Technoeconomic Assessment of Biopolymer Production from Crustacean Waste with the UK as a Case Study

Oseweuba Valentine Okoro (), Lei Nie, Oguzhan Gunduz, Songul Ulag, Masoud Hamidi and Amin Shavandi ()
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Oseweuba Valentine Okoro: BioMatter Unit—École Polytechnique de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50-CP 165/61, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Lei Nie: College of Life Sciences, Xinyang Normal University (XYNU), Xinyang 464000, China
Oguzhan Gunduz: Center for Nanotechnology and Biomaterials Application & Research (NBUAM), Marmara University, Kadıköy, Istanbul 34722, Turkey
Songul Ulag: Center for Nanotechnology and Biomaterials Application & Research (NBUAM), Marmara University, Kadıköy, Istanbul 34722, Turkey
Masoud Hamidi: BioMatter Unit—École Polytechnique de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50-CP 165/61, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Amin Shavandi: BioMatter Unit—École Polytechnique de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50-CP 165/61, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: Marine pollution has increased in recent decades, largely due to the proliferation of seafood processing plants and the improper disposal of their associated waste streams. The waste streams consist mainly of shells that are composed of chitin, which is the most abundant aminopolysaccharide biopolymer in nature. Recognizing the value of chitin, the potential for the valorization of crustacean waste for chitin production was explored. In this regard, biogenic crab waste was subjected to chemical-only, enzymatic–chemical, and microbial treatments for chitin production. The results were employed as inputs for process simulation as a precursor to undertaking performance assessments. This study subsequently showed that the net present values (NPVs) of the chemical-only, enzyme–chemical, and microbial chitin production pathways were GBP 118.63 million, GBP 115.67 million, and GBP 132.34 million, respectively, indicating that the microbial chitin production pathway constituted the most appropriate technology for future investment. Employing a cost–benefit (CB) analysis, the CB ratios for the chemical-only, enzymatic–chemical, and microbial approaches were determined to be 7.31, 0.45, and 0.23, respectively. These results reinforced the dominant status of the microbial approach for chitin production from crab waste as the preferred valorization strategy. This study was able to provide information regarding the implications of executing alternative scenarios for crustacean waste.

Keywords: chitin; technoeconomic assessment; United Kingdom seafood industry; circular economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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