Global shellfishery waste generation
is from 6 to 8 million metric
tons annually. Chitin, as a major component in crustacean shells,
is the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth, having the potential
to supplement the lignocellulosic biomass resource for renewable chemicals.
Herein, we established direct transformation of chitin and raw shrimp
shells into acetic acid (HAc) by a catalytic method using metal oxide
and oxygen gas in basic water. The work showcased that chitin is a
superior starting material to other major biomass resources for HAc
production. A 38.1% yield of HAc was produced from chitin, which was
more than a 2-fold increase compared with that from cellulose. Moreover,
a 47.9% yield was directly obtained from crude shrimp shells. Another
finding is that heterocyclic compound pyrrole was generated as the
major nitrogen-containing (N-containing) product
in the reaction system, which offers a potential chemical route for
one-step pyrrole formation from a sustainable resource. The study
opens new avenues to transform shellfishery waste into platform chemicals.