In Egypt, the most economically justified source of chitin is green shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus, despite the fact that it can cause a significant pollution of the sea aquatorium. <...> The aim of the study is to analyse the chemical composition of the crude shell of green shrimp and to develop the technology of producing chitin from this raw material. <...> While producing chitosan (chitin), the effect of the concentration of chlorohydric acid, temperature and time on the content of alkali is studied. <...> It has been stated that while producing chitosan (chitin), the optimal concentration of HCl, at which the quantity of alkali is reduced by 91.98%, is 2M. <...> The best result of deproteinization is received when using 1M NaOH at the temperature 75°С for 4 hours. <...> Our objective is to appraise the state of the art concerning this polysaccharide: its morphology in the native solid state, methods of identification and characterization and chemical modifications, as well as the difficulties in utilizing and processing it for the selected applications [8, 9]. <...> The chemical method for isolation of chitin from crustacean shell biomass involves various major steps: elimination of inorganic matter (calcium carbonate) in dilute acidic medium (demineralization), and usually demineralization is accomplished by using HCl. <...> As an alternative to the chemical process, a biological process using microorganisms has been evaluated for the demineralization [18, 19] and the deproteinization [13]. <...> D.34212 Melsungen, Germany) to pass through a 1.6 mm sieve and stored at 4ºC in tight dark glasses till it was subjected to demineralization and deproteinization process. <...> Deproteinization was carried out using NaOH concentrations (1M NaOH) at the temperature 75°C for 4 hours with a solution/solid ratio of 1/15 w/v. <...> Сер.: Рыбное хозяйство. 2016. № 2 ference (LSD) was obtained to compare the means of treatments, using Costat version 6.311 (Copyright 1998–2005, CoHort Software). <...> Results and discussion Proximate composition of crude shrimp shells (moisture, protein, fat, alkali, carbohydrates and fiber content), was presented in Table 1. <...> Table 1 Chemical composition of crude shrimp shells (on dry weight basis) Samples Crud shrimp shells % Moisture % Protein % Fat % Carbohydrates % Ash % Fiber 13.05 36.63 4.85 7.38 <...>