Biodegradation of Keratin-Rich Husbandry Waste as a Path to Sustainable Agriculture

Anna Shestakova, Svetlana Timorshina and Alexander Osmolovskiy
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Anna Shestakova: Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, HSE University, 101000 Moscow, Russia
Svetlana Timorshina: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Alexander Osmolovskiy: Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, HSE University, 101000 Moscow, Russia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-11

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.

Keywords: keratinases; feather waste; enzyme technology; biodegradation; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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