This study assessed the subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH) of poultry feathers to recover amino acids. Experiments were conducted in a semi-continuous flow-through subcritical reactor (110 mL), which was operated over a range of temperatures (210–250 °C) and water flow rates (5–15 mL min^–1), combined through a 2² central composite design, at constant feed (10 g) and pressure (15 MPa). The results demonstrated that non-essential and essential amino acids were obtained from SWH of poultry feathers. The highest hydrolysis temperature resulted in the highest concentrations of valine, methionine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine. Otherwise, threonine, histidine, and arginine were obtained more effectively at lower temperatures. The response surface methodology was adopted to identify the best conditions for amino acid production, and it was possible to identify the ranges of temperatures and water flow rates to be used to recover specific amino acids. This study allowed concluding that SWH is a promising eco-friendly technology to recover amino acids from protein-rich wastes.

本研究评估了家禽羽毛的亚临界水水解 (SWH) 以回收氨基酸。实验在半连续流通式亚临界反应器 (110 mL) 中进行，该反应器在温度 (210–250 °C) 和水流速 (5–15 mL min ^–1 ) 范围内运行，并通过2 ²中心复合设计，在恒定进料 (10 g) 和压力 (15 MPa) 下。结果表明，从家禽羽毛的 SWH 中获得了非必需和必需氨基酸。最高水解温度导致最高浓度的缬氨酸、蛋氨酸、色氨酸、苯丙氨酸、异亮氨酸、亮氨酸和赖氨酸。否则，在较低温度下更有效地获得苏氨酸、组氨酸和精氨酸。采用响应面方法来确定氨基酸生产的最佳条件，并且可以确定用于回收特定氨基酸的温度和水流速范围。这项研究得出的结论是，SWH 是一种很有前途的环保技术，可以从富含蛋白质的废物中回收氨基酸。