Chitosan is a naturally available biopolymer. It occurs as a component of crustacean shells, insect exoskeletons, fungal cell walls and plankton. In this work, chitin was extracted from mud crab shells waste. Chitosan, a useful biopolymer, was obtained from pulverized shells of crabs via demineralization, deproteination and de-acetylation. These steps were crucial for the elimination of calcium carbonate and other minerals as well as protein which are present in the shells. In this study, the

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... emical compositions of crab shells waste were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). From the 200 g exoskeleton of mud crab, 52.46 g (26.23%) chitin was extracted. Out of the 52.46 g chitin, 38.68 g (73.73%) chitosan was obtained.