AGRIBUSINESS: Creating wealth with feathers .

The waste to wealth initiative is expanding by the day,with various by-products finding usefulness in numerous sectors of the economy. Feathers have found usefulness in fashion,art, creative industry as well as feed production for animals.read 

   Today the feathers have found another use in construction of buildings. Feathers may already be used in feed in some parts of the world, and work has also been carried out in turning them into fuel and more surprisingly, computer chips, but for an industry that is already held up as being the most sustainable meat producer, finding a good new use for a waste material simply raises the sector’s environmental credential further. 

see Feathers though waste from poultry has found creative uses in fashion,feed,construction and plastic industry. Feathers are gaining ground in the hair and beauty industry,because of the keratin content.

The extraction of keratin protein from chicken feathers poses an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to utilize this poultry industry waste and convert it to cash. 

 The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, along with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, is researching cost-effective ways to extract keratin protein from chicken feathers for the manufacture of high-value products. International studies and patents on extraction of keratin and other products from feathers are available. The aim of the CSIR study is to develop new extraction procedures – by using a combination of unique solvents and microwave extraction techniques – to significantly reduce extraction costs. 

 Keratin is in high demand in a variety of high-value industries, resulting in it selling for more than 2,400 South African rand per kilogram (about 140 GBP per kilogram). By extracting keratin from feathers you might, in effect, be able to make this by-product just as valuable as poultry meat. 

 The extraction of keratin protein might create a whole new market opportunity for feathers. Chicken feathers contain about 91 per cent keratin, 1 per cent lipids and 8 per cent water. Keratin is in high demand in a variety of high-value industries, resulting in it selling for more than 2,400 South African rand per kilogram (about 140 GBP per kilogram). By extracting keratin from feathers you might, be able to make this by-product just as valuable as poultry meat. 

 The chicken feathers are pre-treated to remove debris and decontaminated to remove any bacteria and viruses, before the keratin is extracted. Once extracted the keratin proteins are characterised according to their physical and chemical properties. The extracted keratin protein could be incorporated into all kinds of hair products, due to its moisturizing properties. 

 The harvested proteins are useful in the form of keratin bio-fibres or keratin protein based products. Electrospinning could, be used to regenerate keratin bio-fibers that will be used to replace synthetic petroleum-based fibers in the textile industry. Feathers from waste to food ,to fashion accessories to building material ,to textile fiber,to hair care product,to arts and crafts,to interior design....the possibilities are endless.