Quantitative detection of chitin in composted shellfish

安格斯园艺有限公司开发了一种堆肥工艺，该工艺利用苏格兰贝类产业的废弃物生产一种创新的土壤改良剂，可以提高土壤的长期健康和农业和园艺土壤的质量。这一方法建立在安格斯园艺有限公司和全球其他公司雇用的科学家多年的研究和经验的基础上，即利用贝类废物及其关键成分甲壳素可持续地改善土壤健康，并在此过程中减少一系列农业和园艺作物的重大土传害虫和病原体的影响。此外，以甲壳素为基础的土壤改良剂将增加土壤的有机质含量；通过从贝类废物和土壤改良剂/改良剂的其他成分中固存土壤中的碳来节省碳；减少农民/种植者所需的化肥用量；以及减少用于处理土壤传播的病原体和农作物害虫的杀虫剂。为了改善最终土壤改良剂产品的质量控制，需要一种准确和经济的方法来测定堆肥后的甲壳素土壤改良剂的甲壳素含量。这个与国家物理实验室合作的项目将开发一种可部署的甲壳素测定解决方案，该解决方案已使用安格斯园艺有限公司提供的各种已知甲壳素浓度的材料和几批甲壳素土壤改良剂产品进行了验证。

Angus Horticulture Ltd have developed a composting process which utilises waste from the Scottish shellfish industry to produce an innovative and novel soil improver that can increase the long-term soil health and quality of agricultural and horticultural soils. This approach builds on many years of research and experience from scientists employed by Angus Horticulture Ltd as well as others globally, on the use of shellfish waste and its key component - chitin - for sustainably improving soil health, and subsequently reducing the impact of significant soil-borne pests and pathogens of a range of agricultural and horticultural crops in the process. In addition the chitin-based soil improver will increase the organic matter content of soils; deliver carbon savings by sequestration of carbon in the soil from the shellfish waste and other components of the soil improver/conditioner; reduce the amount of fertiliser required by farmers/growers; and reduce pesticide used to treat soil-borne pathogens and pests of crops.To improve the quality control of the final soil improver product, an accurate and economic method for determining the chitin content of the composted chitin soil improver is necessary. This collaborative project with the National Physics Laboratory will develop a deployable solution for chitin determination that has been validated using material supplied by Angus Horticulture Ltd of various known chitin concentrations, and several batches of chitin soil improver product.