Emballator and Bioextrax partner on poultry feather biopolymers for fossil plastic savings
07 May 2021 --- Sweden-based Emballator Innovation Center is testing the use of bio-based microfibers from poultry feathers for packaging applications.
In collaboration with Bioextrax, a bio-extraction specialist company that has developed a patented technology to produce this specific material, the partners are currently assessing the commercialization potential.
The project marks a step in Emballator’s ambition to decrease its share of fossil-based plastics.
Speaking to PackagingInsights, Edvard Hall, CEO of Bioextrax, says the research is in the early stages and has many hurdles to overcome.
“It is a completely new material, which means that everything needs to be tested from scratch, and it is a challenge to know where to start.”
“We believe these microfibers have the potential to improve material properties while utilizing an unutilized waste source, and we hope we can identify good applications together with Emballator.”
Keratin microfibers
Keratin is a family of fibrous structural proteins that make up hair. The project is aiming to convert wasted feathers into keratin microfibers, which could be used in place of conventional plastic materials.
Polymer granules and microfibers from poultry feathers.The patent-pending technology covers both the product (keratin microfibers) and the process to produce them – a bacterial fermentation which converts raw poultry feathers into microfibers.
“An important feature of the microfibers is – besides the biowaste-based origin and biodegradability – the low density. If you mix the fibers into polymers, we can achieve a very significant drop in density,” explains Hall.
Mats Jeppsen, innovation manager at Emballator Innovation Center, tells PackagingInsights that “optimizing properties for the right application with as high a content as possible of these microfibers is a challenge.”
However, the possibility of turning this waste into value could be a lucrative opportunity in the future.
“It should be noted that the microfibers aren’t a luxury material. The low production cost means we can sell them for less than €1 (US$1.21) per kilo.”
Bioextrax also takes out hydrolyzed protein from the feathers and for use in animal feed.
First phase
“This is our first project with compounding microfibers in our facilities. We are in the phase of adjusting processes and blends before we can say anything about the result,” says Jeppsson.
As with numerous other trials on bio-based materials, the aim is to reduce the carbon footprint of Emballator’s packaging materials.
Bioextrax originates from research at the department of biotechnology at Lund University, Sweden. “Further trials are planned, and the aim is to create easy-to-recycle materials for our products in the chemical and paint segments with improved mechanical properties,” says Jeppsson.
The collaboration is not the first to experiment with using waste feathers in new materials. A study in 2011 explored the possibility of turning chicken feathers into biodegradable plastics.
An EU-funded project, Karma2020, is also assessing how the industry could convert Europe’s 3.1 million tons of wasted feather material each year into valuable materials.
By Louis Gore-Langton
