Autolytic Isolation of Chitin from White Shrimp (Penaues Vannamei) Waste

White shrimp waste comprised of shrimp head, tail and shell contains valuable materials such as chitin, protein, enzymes, minerals, natural pigments, etc. Isolation of chitin from white shrimp waste through an autolysis enzymatic deproteination is described in this paper. The deproteination rate was estimated by measuring nitrogen content during the autolysis and the structure was analyzed by FTIR. The results show that autolysis of white shrimp waste was effectively performed at pH 2 with the highest rate observed in the first two days of autolysis, showing it contains 13.0% protein and 14.7% chitin. The chitin produced after a 9-day autolysis indicated a less clean result than chitin which is chemically digested.