Sustainability: Don’t waste seafood waste

Every year, some 6 million to 8 million tonnes of waste crab, shrimp and lobster shells are produced globally — about 1.5 million tonnes in southeast Asia alone1. Whereas 75% of the weight of a tuna fish can be extracted as fillets, meat accounts for only around 40% of a crab’s mass. Yet shells harbour useful chemicals —protein, calcium carbonate and chitin, a polymer similar to cellulose, but which contains nitrogen (see ‘Shell biorefinery’). The potential value of such shells for the chemical industry is being ignored. Read the rest here 21:16

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