Abstract
Every year, the size of the human population grows; with it, the need for agricultural products increases. This leads to an increment in the volume of waste, including hard-to-degrade keratin-rich ones, such as feathers. Currently, most of the agro-industrial complex protein by-products are utilized by incineration, landfilling, and chemical hydrolysis. Such methods do not meet modern trends in the development of a sustainable economy, negatively affecting the environment and humans, and preventing the reusing of waste. An alternative is biodegradation, which consists of the application of living organisms and their enzymes to recycle by-products. This approach is not only sustainable, but also makes it possible to obtain products of waste hydrolysis that are in demand for the manufacture of fertilizers and feed additives. This brings the development of agriculture closer to a circular economy and makes the recycling process more profitable. This review article emphasizes the significance of keratinolytic microorganisms and keratinases for the improvement of green methods for processing hard-to-degrade protein waste of the agro-industrial complex, which is necessary for sustainable economic development.
Highlights
Introduction daSilva, Peyman Abdeshahian, According to the human population projections of the United Nations, the global population will reach 10.1 billion people by 2060 [1]
Assuming that the mass of feather cover is up to 9% of the bird’s weight [24], the amount of feather waste can be estimated at 11,848,251 tons worldwide, according to data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for 2019
Keratins are distinguished from many other biopolymers by a higher percentage of cysteine, and as a result, its dimerized form, cystine, provides keratin with increased resistance to hydrolysis [39]
Summary
Pork is the most consumed type of meat worldwide, the poultry industry is growing most significantly [6]. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2019, the poultry population reached almost 77 billion heads, of which chickens represented the majority, reaching 94%, followed by ducks (4%), and geese and guinea fowl (1%). These residues may be disposed of or somehow processed and applied in different fields. There are the following ways to meet sustainable development trends in waste management: poultry by-products may be converted to edible material directly or indirectly via plant fertilizers manufacturing or processed into value-added products. The latter are feed additives, fertilizers, meals, biodegradable materials, biofuel, etc. Feathers are tough to utilize and process, they have great applicable potential since they have a high protein content and make up a significant percentage of the bird’s body weight
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