ISSN 2375-0707
African Journal of Environmental Economics and Management ISSN 2375-0707 Vol. 3 (3), pp. 221-224, March, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Short Communication
A study of the degradation of feather and hair wastes in an eco-friendly way so as to make the waste dumping soils fertile
Ashok Patel1, Shri Kohli2 and Prakash Kohli2
1College of Environmental Engineering, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Palanpur, Gujarat, India.
2Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India
Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]
Accepted 21 January, 2015
Abstract
The current study was aimed at the degradation of feather and hair wastes in an eco-friendly way, which should further be helpful to make the waste dumping soils fertile. Degradation of feathers and hair was assessed by a highly potent Keratinophilic fungus namely Chrysosporium tropicum. The 60 day experiment was set up with sterile defatted feather and hair as substrates in a mineral medium along with the inoculum of the organism. The culture filtrate was analyzed every 10 days, for the release of catabolic products such as protein and keratinase, along with the concomitant increase in pH. Maximum degradation was found on the 40th day sample, where the protein released was 6.9mg/ml and the Keratinolytic activity was 8.56 KU/ml. The increase in pH (from neutral), towards alkalinity up to 40days (9.0) of incubation and decline thereafter, indicates that the release of soluble protein into the medium is maximum for 40 days. Among the two substrates used, Chrysosporium tropicum had more effect on hair than that of feather.
Key words: Feather waste, hair waste, Keratinophilic fungi, Chrysosporium tropicum.