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Physicochemical Structure Analysis of Chitin Extracted from Pupa Exuviae and Dead Imago of Wild Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens)

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Abstract

Chitin is the second most widely available natural fiber with diverse applications. Insect chitin is gaining popularity over the last decade. Black soldier fly is a widely known insect with waste management potential. In this study, chitin was isolated from Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) pupae exuvia (BSFE) and imago (BSFI). The chitin content was found to be 9% and 23% for pupae exuviae and imago respectively. Both the chitins were α-chitin. The degree of acetylation (DA) confirms that BSFE chitin has higher purity than BSFI chitin. The BSFE chitin is more amorphous than BSFI chitin. The crystallinity index (CrI) for BSFE and BSFI chitin was 25.20% and 49.4%, respectively. Both the chitins had good thermal stability with a maximum degradation (DTGMax) of BSFI and BSFE chitin at 363 °C and 371 °C, respectively. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) study showed that chitin from BSFI was mesoporous with well defined cylindrical pore channels while the chitin from BSFE was non-porous. The surface area of BSFE and BSFI chitin was 1.63 and 23.00 m2/g respectively. Both the chitin had a smooth microfibrillar structure with repeating units. Based on the physicochemical characteristics of the BSF-derived chitin it can find promising commercial applications in tissue engineering, textile industry and as an adsorbent in water and wastewater treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Department of Biotechnology (Govt. of India), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) under the grant number BIRAC/GCI/0066/02/13-RTTC and Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India under Swachhta action plan (SAP), grant number ICSR/SAP/2018/SN-1. The first author of this article wants to thank Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for providing scholarship for carrying out her doctoral research work. The authors want to thank Prof. Deepak Bornare (Head (operations), Center for Analytical Research & Studies, MIT, Aurangabad (India)) for helping with the FTIR sample analysis. The authors also want to thank Mr. Adarsh Kumar of Materials Resource Efficiency Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, India for helping with the BET isotherm studies. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewer for valuable suggestions.

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India

    Debasree Purkayastha & Sudipta Sarkar

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Purkayastha, D., Sarkar, S. Physicochemical Structure Analysis of Chitin Extracted from Pupa Exuviae and Dead Imago of Wild Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens). J Polym Environ 28, 445–457 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-019-01620-x

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