Process for the preparation of chitosan by N-deacetylation of chitin

摘要

The subject of the present invention is a process for the preparation of chitosan by N-deacetylation of chitin in hot aqueous alkaline medium according to which the reaction mixture comprises ethanol, an alkali metal hydroxide such as sodium hydroxide in an amount essentially equal to the mass of water present and chitin, the proportion of which by mass varies between 7 and 30 % according to its density. The reaction temperature is between 20 and 100 DEG C and the time varies, for its part, between 2 and 100 hours depending on the reaction temperature.