Chitin-based materials are one of the most promising abundant polysaccharide biopolymers for developing constructs with advanced functions due to their unique properties; especially in biomedical science and technology. They have versatile applications in pharmaceuticals and biomedicine. Seafood industries produce a large volume of crustacean shells that contains chitin up to about 30% of its volume; a huge waste source with high costs of pollution. These worthy wastes can be converted into additional high grade, low-volume by-products. On commercial scale, chitin/chitosan is mostly extracted chemically from shrimp shells. The present review summarizes the current chemical methods for chitin recovery and production of its most common derivative, the deacetylated form named chitosan, from shrimp shell wastes. The main extraction steps are discussed individually and “should or must to do points” are highlighted. A brief perspective for future researches in this topic are presented at the end.

甲壳素基材料由于其独特的性质，是最有前途的丰富多糖生物聚合物之一，可用于开发具有先进功能的结构；尤其是在生物医学科学和技术方面。它们在制药和生物医学领域有着广泛的应用。海鲜工业生产大量甲壳类贝壳，其中甲壳素含量高达其体积的 30%；一个巨大的废物来源，污染成本高。这些有价值的废物可以转化为额外的高品位、低容量副产品。在商业规模上，几丁质/壳聚糖主要是从虾壳中化学提取的。本综述总结了目前从虾壳废物中回收和生产其最常见衍生物脱乙酰形式壳聚糖的化学方法。主要提取步骤单独讨论，并突出显示“应该或必须做的点”。最后提出了对该主题未来研究的简要展望。