Pretreatment of chicken feather waste for improved biogas production.

This study deals with the utilization of chicken feather waste as a substrate for anaerobic digestion and improving biogas production by degradation of the compact structure of the feather keratin. In order to increase the digestibility of the feather, different pretreatments were investigated, including thermal pretreatment at 120 °C for 10 min, enzymatic hydrolysis with an alkaline endopeptidase [0.53-2.

Biological treatment of chicken feather waste for improved biogas production.

A two-stage system was developed which combines the biological degradation of keratin-rich waste with the production of biogas. Chicken feather waste was treated biologically with a recombinant Bacillus megaterium strain showing keratinase activity prior to biogas production. Chopped, autoclaved chicken feathers (4%, W/V) were completely degraded, resulting in a yellowish fermentation broth with a level of 0.

Production of biofuels, limonene and pectin from citrus wastes.

Production of ethanol, biogas, pectin and limonene from citrus wastes (CWs) by an integrated process was investigated. CWs were hydrolyzed by dilute-acid process in a pilot plant reactor equipped with an explosive drainage. Hydrolysis variables including temperature and residence time were optimized by applying a central composite rotatable experimental design (CCRD).