Biowaste Materials as Protein-amino Based Adsorbents for CO2 Capture Technologies

Abstract 

Chicken feathers are a by-product of the poultry processing industry and contain a keratin protein structure with properties suitable for carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption. In an era of increasing climate change, reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere represents one of the important goals of achieving carbon neutrality. In this study, chicken feathers were investigated as a sustainable and protein-rich biosorbent for CO2 capture. The inherent keratin structure, rich in amino functional groups, provides active sites for CO2 adsorption. 

A comparative batch adsorption analysis was conducted using a CO2 concentration sensor to assess the adsorption capacity of chicken feathers relative to pig nails and soybean residue. The results demonstrated that chicken feathers exhibited higher CO2 adsorption capacity (32.56 ± 8.85 mg/g) compared to pig nails (24.30 ± 1.11 mg/g) and soybean residue (13.77 ± 12.49 mg/g). Moreover, Sodium hydroxide hydrolysis treatment of chicken feathers significantly enhanced their adsorption capacity to 183.42 ± 22.68 mg/g. Compared to other reported biosorbents such as wood biochar (41.23 - 45.85 mg/g) and chitosan (163.72 mg/g), the treated chicken feathers exhibited a higher CO2 adsorption capacity. This indicates their potential for sustainable carbon capture, contributing to circular 

economic strategies and otherwise underutilized industrial by-product. 

Keyword: Amino-based adsorbents; Biowaste materials; Carbon dioxide adsorption; Chicken feathers; Sodium hydroxide hydrolysis