR), which identified the characteristic bands of this compound, confirming that the product obtained was chitosan. Also, it was determined the degree of deacetylation, molecular mass, nitrogen percentage, ashes and moisture. These properties may change due to several variables during processing, affecting the features of the final product.

This research has made evident the economic feasibility of producing this biopolymer for commercial purpose or research, demonstrating that this process represents a

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technological alternative for crustacean waste treatment, by eliminating environmental pollution caused by debris disposal and by obtaining a product with a high value added. However, it also shows there is a lack of market in the country to sell this product; this is why it is not recommended to invest at this time. Consider an external market could be an alternative to this project.

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INDICE GENERAL

AGRADECIMIENTOS iii

RESUMEN iv

ABSTRACT vi

CAPITULO 1 1

INTRODUCCION 1

1.1 OBJETIVO GENERAL 4

1.2 OBJETIVOS ESPECIFICOS 4

CAPITULO 2 5

REVISION BIBLIOGRAFICA 5

2.1 QUITINA Y QUITOSANO 5

2.2 ESTRUCTURA QUIMICA Y PROPIEDADES 6

2.3 USOS Y APLICACIONES DEL QUITOSANO 8

2.4 PROCESOS DE OBTENCION 10

2.4.1 Materia prima. 10

2.4.2 Pretratamiento materia prima. 11

2.4.3 Extracción de quitina. 12

2.4.4 Obtención quitosano 18

2.4.5 Identificación de la quitina y del quitosano. 22

2.5 CARACTERIZACION FISICO-QUIMICA DEL QUITOSANO 25

2.5.1 Grado de N-acetilación. 25

2.5.2 Peso molecular. 31

2.5.3 Termogravimetría. 37

2.5.4 Porcentaje de humedad. 40

2.5.5 Porcentaje de cenizas. 40

2.5.6 Porcentaje de nitrógeno. 41

CAPITULO 3 42

MATERIALES Y METODOS 42

3.1 MATERIALES Y EQUIPOS 42

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3.1.1 Materia Prima. 42

3.1.2 Equipos. 42

3.2 OBTENCIÓN DE LOS BIOPOLIMEROS 43

3.2.1 Pretratamiento de la materia prima. 43

3.2.2 Extracción quitina y obtención de quitosano. 44

3.3 IDENTIFICACION QUITOSANO 46

3.4 CARACTERIZACION QUITOSANO 47

3.4.1 Determinación del grado de desacetilación. 47

3.4.2 Determinación del peso molecular. 48

3.4.3 Análisis termogravimétrico. 48

3.4.4 Determinación del porcentaje de nitrógeno. 49

3.4.5 Determinación del porcentaje de humedad. 49

3.4.6 Determinación del porcentaje de cenizas. 50

3.5 ANALISIS ECONOMICO 51

3.5.1 Parámetros de evaluación.