Feather keratin is a biomass generated in excess from various livestock industries. With appropriate processing, it holds potential as a green source for degradable biopolymer that could potentially replace current fossil fuel based materials. Several processing methods have been developed, but the use of ultrasonication has not been explored. In this study, we focus on (i) comparing and optimizing the dissolution process of turkey feather keratin through sonication and conventional processes, and (ii) generating a biodegradable polymer material, as a value added product, from the dissolved keratin that could be used in packaging and other applications. Sonication of feather keratin in pure ionic liquids (ILs) and a mixture containing ILs and different co-solvents was conducted under different applied acoustic power levels. It was found that ultrasonic irradiation significantly improved the rate of dissolution of feather keratin as compared to the conventional method, from about 2 hours to less than 20 minutes. The amount of ILs needed was also reduced by introducing a suitable co-solvent. The keratin was then regenerated, analyzed and characterized using various methods. This material holds the potential to be reused in various appliances.

羽毛角蛋白是从各种畜牧业中过量产生的生物质。通过适当的加工，它有潜力作为可降解生物聚合物的绿色来源，可以潜在地替代当前基于化石燃料的材料。已经开发了几种处理方法，但是尚未探索超声处理的用途。在这项研究中，我们专注于（i）通过超声处理和常规方法比较和优化火鸡羽毛角蛋白的溶解过程，以及（ii）从溶解的角蛋白中生成可降解的高分子材料，作为增值产品。在包装和其他应用中。在不同的施加声功率水平下，对纯离子液体（ILs）和包含ILs和不同助溶剂的混合物中的羽毛角蛋白进行超声处理。发现与常规方法相比，超声辐射显着改善了羽毛角蛋白的溶解速率，从约2小时到小于20分钟。通过引入合适的助溶剂，还可以减少所需的IL数量。然后使用各种方法对角蛋白进行再生，分析和表征。这种材料具有在各种电器中重复使用的潜力。