Physicochemical and Colligative Investigation of α (Shrimp Shell)- and β (Squid Pen)-Chitosan Membranes: Concentration-Gradient-Driven Water Flux and Ion Transport for Salinity Gradient Power and Separation Process Operations

Abstract

Chitin, and its derivative chitosan, is a naturally occurring biopolymer and an abundant polysaccharide containing acetylated units of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine. Chitosan membranes produced from shrimp shell (α) and squid pen (β) biowaste were prepared by solvent-casting, after which water flux and ionic transport diffusion experiments were conducted using a side-by-side concentration test cell under differing salinity concentration gradients. Physicochemical and experimental investigations were conducted, which confirmed that β-chitin possesses differing and enhanced performance characteristics than α-chitin with respect to diffusive water flux and ionic transport capabilities. In addition, novel colligative investigations through osmotic equilibrium were conducted to determine electrochemical characteristics for the evaluation of salinity gradient power generation suitability. Electrochemical test results under a salinity gradient revealed extremely low energy density values, thereby limiting consideration for commercial utility-scale salinity gradient power renewable energy operations. However, the tested membranes possessed high water and ion flux permeability characteristics that could find use in industrial separation process operations such as those used in the extraction of economically valuable materials from seawater or highly saline industrial fluids, or reduction in the saline content of mining fluids during dewatering and hazardous waste treatment and disposal operations, thereby potentially fostering new market developments, which will drive continued improvements in the responsible biowaste management of this valuable marine bioresource.

Microalgal cultivation characteristics using commercially available air-cushion packaging material as a photobioreactor

“…In addition, since diatoms are characterized by an almost pure, amorphous hydrated silica shell (frustule), they can also serve as a potential source of biogenic silica for high quality applications 39,40 . Finally, C. cryptica is also known to produce β-chitin nanofibrils (fibers) 3,41 , which may have use in the manufacture of biomembranes and bioplastics that have better biodegradability than plastics [42][43][44] . The production of biobased plastics from natural resources with high levels of protein and carbohydrate-based polymers present a biodegradable alternative for replacing or complementing traditional petroleum-based plastics 45,46 .…”

Biopolymer-Based Electrolytes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A Critical Review

“…Among them, alginate and carrageenan can be extracted in large scale from brown − and red − seaweeds, respectively. On the contrary, chitosan is extracted from the waste shells of sea creatures like crabs, − shrimps, − and lobsters. , This easy, cheap, and huge abundance of base host material for electrolyte preparations opens the possibilities for producing large scale economical solar energy utilization cells. Besides, energy utilization by extracting these polymers from wastages can also reduce the environmental problems like overabundance of seaweeds in the oceans.…”

Reliable and Novel Approach Based on Thermodynamic Property Estimation of Low to High Salinity Aqueous Sodium Chloride Solutions for Water-Energy Nexus Applications

“…These approaches utilize either vapor pressure or hydraulic pressure as the driving forces for water production in view of the WEN approach. Also, there are reports on salinity gradient power generation − as well in recent literature. These emphasize that the two research areas are gaining widespread popularity and that there is a need to bridge the understanding between the two approaches as well, that is, “water from power” and “power from water”.…”