P-18　Development of environmentally friendly materials using chitin nanofiber obtained by wet pulverization

Abstract

Chitin is abundant in nature such as crab shells, etc. Chitin is therefore attracting attention as a biomass material. However, chitin’s chemical stability makes it difficult to use as raw material. Consequently, we have used chitin nanofiber obtained by wet pulverization to disperse in water. In addition, calcium carbonate was added to chitin to reduce the costs of material production. In this work, we produced the material using chitin, calcium carbonate, and water. It could be achieved without using any other organic solvents or acids/bases. The compressive strength of the material is greater than polypropylene and could be a potential alternative to petroleum plastics.