Turning invasive European green crab shells into an environmentally friendly plastic

A team of scientists in Canada has developed an idea of ​​turning crab shells into plastic cups and knives and scissors.

The project was developed by Audrey Moores, a chemist at McGill University, in collaboration with Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia, which has been struggling with the number of invasive European blue crabs since the 1980s.

The European blue crab is an invasive species sometimes called the "killer" crab because of its predatory cannibalism.

European blue crabs invading land have become a major problem at Kejimkujik National Park, the coast of Nova Scotia.

The female blue crab can produce more than 175,000 eggs in a life cycle, making this species quickly overwhelming in number of habitats.

Moores' team harvested green crabs from the park and processed their shells to extract a chemical called chitin.

Chitin can be used to create environmentally friendly, biodegradable plastics in landfills and oceans without any adverse environmental impact.

"If we could turn this invasive species into a comprehensive solution to the plastic pollution problem that all oceans are facing today, I really think that would be a great way. great and creative , " Moores said.

European blue crabs can breed very quickly.

Previously, chitin was extracted from various types of animal skins using hydrochloric acid and then added another chemical mixture to catalyze chitin into a more stable compound called chitosan . Although the plastic produced through this process is biodegradable, it still leaves a significant amount of chemical waste.

In the Kejimkujik project , Moores devised a new and less environmentally harmful method to process chitin that involves grinding crab shells and mixing them with a special powder.

Moores and her team captured European blue crabs at Kejimkujik and processed them in the laboratory to produce a biodegradable plastic that could be used for the production of cups, plates and cutlery.

Moores will treat crab shells by grinding them into flour and mixing them with a special powder to extract chitin, which is the foundation of the more environmentally friendly plastic material.

This method uses less water and less chemicals, making sure to generate very little chemical waste.

Moores says that the plastic produced through this process is very hard, like glass, and the team is producing a softer substance that can be molded into items like plastic cups, plates and cutlery.