The Efficiency of Chitosan Prepared from Shrimp Shell Waste and Commercial Chitosan for Oil and Grease Removal

Abstract

This research was aimed to study the efficiency of chitosan prepared from shrimp shell waste and commercial chitosan for the removal of oil and grease from wastewater. The optimum dose and efficiency of oil and grease removal were determined by incubating chitosan with synthetic wastewater containing an initial oil concentration of 150 mg/l. The results showed that under the shaking condition at 90 rpm/min for 10 min at room temperature, the optimum dose of prepared chitosan was 1.5 g, and the highest efficiency of oil and grease removal was 75.76 %. As compared with purchased chitosan, the optimum dose was only 0.5 g. The highest removal efficiency was observed at 77.55 %. This result indicated that chitosan prepared from shrimp shell waste could be applied for oil and grease removal as well as using commercial chitosan. However, a higher amount of prepared chitosan was required. Chitosan, produced from shrimp shell waste, was an alternative way to remove oil and grease from wastewater, additionally reducing organic food waste.