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物生产一种创新的新型土壤改良剂，可以提高农业和园艺土壤的长期土壤健康和质量。这种方法建立在安格斯园艺有限公司以及全球其他公司雇用的科学家多年研究和经验的基础上，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，并随后减少一系列农业和园艺作物的重大土壤传播害虫和病原体的影响。此外，基于几丁质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/调理剂的其他组分中封存土壤中的碳来实现碳节约;减少农民/种植者所需的肥料量;减少用于处理农作物的土传病原体和害虫的农药。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甲壳质土壤改良剂的甲壳质含量。这个与国家物理实验室的合作项目将开发一种可部署的几丁质测定解决方案，该解决方案已使用安格斯园艺有限公司提供的各种已知几丁质浓度的材料和几批几丁质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.