Cocultivation of Lactococcus lactis and Teredinobacter turnirae for biological chitin extraction from prawn waste

In this study, mainly biological treatment of prawn waste for chitin production was investigated. Lactic acid and protease fermentations were applied to extract chitin from prawn waste in the presence of various glucose concentrations. The results obtained were also compared with those of chemical method which was consisted of first mineral removal and then protein removal sequence. Different strategies were applied using lactic acid producing bacterium, Lactococcus lactis, and a protease producer, marine bacterium Teredinobacter turnirae. Both bacteria were first cultivated individually and then cofermented. In their individual cultivation, L. lactis removed the inorganic materials efficiently, while T. turnirae performed better in deproteinization process. Cofermentation of both bacteria was also conducted using three different protocols. The highest process yield (95.5%) was obtained when T. turnirae was first inoculated. Although the extraction of chitin by biological treatment was incomplete compared to the chemical method, the biological treatment employed here could still be considered as an alternative method in a more environmentally benign approach.