Valorization of feather waste in Brazil: structure, methods of extraction, and applications of feather keratin

This systematic review presents the potential of using feather waste as a β-keratin source, including the Brazilian scenario in the generation of this byproduct. The structure and properties of α- and β-keratin, the methods commonly reported to extract keratin from poultry feathers, and applications of feather keratin-based materials are also covered in this review. The literature search for poultry production data in Brazil was conducted for the last 2 years, for the period 2021–2022. A broad literature search for extraction methods and applications of feather keratin was done for the period 2001–2022. The poultry industry is one of the largest sectors of the food industry, and Brazil was the third-largest world producer of chicken meat with more than six billion chickens slaughtered in 2021. Poultry feathers constitute about 7% weight of broilers; thus, it can be estimated that about one million tons of poultry feathers were generated in Brazil in 2021, and the improper disposal of this byproduct contributes to environmental problems and disease transmission. The most common method of reusing feathers is the production of feather meal. From economic and environmental points of view, it is advantageous to develop processes to add value to this byproduct, including the extraction of keratin. Among natural biodegradable polymers, keratin-based materials have revolutionized the field of biomaterials due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, allowing their application in biomedical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and engineering areas.