From Scrap to Fab!: Bioplastic Production Using Keratin and Cellulose from Biowaste

Bio-based plastics can solve environmental and sustainability issues arising from synthetic plastics. Chicken feathers as well as sugarcane bagasse are two of the most affordable, abundant and sustainable sources of protein. But they constitute one of the major daily waste products released into the environment. Food item packaging biofilms made from these two bio-wastes could be helpful to both people and the environment. Keratin is hydrophilic, non-burning and biodegradable, making it suitable for usage in a wide range of chemical processes. The primary purpose of this research was to generate biodegradable plastic films from chicken feather and sugarcane bagasse biowaste. The hydrolyzed-feather-keratin (HFK) was extracted using a low-cost acid precipitation and alkali extraction method that included urea and sodium sulphide. This aided in adopting a thermoplastic approach to build and describe sustainability and environmental films based upon keratin with variable glycerol concentrations. Extraction of cellulose from sugarcane bagasse was optimized statistically, which was then acetylated to make cellulose acetate powder. This was utilized to make bioplastic film. Hence, the present study demonstrates an efficient and sustainable approach to produce bioplastic polymers from biowaste, which could be conceivably used in various plastic wrapping industries for food, pharmaceutics and so on.