Development of Bioprocesses for the Production of Enzymes Needed to Create Chitooligosaccharides From Marine Biomass

Marine residues represent a major source of biomass that can be recovered. Among these is chitin, which alone accounts for 10^11 tons of marine waste per year. In the marine environment, this matter is found in exoskeletons of crustaceans such as prawns, crabs and lobsters.

Although some of this waste is composted, some is disposed of directly in landfill sites. This disposal is an environmental problem and increases management costs for manufacturers involved in the processing of marine products.

Currently, certain chemical processes are used to transform chitin into chitooligasaccharides (COS). However, these processes use large quantities of chemical solvents. The current project aims to develop bioprocesses for the production of efficient enzymes for the production of COS that can be used in the food, medical, medical and pharmaceutical industries.