Abstract:

The market’s demand for fibrous materials with increased moisture retention is principally
connected with the essential development of sanitary and cosmetic products. Keratin,
which is included in feathers, appears to be an original raw material which enables fibrous
composite materials of this kind to be manufactured. The aim of our investigation was to
obtain different keratin forms from feathers, to identify and determine these forms, and to
indicate new application directions connected with fibres and fibrous products. An optimum
extraction method for obtaining keratin from chicken feathers was developed, and an attempt was made to obtain stable keratin solutions with the addition of other biopolymers, such as cellulose and alginate.