Japan has developed a shell film that can replace cellophane

Japanese researchers have developed crustacean membranes that can replace cellophane for a wide variety of uses and can be used in the fields of decorating and packaging.

The raw materials used to produce shell films are very rich. In nature, a considerable portion of the insect shell or crustacean shell is composed of chitin, a non-quality polysaccharide, whose main chemical constituent is cellulose. Cellulose is the main raw material for producing shell films.

The process of processing chitin shells with chitin is not complicated: first, chitin accumulated during industrial processing of crabs and shrimps is soaked in hydrochloric acid, and calcium and protein are precipitated with strong alkali to obtain semi-finished crustacean powder; then the shell powder is dissolved. In a mixed solution of dimethylamine acetate, nitrogen cycloketone and lithium chloride, the mixed solution is evenly sprinkled on a glass plate and immersed in an isopropyl alcohol solution to form a transparent shell film on the glass plate. . After the transparent film is dried, it can be used instead of cellophane for decoration, packaging, etc., and it is environmentally friendly and can be degraded by itself.