Demineralization of Crab Shells by Chemical and Biological Treatments

To achieve demineralization of crab shell waste by chemical and biological treatments, lactic acid and lactic acid bacterium were applied. In 5.0 and $10\%$ lactic acid, pH rapidly decreased from 6.8 to 4.2 and from 4.5 to 2.4 at day 3, respectively, and thereafter the pH remained at an almost constant level. In a $10\%$ lactic acid bacterium inoculum, pH lowered to 4.6 at day 5. Relative residual ash content rapidly decreased to 49.1 and $16.4\%$ in 5 and $10\%$ lactic acid treatments, respectively, for the initial 12 h. In 2.5, 5 and $10\%$ lactic acid bacterium inoculums, relative residual ash content rapidly decreased to 55.2, 40.9 and $44.7\%$, respectively, on the first day. Residual dry masses were 76.4, 67.8 and $46.6\%$ in 2.5, 5 and $10\%$ lactic acid treatments, respectively, for the initial 12 h. After a one-time exchange of the lactic acid solution, in the $5.0\%$ lactic acid treatment, residual dry mass rapidly decreased from 66.0 to $41.4\%$. In 2.5, 5 and $10\%$ lactic acid bacterium inoculums, residual dry masses decreased to 67.6, 57.4 and $59.6\%$ respectively, on the first day. Protein contents after demineralization ranged from $51.3{\sim}54.7\%$ in the chemical treatments and decreased to $32.3\%$ in the lactic acid fermentation process. A negative relationship was shown between pH and demineralization rate in lactic acid and lactic acid bacterium treatments. These results suggest that lactic acid fermentation can be an alternative for demineralization of crab shells, even though the rate and efficiency of the demineralization is lower than the chemical treatment.