Utilization of Snail shell waste into high economic value products

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(Edited)
In Aceh the potential for snails has increased by an average of 7.4% per year. Besides being used as animal feed, the shell can be used as decoration like a key chain.

But it is not uncommon for snail shells to be thrown away and left to rot which will eventually cause negative impacts on the environment.

Snails (Achatina fullica) are pests for rice fields that are often used by the community as animal feed, such as ducks.

Snails by type can be divided into four namely; Achatina variegata, Achatina fullica Helix pomatia and Helix aspersa while the last two types are not found in Aceh.

"Escargot" most commonly refers to either Cornu aspersum or to Helix pomatia, although other varieties of snails are eaten. Achatina fulica, a giant African snail, is sliced and canned and passed off on some consumers as escargot. Heliciculture- wikipedia- source

One alternative effort to utilize snail shell waste in order to have value and use efficiency of snail shell waste into products of high economic value is processing into chitosan.

Snail shells (Achatina fullica) contain about 70% -80% chitin, in shrimp there are as much as 15% -20% chitin, and 20% -30% small crab. Comparison of different chitin extraction processes from shrimp and crab shells - source

Chitin is a carbohydrate compound included in the polysaccharide composed of interlocking acetyl glucosamine monomers.

Chitin is the main organic material found in groups of animals such as crustaceae, insects, fungi, molluscs and arthropods.

Chitin (C8H13O5N)n (/ˈkaɪtɪn/ KY-tin), a long-chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, is a derivative of glucose. It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae of molluscs, cephalopod beaks, and the scales of fish and lissamphibians.Chitin- Wikipedia - source

One of the six monosaccharides that make up the chitin chain is glucosamine. Chitin is obtained by carrying out two main stages, namely deproteination and demineralization. One of the chitin derivatives is chitosan which is made by de-methylating the chitin compound.

Chitosan is a polymer that has a high molecular weight ranging from 50 kDa - 2000 kDa which is widely used in various chemical industries, among others; as a coagulant in waste water treatment, moisturizing agents, seed coatings to be planted, metal ion adsorbents, pharmaceuticals, fat solvents, and food preservatives. Online - Book - source and Online - Book - Industrial Applications of Marine Biopolymers - source

Chitosan was discovered by C. Roughet in 1859 by cooking chitin with a high concentration of alkaline / alkaline solution. Other facts about Chitosan. Chitin, Chitosan, and Co-Products: Chemistry, Production, Applications, and Health Effects - source

Chitosan is a natural polymer that is biodegradable and non-toxic.

Has the chemical name of poli- (2-deoxy-2-acetylamin-2-glucose) or poli- (2-deoxyaminoglucose) which binds to β (1,4) glycosidic or also called poli- (1.4-2amino-2-deoxy-β -D-glucosamine).
Online Journal - source

Widely applied in various industries such as agriculture (Super-ChitoFarm products), food (Super-ChitoFood products), pharmaceuticals, waste processing, etc. Chitosan is a derivative of chitin with a molecular weight of 100 - 1000 kDa, is water insoluble, but dissolves in weak organic acids such as acetic acid (dilute vinegar), citric acid, formic acid, and others.

Chitosan is a derivative of chitin with the formula N-acetyl-D-Glucosamine, is a cationic polymer that has a number of monomers around 20003000 monomers, is not toxic or toxic with LD50 (Lethal Dhose 50%, ie the dose threshold in 50% sample) = 16 gr / kg body weight. NTP Technical Report on the Toxicity Study of Chitosan - source

Chitosan also has good physical, biological, and chemical characteristics including biodegradable (biodegradable microorganisms), biocompatible, and non-toxic (non-toxic), because of these natural properties, chitosan is a mainstay of multipurpose compounds that are environmentally friendly.

Chitosan is produced chemically in the process of deacetylation or removal of the acetyl chitin group using a hot alkaline / alkaline solution. Chitosan can also be produced enzymatically using the enzyme chitin deacetylation.

Chitosan is a multipurpose natural chemical in the form of thin sheets, odorless, tasteless, white to slightly yellow. Chitosan is used more than chitin because its solubility is higher than chitin.

On the other hand, snail farmers do not like snails. According to them this is more or less detrimental to farmers in farming to get high-quality and high-quantity production.

Therefore, making chitosan from snail shells will obviously increase the economic value of these snail pests and also reduce agricultural pests.

Reference:

Heliciculture- wikipedia- source
Comparison of different chitin extraction processes from shrimp and crab shells - source
Chitin- Wikipedia - source
Online - Book - source
Online - Book - Industrial Applications of Marine Biopolymers - source
Chitin, Chitosan, and Co-Products: Chemistry, Production, Applications, and Health Effects - source
Online Journal - source
NTP Technical Report on the Toxicity Study of Chitosan - source

All photos above were taken

by @sward



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12 comments
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Nice post, but ... are you sure to post about snails in an insect (and other arthropod) community? :)

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Yeah, I was gonna give it a STEM upvote until I saw that and raised an eyebrow.

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Sorry ... not for next time. Thank you for attention

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Ahahah I didn't notice this as only STEM tags are shown on the STEMsocial app (that I use to browse STEM content). Indeed....

@sward: too bad you can't change the community tag :D

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Thank you for your explanation, good luck always

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Hey,

interesting post!

Is the color shown in the images the real color of the snails or is this special effect?

Regards

Chapper

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(Edited)

That's the original colour, thank you for taking the time to read my post

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mantap abu, get that gròn foto, nyan suah neu pernõ lón

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