The polysaccharide chitin (CHIT), extracted mainly from exoskeletons of crustaceans, can be obtained from shrimp fishery waste. It is the source of an important biopolymer, chitosan (CHITS) that presents a wide range of applications, such as the treatment of effluents containing heavy metals and dyes, and in several bioremediation processes. In this context, this work evaluated the chitosan production from two shrimp residues, the whole cephalothorax (CPTx) and the carapace (CRP, the exoskeleton from the cephalothorax), of the commercially exploited shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri, to identify which of the two sources is more advantageous. Starting from standard masses of CPTx and CRP residues, the production of 3.12 times more CHITS from CRP, compared to CPTx, is demonstrated. The results are extremely important since both residues were submitted to the same physicochemical processes, requiring the same chemical reagents. Therefore, there is a significant reduction in the quantity of reagents when extracting CHITS from CRP, representing a great economic and environmental advantage.

多糖甲壳素（CHIT）主要从甲壳类动物的外骨骼中提取，可以从对虾渔业废物中获得。它是一种重要的生物聚合物、壳聚糖 (CHITS) 的来源，具有广泛的应用，例如处理含有重金属和染料的废水，以及多种生物修复过程。在此背景下，这项工作评估的脱乙酰壳多糖的生产从两个虾残基，整个头胸部（CPTX）和甲壳（CRP，从头胸部外骨骼），所述商业利用虾Xiphopenaeus kroyeri，以确定这两种来源中的哪一种更有利。与 CPTx 相比，从标准质量的 CPTx 和 CRP 残基开始，CRP 产生的 CHITS 是 CPTx 的 3.12 倍。结果非常重要，因为两种残留物都经过相同的物理化学过程，需要相同的化学试剂。因此，从 CRP 中提取 CHITS 时试剂数量显着减少，具有巨大的经济和环境优势。