The major component of crustacean shells, such as crabs and shrimp, is chitin, which is the second most prevalent biopolymer after cellulose. The conversion of cellulose, a D-glucose polysaccharide, into useful compounds as fuels has been intensively researched.

In contrast to biorefinery, the notion of "shell biorefinery" has recently been presented. The goal of a biorefinery is to turn lignocellulosic biomass into chemicals. Chitin is a promising resource for producing value-added compounds in the shell biorefinery idea.

Several research groups, for example, have developed ways for making nitrogen-containing compounds from chitin. In addition, useful non-nitrogenous compounds such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and levulinic acid have been made from cellulose as well as chitin and chitin-derived compounds. The levelized cost of eCO₂ R to CO includes both capital expenditure, such as the cost of the electrolyzer, and operational costs, such as CO₂ feedstock, energy consumption, and product separation. One of the biggest expenditures is energy consumption, which is primarily influenced by the EE of the CO₂ electrolyzer and is thus a limiting factor in the development of efficient eCO₂ R towards industrialization.

With Regards,
Joseph Kent
Journal Manager
Journal of Der Chemica Sinica