The extraction and characterization of chitin from four sources of Nigerian
origin was investigated. Chemical demineralization and deproteinization was
done to obtain the chitin. Proximate analysis, XRD and SEM analysis were
conducted on obtained chitins. The investigation revealed that the shrimp had
the highest yield of chitin of 8.15%, crab, crayfish and periwinkle had yields
of 7.8%, 2.88% and 0.44% respectively. The proximate analysis showed that
chitin from shrimp had highest moisture and protein content of 8.70% and
4.16% respectively. Crayfish had the highest ash and fiber content of 7.20%
and 6.98% respectively. Crab has the highest lipid content of 1.70%. The
SEM analysis showed very uniform structure with a lamellar organization and
less dense structure for chitin from shrimp and the surface of chitin from
crayfish consists of fibers that form parallel thread networks. XRD analysis
showed that chitin from shrimp was more crystalline than others.