LISBON – Researchers at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) have devised a way to use residues from shrimp shells to replace oil in the production of pharmaceuticals, plastics and detergents, they said in a statement yesterday.
Scientists at the Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE) said that shrimp shells offer an “excellent opportunity to obtain various types of amines in a sustainable way.”
The researcher responsible for the project, Andreia Peixoto, noted that amines are chemical compounds derived from ammonia, which are currently produced in the industry “from petroleum.”
To obtain amines, the researchers use “only sustainable methods” to extract and convert one of the shells’ components, chitin.
In this process, the peels are placed in pressurized water at a temperature of about 250 degrees Celsius, resulting in an extract and a solid residue that, after thermal treatments, can be used as a catalyst, “which will accelerate chemical reactions for the sustainable transformation of chitin and derivatives into amines.”
“The intention is to create the necessary conditions to develop a refinery that uses shrimp shells instead of oil,” said the researcher.
The scientists at LAQV-REQUIMTE collaborate with experts from the Superior Institute of Engineering of Porto and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon. – Xinhua
