Beautiful feathers of fluffy chickens...
An industry's by-product turns out to be more valuable than the primary product itself.
People chomp a lot of chicken. A survey states that the annual per capita consumption of chicken is approximately 40-50 kg. This results in stacks of chicken feathers; around 2-4 billion pounds for a year. Chicken feathers generally do not have much demand, and are usually buried as waste or burned and used as fertilizer. Researchers have come up with a process that adds value to these discarded feathers by converting it into fibers which foresee many profitable applications. Suits and dresses can be made from chicken feathers.
From farm waste to fabric:
Chicken feathers are made of barbs and barbules, a stringy network that makes up the fluffy parts of the bird's feather, which gives a soft feeling similar to wool. They have a honeycomb-like structure containing many tiny air pockets, making them extremely lightweight and resilient. These feathers contain keratin, an animal protein fiber generally available in natural fibers such as wool. The molecular structure of keratin is rearranged and can be made into fibers of required length, which can be made into fabric. The quill of the feather is hard with a disorganized microscopic structure, while the fibers are very soft and possess an orderly microstructure.
Feathers are lined up and cut in parallel, stripping the fibres off, without damage. Then quills are separated from the lightweight fibres. The feathers undergo a process of sanitizing, and softening the fibers once they are removed from their quills. Fibres made from these feathers can be blended with nylon, spun into yarn, and then knitted into fabrics. They can also be used in non-woven fabrics for making erosion control materials. Chicken feather fibres are an inexpensive substitute for wool due to their low cost, abundant availability, and excellent insulation properties.
Potential applications:
Chicken feathers are strong, have low density, and posses good resilient properties. These fibres can replace plastics in many products. They can be processed, and used as an alternative for existing textile fibres such as wool, cellulose etc. Chicken feather suits could become commonplace clothing in the future. They can also be used for making paper, composites, filters, mulch, and construction materials inside cars. Global consumption of synthetic fibres amounts to 67 million tons annually, and synthetic fabrics amount to 38 million tons. These fabrics not only help to reduce agricultural waste, but also minimize our dependence on petroleum based synthetic fabrics. 55% of fabrics made from
Fibres made from chicken feathers have good tensile strength, lightweight, bio-degradable, and does not cause any environmental pollution. As this fibre can be made in any length, and width, it can be processed into any required shape, just like other natural fibres. It gives the same comfort as a cotton fabric, and the feel of a woolen cloth.
Future may bring us warm and cozy sweaters made from chicken feathers. A material which was used only for making fertilizers and feather dusters has now acquired more valuable uses. Chicken feathers are not just for birds anymore.
References:
1. fashionnewspaper.com
2. ecofriend.com
3. livescience.com
4. sciencedaily.com
5. treehugger.com
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