A new method developed to convert poultry feather & wool waste to animal feed & fertilizer

What is the News?

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) have developed an innovative way to convert keratin waste into fertiliser and animal feeds.

What is Keratin Waste?

Keratin waste is generated from human hair, poultry feather waste and wool. India generates a huge amount of keratin waste each year. 

These wastes are dumped, buried, used for landfilling or incinerated. This leads to increased environmental hazards, pollution and threat to public health and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. 

What is the potential use of Keratin waste?

Keratin waste are inexpensive sources of amino acids and protein. Hence, it can be used as animal feed and fertiliser.

What have the Indian Scientists developed?

Indian Scientists have developed a method that can easily convert keratin waste into fertiliser and animal feed. 

The method uses advanced oxidation for the conversion of the waste to marketable fertilisers and animal feed. The key technology behind this involves pre-treatment followed by hydrolysis of keratin using a technique called Hydrodynamic Cavitation, which involves vaporization, bubble generation, and bubble implosion in a flowing liquid.

This method is almost three times more economical than the existing technologies.

It is also easily scalable, environment-friendly and would make amino acid-rich liquid fertilizers more economical as compared to currently marketed products.

Source: This post is based on the article “A new method developed to convert poultry feather & wool waste to animal feed & fertilizer” published in PIB on 16th September 2021.