Commodity plastics and their composites are of high interest for many semi-structural applications, yet the current environmental issues urge to reduce plastic waste and better manage our resources. To address this challenge, research has turned to the upcycling of waste material such as poultry feather waste. Poultry meat is one of the most consumed meat on the planet, with over 122 million tons produced worldwide in 2018. Due to increasing global population and demand, the poultry industry produces significant feather waste, which is in major part incinerated or sent to landfills. In the current context of over-exploitation of natural resources and poor management of waste, it is crucial that we transform our economic model into a more sustainable solution, which uses smarter materials and gives more added value to waste. Feathers are low-cost, abundant, natural fibres, which makes them ideal candidates towards circular economy.<br/><br/>In this presentation, we will discuss the production of whole feather composites that are fully biodegradable, easy to manufacture and to recycle. (Nano)cellulose fibres were used as a binder to go from loose feathers to 2-dimensional easy-to-handle fibre preforms. Our study demonstrates the possibility of converting loose chicken feathers fibres to a rigid and robust polymer-free chicken feather fibre preform that possessed a tensile strength up to 1.56 N/mm (defined in non-woven testing standard). Using a wet layup technique, the dry preforms were impregnated with a gelatin matrix to produce chicken feather-reinforced gelatine composites with fibre weight fractions of up to 47%wt. The resulting composites possess a tensile modulus and strength up to 2.10 GPa and 18.6 MPa respectively, which are comparable to that of commodity plastics such as high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene terephthalate. These biocomposites provide a sustainable alternative to the plastic industry, with a better control of the lifecycle and better potential to fit into a circular economy. The influence of different types of (nano)cellulosic fibres on the mechanical properties of the fibre preform, as well as the resulting biocomposites will also discussed.

Robust poultry feather fibre preform: Upcycling waste feathers with (nano)cellulose

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.