Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens as a Novel Source of Chitin and Chitosan

Abstract

Black soldier fly allows to efficiently convert residual biomasses into a valuable source of biomolecules, such as proteins, lipids and chitin. In this study, a new method for obtaining amorphous chitin from the black soldier fly larvae was developed with a further deacetylation step. Amorphous chitin was obtained by direct extraction using concentrated phosphoric acid. The purity of the resulting chitin was confirmed by physicochemical methods (elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, measurement of primary amines, amino acid analysis). Crystalline chitin and high molecular weight chitosan were obtained by the standard procedure including demineralisation, deproteinisation and deacetylation steps. This method allows to extract chitosan, suitable for a wide range of applications.