Optimisation of conditions for deacetylation of chitin-containing raw materials

The paper describes the differences between chitosan and chitin, and reviews works by foreign scientists on obtaining chitosan from various raw materials. Methods of modifying chitosan and obtaining combined sorbents have been analysed. It has been studied whether chitosan is applicable in the technology of wines and alcoholic beverages as a sorbent. The purpose of the study was determining the optimal conditions of the deacetylation stage to obtain chitosan with the best sorption properties from Aspergillus niger biomass. A three-factor experiment has been carried out. It involved obtaining 27 samples of chitosan using sequential four-step acid-base hydrolysis under various conditions of the deacetylation stage. The deacetylation process was optimised under alkaline conditions depending on the alkali concentration, processing temperature, and exposure. For each of the samples obtained, the adsorption activity, specific surface area, and distribution coefficient in the sorbent–sorbate system have been determined. The degrees of deacetylation of all chitosan samples have been determined by potentiometric titration. The study has resulted in determining the optimal conditions for the deacetylation stage: processing temperature 110–130°C, sodium hydroxide concentration 27–36 g/dm3, exposure 45 to 65 minutes. The sample deacetylated at the temperature 120 °C, alkali concentration 30 g/dm3, and exposure 45 minutes has shown the best adsorption activity values: the adsorption activity for methyl orange 347.96 mg/g, the specific surface area of the sorbent samples 0.52·105 m2/g, the distribution coefficient in the sorbent–sorbate system 3.29·10-3 ml/g. This sample had the highest degree of deacetylation, 43.6%. The sample has been analysed using IR spectroscopy, and its main characteristic frequencies have been studied. It has been concluded that the sample obtained was equivalent to the reference chitosan