Sheep Wool as Biomass: Identifying the Material and Its Reclassification from Waste to Resource

Julita Szczecina, Ewa Szczepanik, Jakub Barwinek, Piotr Szatkowski, Marcin Niemiec, Alykeev Ishenbek Zhakypbekovich and Edyta Molik ()
Additional contact information
Julita Szczecina: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 31-059 Krakow, Poland
Ewa Szczepanik: Department of Glass Technology and Amorphous Coatings, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Jakub Barwinek: Department of Glass Technology and Amorphous Coatings, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Piotr Szatkowski: Department of Glass Technology and Amorphous Coatings, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Marcin Niemiec: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 21, 31-120 Krakow, Poland
Alykeev Ishenbek Zhakypbekovich: Department of Animal Husbandry and Aquaculture Management, Kyrgyz National Agrarian University in Biszkek, Bishkek 720005, Kyrgyzstan
Edyta Molik: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 31-059 Krakow, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: The growing amount of waste worldwide requires new solutions for its management. Agricultural by-products account for almost 10% of the waste generated. One of them is sheep wool, a natural fibre with beneficial physicochemical properties. Currently, sheep wool production amounts to approximately 1–2 million tonnes per year, of which 60% is used in the manufacture of clothing. Nevertheless, it poses a considerable challenge in terms of disposal due to its keratin-rich composition and slow biodegradability. This review analyses the chemical and physical properties of sheep wool and assesses its potential as biomass based on its carbon content and other elemental components. This allows us to provide a critical comparative analysis of the main technological pathways for the use of waste sheep wool as biomass, including anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, direct combustion and gasification. The review highlights both the opportunities and limitations of these processes, comparing sheep wool in terms of energy potential and carbon footprint with other biomass. The review shows that the calorific value of sheep wool (19.5 MJ/kg) is competitive with traditional plant-based biofuels and the use of waste sheep wool as biomass source can contribute to reduction in CO 2 emissions of 2.1 million tonnes per year. The use of sheep wool as biomass can not only contribute to waste reduction but also supports the goals of sustainable agriculture and climate neutrality. The selected methods may offer a new and effective way of reducing waste and allow all sheep wool produced to be introduced into the circular economy.

Keywords: sheep wool; waste management; biomass energy; waste wool (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/19/5185/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/19/5185/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:19:p:5185-:d:1761296

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Shen

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().