Industrial feather waste valorisation for sustainable keratin-based materials

Aim and goal

To utilize the value in the large amounts of largely neglected feather waste produced in the poultry industry

Challenge

Feathers chiefly contains of keratin, which is a protein too valuable to be treated as waste. One of the challenges is to deal with the regulations that are applicable for the food industry and ensure a safe production without pathogens. Another is to tailor pretreatment methods for various intermediates and end products, and finally to develop a sustainable production of a range of competitive products that fulfil user requirements

Solution

The consortium has a very high competence in mechanical and chemical transformations and in the synthesis of new materials. This is complemented by assessments of the environmental and social impacts of the production and techno-economic assessments pointing out the road towards viable business models

Effect

Increased revenues for the poultry industry, possibly through an integration of further steps and processes in their business. The chemical industry gets access to a new renewable raw material, and ample opportunities are given for SME to find new markets. The society benefits from the utilization of a neglected material resource and a contribution to a change from fossil-based raw materials