Chicken feathers recycled as building material in UPLB study

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – Chicken feathers as construction material?

Yes, feathers, considered waste products of the poultry industry, have the potential as low-cost building material.

This is the initial finding of a research being conducted by a scientist of the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLB-CFNR).

Titled “Recycling Waste Chicken Feather for Low-Cost Building Material in the Philippines,” the project is being conducted by Dr. Menandro Acda, an associate professor at the UPLB-CFNR’s Department of Forest Products and Paper Science.

The project has the support of the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grants of Ford Group Philippines.

Started in January 2007 and expected to be completed in early 2009, the study aims generally to contribute to the sustainable use of natural resources through efficient utilization of waste chicken feathers as low-cost building material.

Specifically, it aims to fabricate composite panels using cement and waste chicken feathers that are suitable for non-structural applications.

It will also determine the effect of varying amounts of cement, water, waste feathers and other additives on the physical and mechanical properties of cement-bonded chicken feather composites.

The project’s expected outputs are cement-bonded chicken feather composites with suitable properties for the building and construction industry.

In pursuing the project, Acda noted the millions of kilograms of waste feathers generated each year by commercial poultry processing plants, resulting in serious waste problems.

“Traditional disposal strategies of chicken feathers are expensive and difficult,” he said. “They are often burned, buried or recycled into low-quality animal food. However, these methods are restricted, results in products that are of low demand or pose danger to the environment.”

Acda, who holds a doctorate degree in Wood Preservation and Biodeterioration from Oregon State University in the United States, said a number of commercial applications such as packaging and mulching films, fabrics, and microchips have been explored to utilize chicken feathers.

Unfortunately, he said that owing to the low volume requirements of these new products they have not significantly reduced the volume of feathers generated each year.

“A lightweight and decay-resistant composite panel can be produced by binding chicken feathers with cement. Composite building materials (plywood and fiberboard) are high-volume applications which could potentially consume a large amount of chicken feathers produced annually,” he said.

Unfortunately, limited studies on cement-bonded chicken feathers have been reported abroad and nothing at all in the Philippines.

Acda explained that chicken feathers, by weight, are about half feather fiber and half quill (the stiff central core with hollow tube structure).

An alternative use of chicken feathers is to bind them with cement to produce a lightweight and decay-resistant composite panel.

In line with the study’s objectives, waste feathers are sourced from the poultry processing plants of San Miguel Corp., Southeast Asia’s largest food and beverage conglomerate, in Batangas and Quezon.

Waste feathers are brought to the laboratory in sacks, cleaned with detergent using a washing machine, manually separated into feather fiber and quill, or cut into small pieces.

A series of composite panels containing several different mixtures of chicken feathers and cement at varying water-cement ratios are fabricated in the laboratory and tested for their effect on physical and mechanical properties, and durability against decay fungi and subterranean termite.

Mechanical tests are done in accordance with the standard procedures of the American Wood Preservers Association.

Plasticizer or catalyst is added to improve workability of the mix, strength, and stability of the boards.

Similarly, the effects of feather and quill morphology on board strength and nature of failure are investigated.

Results will be used to identify which combinations of variables provide the most feasible solution that will give acceptable and physical and mechanical properties.

In a report to Cherry Ramirez, assistant vice president for corporate and government affairs of Ford Group Philippines, Acda said, “So far, the results are very encouraging and we are already in the process of improving the initial formulation by pre-treatment of feathers with coupling agents and addition of plasticizer to improve mix properties.”

“We expect no technical problems in the conduct of the experiments at this time and expect the project to be completed on schedule,” he added.