Isolation and characterization of chitosan from black soldier fly exuviae

Abstract

Black Soldier Fly (BSF) cultivation leaves waste in the form of exuviae which is a new source of chitin and chitosan biopolymers, which can be used for various applications. This study aims to isolate and characterize chitosan from BSF exuviae. Chitosan isolation includes demineralization, deproteination, depigmentation, and deacetylation stages. The results showed that the chitosan in this study was in powder form, odorless, brownish white in color, soluble in 2% acetic acid, 12.46% yield, 88% degree of deacetylation, and the presence of an absorption band in the wave number region of 3443 cm-1 indicating the presence of hydroxyl groups and absorption in the wave number region of 1637 cm-1 which indicates the presence of amide groups based on the FTIR spectrum. The quality of the chitosan produced meets the quality standards of chitosan according to SNI No.7949-2013.