Chicken feathers (CFs) are a waste material generated from poultry industry in large quantities. A composite material constituted of poly lactide and CFs is proposed in order to prepare a biodegradable composite with low environmental impact. In order to evaluate its environmental impact, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed. The results show that, from the environmental point of view, the more chicken feathers in the material, the greater is its impact. This is mainly due to the non - inclusion of the impact data regarding CFs current waste management treatments required in accordance with the European Directive CE 1069/2009 (in study) and to the high energy consumption of the pre - treatment stages (cleaning and sanitizing) required to transform CFs waste into a CFs technical material that can be used for the preparation of CFs/PLA composites material, which needs to be optimized.

Peer Reviewed