Feathers: from chicken to industry

2002/04/03 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Industria
• Abeltzaintza

The US Agricultural Research Service has developed a method for the industrial use of bird feathers. According to them, with the remaining feathers in the chicken farms, many products can be made that are used daily.

Feathers, like hair, nails and branches, are made of keratin, but researchers have seen that it resembles another fiber: that of cellulose. Therefore, it is ideal for replacing paper paste and other more expensive fibres. In addition, among other applications proposed by the researchers are feather clothing, filters and diapers without recycling problems, as well as car spatters and plastic materials for the exterior of the boats.

Considering that the 8.5 billion chickens that are marketed each year in the United States leave a billion feathers, finding an industrial use for them is not a cough of half the night of the goat.