Kinetics of demineralization of shrimp exoskeleton in chitin and chitosan synthesis

Kinetic data obtained from acid demineralization (using 1.25 N hydrochloric acid solution) of deproteinized exoskeleton of shrimp was fitted to the shrinking core models for heterogeneous reactions. The element of interest was calcium which was the most abundant element in the deproteinized shrimp (66.27%) and the mostly affected by the demineralization. Experimental kinetic data was fitted to the shrinking core model for fluid-particle reactions. Chemical reaction controlled mechanism gave the best predictive model, as depicted by the fit (R2 = 0.92), with a time of complete reaction of 3 h.   Key words: Calcium, chitin, hydrochloric acid, shrinking core model.