Collagen hydrolysate/chitosan/keratin-based ternary films from bio-wastes of the leather and poultry industries against plastic waste generation

Recently, declining petroleum resources worldwide, increasing demand of developing economies for petroleum, and political and environmental concerns about fossil-based resources have led to an urgent need for environmentally friendly, renewable, sustainable, cost-effective, and biological resources in the packaging industry. Effective use of hide trimming and chicken feather waste is one of the sustainable ways to recycle solid waste from the leather and poultry industry. This research aimed to synthesize and characterize collagen hydrolysate (CH), chitosan (CS), and keratin (K) ternary films with different blend compositions (CH/CS/K, 50/50/0, 45/45/10, 40/40/20, 35/35/30, and 30/30/40). SDS-PAGE and FTIR results confirmed that CH isolated from hide trimming wastes was in type I structure, while the molecular weight of the extracted K samples was in the range of 42.5–60 kDa. The mechanical results of this study showed that the increase in the K ratio in the ternary-based films caused a significant increase in thickness and tensile strength ( p < 0.05) and a significant decrease in the elongation at break (%). This study demonstrated that hide trimming and chicken feather waste could be used to produce a biodegradable film, which provides a way to maximize recycling and achieve sustainable development in the leather and poultry industry.