Fungal decomposition of chicken-feather waste in submerged and solid-state fermentation

Poultry industry is expanding rapidly and producing million tons of feather waste annually. Massive production of keratinaceous byproducts in the form of industrial wastes throughout the world necessitates its justified utilization. Chemical treatment of keratin waste is proclaimed as an eco-destructive approach by various researchers since it generates secondary pollutants. Keratinase released by a variety of microbes (bacteria and fungi) can be used for the effective treatment of keratin waste. Microbial degradation of keratin waste is an emerging and eco-friendly approach and offers dual benefits, i.e., treatment of recalcitrant pollutant (keratin) and procurement of a commercially important enzyme (keratinase). This study involves the isolation, characterization, and potential utility of fungal species for the degradation of chicken-feather waste through submerged and solid-state fermentation. The isolated fungus was identified and characterized as Aspergillus (A.) flavus. In a trial of 30 days, it was appeared that 74 and 8% feather weight was reduced through sub-merged and solid-state fermentation, respectively by A. flavus. The pH of the growth media in submerged fermentation was changed from 4.8 to 8.35. The exploited application of keratinolytic microbes is, therefore, recommended for the treatment of keratinaceous wastes to achieve dual benefits of remediation.

Biogeneration and physico-chemical properties of panchagavya fortified chicken feather vermicompost

An enormous amount of chicken feather waste materials released by the poultry industry creates severe environmental pollution. Vermicomposting is an eco-friendly way to degrade chicken feather waste along with microbial mixture (Panchagavya). Chicken feather waste was pre-decomposed by mixing it with fresh cow dung (T1), dry cow dung (T2), and Panchagavya (T3). Among these, T3 exhibits rapid deterioration of chicken feather waste and seven combination T3 substrates (E0-E6), taken for the vermicomposting process by Eudrilus eugeniae in 60 days. Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Fourier Transforms Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy are used to assess compost maturity. The result shows that E1 (0.050:1 ratio) shows various functional groups, rich nutrients, and necessary acids than other combinations. For large-scale commercial vermi-stabilization of chicken feather waste, the E1 combination is suitable for manure production and thereby enhances soil fertility, agricultural production.

Fabrication and characterization of keratin starch biocomposite film from chicken feather waste and ginger starch

The disposal of chicken feather through burning or burying is not environmentally compliant due to the accompanying release of greenhouse gas and underground water contamination. Thus, the transformation of this bio-waste into a bio-composite film is considered not only a sustainable strategy for disposal of this solid wastes but also an attractive alternative to developing an efficient nanostructured biomaterial from renewable bio resource. In the present study keratin extracted from chicken feather waste in combination with ginger starch were fabricated into a bio-composite film. The fabricated bio-composite films were characterized, using different analytical techniques. The physicochemical characteristics of ginger starch showed a moisture content of 33.8%, pH of 6.21, amylose and amylopectin contents of 39.1% and 60.9%, respectively. The hydration capacity of the starch was 132.2% while its gelatinization temperature was 65.7 °C. Physical attributes of the bio-composite film, such as surface smoothness and tensile strength increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing keratin content, while its transparency and solubility showed significant (p < 0.05) decrease with increasing keratin level. The various blends of the bio-composite films decayed by over 50% of the original mass after 12 days of complete burial in soil. Based on the results obtained in this study, the addition of keratin to starch bio-composite showed remarkable improvement in mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and surface smoothness. The bio-composite film exhibited appropriate stability in water, although future study should be carried out to evaluate its thermal stability. Nonetheless, the fabricated keratin-starch bio-composite showed desirable characteristics that could be optimized for industrial applications.

EFFECT OF CHICKEN FEATHER WASTE ON CONCRETE MIXING ON COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AND FLEXURAL STRENGTH

<p>The materials that are often used in the world of construction both in bridges, water structures, and buildings is concrete. The characteristic of concrete is that it is strong withstand compressive forces, but weak in resisting tensile forces. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the characteristics of the concrete. Improving the characteristics of the concrete can be done by applying a fiber mixture to the concrete. There are two types of fibers used as a concrete mixture, namely synthetic fibers and natural fibers. The research conducted was concrete using chicken feather waste fiber which was categorized as natural fiber with a fiber length of 3 cm, the grade of the concrete used was 20 MPa and the percentage of additional chicken feather waste was 0%, 1%, and 2% of the volume of concrete. The test is the compressive strength and flexural strength of the concrete using a specimen cylinder 15x30 cm and beam 15x15x60 cm. Each percentage of chicken feather waste that is used as a concrete mixture is 5 samples. From the test results, it was found that the concrete with the addition of 0% chicken feathers obtained an average compressive strength value of 200.78 kg/cm², concrete with the addition of 1% chicken feather fiber, the compressive strength value increased to 215.09 kg/cm² and concrete with the addition of chicken feather fiber 2 % has a compressive strength value of 197.54 kg/cm². Meanwhile, the flexural strength values obtained were 24.00 kg/cm², 23.03 kg/cm², 21.08 kg/cm² for the percentage of 0%, 1% and 2% fibers, respectively. This shows that the concrete with the addition of bristle fibers the chicken has decreased the compressive strength value when it has reached its optimum level. While the addition of the percentage of chicken feathers to the flexural strength value does not have much effect on the flexural strength of the concrete which tends to decrease. This is influenced by the characteristics of the chicken feathers which are difficult to bond with the concrete as well as being easy to absorb water, so that the concrete takes a longer time to dry after the maintenance of the concrete.</p>