VISCOSITY AND FLOW PROPERTIES OF CONCENTRATED-SOLUTIONS OF CHITOSAN WITH DIFFERENT DEGREES OF DEACETYLATION

The effects of the degree of deacetylation (DD) on the viscosity and flow behaviour of concentrated solutions of chitosan were investigated using 0.2 M CH3COOH and 0.2 M CH3COOH/0.1 M CH3COONa aqueous solutions as solvents. The results indicated that the viscosity and flow properties of the solutions differed with the DD of chitosan. The solution viscosities and the non-Newtonian flow properties as well as the flow activation energies E(gamma) increased with the increasing DD of chitosan. However, the additional salt decreased the viscosities and the non-Newtonian flow properties of the solutions of chitosan, but did not change the flow activation energies E(gamma) of the solutions.