OUR TECHNOLOGY

Technology fundament

The current production process of Chitosan from shrimp shell takes place through three main steps: demineralization (removal of calcium carbonate), deproteinization (removal of proteins) and deacetylation (removal of N-acetyl group), using strong acids and alkalis at high temperatures for several hours as shown in the figure below (Raafat & Sahl, 2009) (Bristow, 2012) (Ortiz Rodríguez, 2013).

This means that large quantities of toxic chemicals (such as hydrochloric acid, acetic acid and sodium hydroxide) are released to the environment, damaging the aquatic flora and fauna; furthermore, this process has the inconveniences that cannot guarantee a standard quality of the product, it is expensive (since it requires chemical reagents in each Chitosan production cycle) and the access to it is restricted by the production seasonality of current producers.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems, Biophrame Technologies has proposed a novel method using the same three steps described previously to produce Chitosan from shrimp shell, but instead of using chemical substances, use two bacteria fermentations with two microorganisms: B. subtilis and a modified E. coli (see figure below)


Biophrame Technologies is a biotech company and manufacturer specialized in the production of Chitosan.

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