4 Are Ionic Liquids Enabling Technology? Startup to Scale-Up …
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be useful as construction materials; all of them get destroyed during the pulping
process.
Lastly, harsh conditions used in isolation were found to decrease the quality of
the isolated chitin, to promote deacetylation and depolymerization, and to result in a
lack of reproducible high-quality polymer product [52]. However, many applications
require specific polymer properties, and the strength of materials has been proven to
be governed by the molecular weight and the degree of acetylation. We have shown
(and will detail it below in this chapter) that high-molecular weight chitin is critical for
the preparation of materials with different shapes (fibers, films, packages, hydrogels,
beads, and electrospun mats). This host of new materials and the preparation of
chitin composites and blends [53–68] are made possible by an ionic liquid [69]
solution-based process.
4.3 Startup to Scale-up
4.3.1 The Beginning: Business Opportunity
In 2010, Rogers demonstrated the dissolution and extraction of the biopolymer chitin
directly from shrimp shells [70]. Before that, no one had reported the direct dissolution of crustacean biomass or the extraction of chitin polymer from it using ionic
liquids. The IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C 2 C 1 im][OAc]) was shown
to be an excellent solvent for chitin [71]. Using this IL, microwave irradiation facilitated the dissolution and demineralization of crustacean biomass and resulted in
the extraction of all available chitin in minutes. The polymer maintained its highmolecular weight resulting in a material with high strength and unprecedented high
quality. At that point, this extraction method was demonstrated on a 100 mL scale
using a domestic microwave.
The quantities of isolated polymers are critical to many materials applications and
must be produced at a larger scale. For instance, co-dissolved with alginic acid, highmolecular weight chitin–IL solutions were shown to be suitable for the preparation of
spun chitin–calcium alginate fibers [63, 70, 72], for intracutaneous biocompatibility
testing, and wound-healing studies. Using a domestic microwave and a lab-scale fiber
pulling setup, it took 3 weeks to prepare only 6 g of bandages [63]. Using a somewhat
larger setup, with a small manufacturing, custom-made fiber extruder, required a
minimum loading of 1 kg of the solution to produce 1,000 m of monofilament fiber.
Clearly, a prototype was necessary to make scaled-up quantities for the preparation
of sustainable, high-value chitin materials.
75
be useful as construction materials; all of them get destroyed during the pulping
process.
Lastly, harsh conditions used in isolation were found to decrease the quality of
the isolated chitin, to promote deacetylation and depolymerization, and to result in a
lack of reproducible high-quality polymer product [52]. However, many applications
require specific polymer properties, and the strength of materials has been proven to
be governed by the molecular weight and the degree of acetylation. We have shown
(and will detail it below in this chapter) that high-molecular weight chitin is critical for
the preparation of materials with different shapes (fibers, films, packages, hydrogels,
beads, and electrospun mats). This host of new materials and the preparation of
chitin composites and blends [53–68] are made possible by an ionic liquid [69]
solution-based process.
4.3 Startup to Scale-up
4.3.1 The Beginning: Business Opportunity
In 2010, Rogers demonstrated the dissolution and extraction of the biopolymer chitin
directly from shrimp shells [70]. Before that, no one had reported the direct dissolution of crustacean biomass or the extraction of chitin polymer from it using ionic
liquids. The IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C 2 C 1 im][OAc]) was shown
to be an excellent solvent for chitin [71]. Using this IL, microwave irradiation facilitated the dissolution and demineralization of crustacean biomass and resulted in
the extraction of all available chitin in minutes. The polymer maintained its highmolecular weight resulting in a material with high strength and unprecedented high
quality. At that point, this extraction method was demonstrated on a 100 mL scale
using a domestic microwave.
The quantities of isolated polymers are critical to many materials applications and
must be produced at a larger scale. For instance, co-dissolved with alginic acid, highmolecular weight chitin–IL solutions were shown to be suitable for the preparation of
spun chitin–calcium alginate fibers [63, 70, 72], for intracutaneous biocompatibility
testing, and wound-healing studies. Using a domestic microwave and a lab-scale fiber
pulling setup, it took 3 weeks to prepare only 6 g of bandages [63]. Using a somewhat
larger setup, with a small manufacturing, custom-made fiber extruder, required a
minimum loading of 1 kg of the solution to produce 1,000 m of monofilament fiber.
Clearly, a prototype was necessary to make scaled-up quantities for the preparation
of sustainable, high-value chitin materials.