SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CHITOSAN FROM WASTE SHELLS OF Tagelus Plebeiu OBTAINED FROM OYOROKOTOR, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

The investigation was carried out to synthesize chitosan using waste shell of Tagelus plebeiu collected from Oyorokotor as an alternative to other kinds of shells. Standard procedures such as demineralization, deproteinization and deacetylation were used. Methods such as fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for characterization to obtain results. Results reveals FTIR spectra bands at 3637.9 cm-1 for hydroxyl and 3384.4 cm-1 for amino functional group as well as 18.20 at 2 titha from XRD pattern. The degree of deacetylation was recorded as 80.48 %, moisture content as 0.101 %, yield was 53.24 % and ash content was recorded as 25 %. It is therefore concluded that the waste shell of Tagelus plebeiu can be used in producing quality chitosan as an alternative to other kinds of shells.