INVESTIGATION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CHITOSAN BASED FILMS PREPARED FROM NARMADA RIVERSIDE CRAB SHELLS

The aim of this investigation is to enhance the utilization of crab waste and help to minimize the environmental pollution. The Narmada riverside crab shells were collected and Chitosan based films prepared. The tensile tests were performed to investigate tensile strength and elongation at break. The tensile strength of pure chitosan films was found to be 122.6 MPa and the elongation at break 13.6% with film thickness 0.110 mm. The films were plasticized with different percentage of glycerol and the values of film thickness, elongation at break and tensile strength were analyzed. The tensile strength decreased with the increase in glycerol. Film thickness and elongation at break increased with increase in glycerol. The tensile strength of prepared films showed better results compared to previous results of chitosan based films prepared from other sources.