(198af) Investigations into the Generation of Chitin Nanofibers By Cryogenic Grinding

Chitin, second only to cellulose, is a highly abundant biopolymer found in nature, but unfortunately the majority of it is just discarded as commercial waste. A chitin fiber matrix is the primary component of the exoskeletons of most arthropods, including insects, crabs, and prawns along with some minerals and proteins. Even after the removal of the minerals and proteins, the chitin fibers are still strongly held together by hydrogen bonding. Chitin is also not soluble in most common solvents. This can make the fibrillation process of chitin quite difficult. Although chitin nanofibers are not yet commercially available, there are currently several methods to generate them mentioned in the literature including high-pressure homogenization, grinding with specially designed grinding stones, and electrospinning. New methods and further advancements to the existing methods of chitin fibrillation are still needed. Preliminary investigations into the generation of chitin nanofibers by cryogenic grinding have only shown limited success. In this study, commercially purchased chitin was ground using a cryogenic grinder and additional modifications were made to the process to further improve fibrillation. Characterization of thermal and morphological properties of cryo-ground chitin as well as its synergistic incorporation into biodegradable polymers are explored and discussed in this work.