Physical and Chemical Properties of Pachycymbiola brasiliana Eggshells—From Application to Separative Processes

Abstract

Pachycymbiola brasiliana is a marine snail found in the seas adjacent to the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, whose eggshells are composed primarily of chitin. In this work, Pachycymbiola brasiliana eggshells were used to prepare films and their structural and physicochemical characteristics were investigated. The main focus was on their mechanical stability, water sorption, and methylene blue rejection. From the FTIR spectra, the bands corresponding to chitin were identified. The differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) data showed that the biopolymer has a glass transition temperature of around 32 °C. The morphological analysis was carried out by using SEM and XRD. The study of the films’ mechanical stability showed an improvement with an increase in water activity. Regarding the methylene blue separation processes, a low permeation through the film and a rejection rate of 94 to 99% were demonstrated. Therefore, Pachycymbiola brasiliana eggshell can be considered a promising source of biopolymers for preparing biodegradable, non-toxic films with valuable separative properties.