Process Analysis and Environmental Assessment of Gelatin Production From Shrimp Shell Wastes

The demand for gelatin is increasing in the market due to its use in functional foods, beverage products, and pharmaceuticals. However, most gelatin is made from pig/bovine which is not halal, making it unsuitable for consumption by some people. Therefore, an alternative raw material for gelatin production should be found to meet the restrictions of gelatin sources. Shrimp shells, a food waste from shrimp production, can be used as an alternative source for gelatin as it contains protein, chitin, and minerals. This research aimed to study the development of the gelatin production process from shrimp shells and evaluated the techno-economic analysis of two different biochemical processing scenarios. The results showed that the production yield was 40% and 45% for scenarios I and II, respectively. To address economic feasibility, various economic indicators were evaluated. The payback period was 4.20 and 0.90 years, and the return on investment was 27.03% and 124.33% for scenarios I and II, respectively. Additionally, the energy efficiency was 7.28 and 8.01 kg of product/kWh and the environmental impacts were 0.28 and 0.24 kg of CO equivalent for scenarios I and II, respectively. This developed gelatin process from shrimp shell biomass could be a promising technology for gelatin production at an industrial scale.