Poultry feathers represent a substantial keratin-rich waste stream with potential for valorisation into bio-based materials. This study evaluates the environmental performance of three novel feather treatment processes ((Steam Explosion (SE), Microbial Fermentation (MF) and Mechanical Grinding (MG)) intended for producing sustainable bioplastic feedstock, using Life Cycle Assessment. A gate-to-gate analysis compared the processes per 1000 kg feather input across multiple impact categories, including GWP, Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Respiratory Inorganics, and Water Scarcity. The scope was expanded to cradle-to-gate to include upstream farming impacts and compare results with conventional plastics. Gate-to-gate results showed MG had the lowest impacts for GWP (475 kg CO<inf>2</inf> eq.), AP (0.65 kg SO<inf>2</inf> eq.), EP (0.08 kg Phosphate eq.), and Respiratory Inorganics, driven by lower energy use. However, MG showed the highest Water Scarcity (7787 m3 world eq.) due to feather washing. MF exhibited the highest GWP (2035 kg CO<inf>2</inf> eq.) and Respiratory Inorganics, while SE showed the highest AP (1.25 kg SO<inf>2</inf> eq.). Cradle-to-gate, MG and SE offered significant GWP advantages over conventional plastics like PP, LDPE, and HDPE (up to 59 % and 27 % lower GWP, respectively). Similarly, MG and SE demonstrated lower AP (up to 56 % and 48 % lower, respectively) compared to these plastics. However, feather routes showed higher EP when upstream farming impacts were included. In conclusion, MG is the most favourable process regarding climate impact, though its water use is significant. SE provides a balanced alternative. Valorising feather waste offers environmental benefits over conventional plastics, but optimising energy efficiency and water consumption is crucial for enhancing the sustainability of these technologies

The increasing environmental concerns regarding plastic waste, especially in agriculture, have driven the search for sustainable alternatives. Agricultural plastics, such as mulching films and greenhouse covers, are heavily reliant on petrochemical-derived materials, which persist in the environment and contribute to long-term pollution. This study explores the use of biodegradable biocomposites made from steam explosion-treated chicken feathers and various polymer matrices to address these issues. Chicken feathers, a waste by-product of the poultry industry, present an excellent biodegradability as a result of the steam explosion treatment and contain nitrogen, potentially enhancing soil fertility. The biocomposites were characterized by thermal stability, mechanical properties, and biodegradability, and ecotoxicity assessments were carried out studying the incorporation of feathers into the soil. Results showed that the incorporation of treated chicken feathers increased the water absorption capacity of the composites, promoting faster disintegration and biodegradation. In particular, biocomposites made with polyhydroxyalkanoates and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) exhibited a significant increase in degradation rates, from 3–10% in the first month for pure matrices to 40–50% when reinforced with treated feathers. Meanwhile, those made from polylactic acid showed slower degradation. Furthermore, the addition of feathers positively influenced crop growth at low concentrations, acting as a slow-release fertilizer. However, high concentrations of feathers negatively affect plant growth due to excess nitrogen. These findings highlight the potential of poultry feathers as a valuable, sustainable filler for agricultural bioplastics, contributing to waste valorization and environmentally friendly farming practices. 

Feather waste is a major issue from an economic and environmental point of view. Even though there are already routes for the valorisation of feathers into fertilisers and feather meal, these are considered to have low added value. For more attractive applications, for example in agricultural biodegradable plastics, higher and faster degradability in soil is required. To face this challenge alternative approaches to accelerate biodegradation and disintegration processes are needed. In this context, steam explosion appears as an effective technology to modify the structure of feather and improve its soil degradability. In this work, chicken feathers were treated by steam explosion and the effect of treatment on their structure and physico-chemical and thermal properties were evaluated. Finally, the effect of the process conditions on the disintegration and biodegradation in soil of feathers was also investigated, finding an increased degradation in soil of steam explosion treated feathers. These results open up the possibilities of using feather waste as a component for environmentally friendly agricultural bioplastics that can be degraded in-situ in soil.

For an integrated steel plant, the blast furnace (BF) is the most energy intensive process unit in which coke and pulverized coal (PC) are used as reducing agents and energy carriers, leading to huge amount of fossil CO2 emission. Recent years, the steel industry has been putting much effort to reduce CO2 emissions especially for BFs. Biofuel is considered as one shortterm solution for CO2 emission reduction especially via the tuyere injection into BFs to replace PC. Much work has been carried out to inject wood charcoal in BFs due to the fact that the wood charcoal has the similar properties as PC [1]. However, the availability of forestry wood and high price of wood charcoal limit the charcoal’s utilization in BFs. So far, the charcoal injection is only realized in small scale BFs in Brazil.

The forest industry is one of Sweden’s most important business sectors. Thanks to its biobased rawmaterials and products, the forest industry plays a key role in the development towards asustainable, circular economy. To meet market needs, and to drive the growth of the circulareconomy, the forest industry is continually developing its processes and products. It is seeking to useits raw material, the forest, as efficiently as possible and is constantly seeking to improve quality andincorporate new functions into materials and products.Pulp and paper makes up the largest part of the forest industry, followed by sawn wood productsand products made from paper and paperboard. 3.9 million tons of pulp and 10.1 million tons ofpaper were produced in Sweden in 2016.The pulp and paper industry uses stem wood as its raw material. Stem wood consists of cellulose,hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives. Cellulose and hemicellulose are separated in the pulpingprocess and the economically most important components in wood. Lignin and extractives areusually burned to provide the mill with heat and power, but the use/needs has changed over timedue to development of more energy efficient mills. Today lignin is extracted from the black liquor forexternal use, while extractives are fractionated and used for production of a wide range of productssuch as, biodiesel, adhesives, and chemical intermediates.The extractives make up between 3 and 5 weight-% of the wood and consists of a wide range ofcompounds. The majority of those compounds are fatty acids such as oleic- and linoleic acid androsin acids, such as abietic- and pimaric acid. The remaining compounds are commonly referred to as“neutrals” and are dominated by β-sitosterol. The extractives in Scots pine for example, consist of 70% fatty acids, 20 % rosin acids and 5 % neutrals.Today, the extractives are separated at the pulp and paper mills during the regeneration of cookingchemicals into a product called crude tall oil (CTO). 2.5 million metric tons of CTO is producedglobally with 80% of the production situated in North America and Scandinavia. 1.3 million tons isproduced in North America and 600 000 tons is produced in Scandinavia. 2.0 million metric tons iscurrently refined globally, while the rest is used internally by the mills for the production of heat andpower.CTO is currently refined into a range of products which can be divided up into (i) chemicalintermediates, (ii) biodiesel, and (iii) tall oil pitch. The chemical intermediates are mostly used for theproduction of adhesives, while the biodiesel is used as a transport fuel, and the tall oil pitch is usedfor production of heat and power.To meet market needs, and to drive the growth of the circular economy, extractives could potentiallybe used for the production of other products, either through new refinement routes of CTO or novelextraction and separation methods from the raw material. In order to identify opportunities for theproduction of other extractives based products, the extractives value chain must first be mapped.Second, refinement routes as well as extraction and separation methods suitable for isolation andprocessing of valuable compounds must be identified.