1DJR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vijayawada, AP, India.
2K.L. College of Engineering, Guntur, AP.
3Dept of Met Engg, College of Engineering, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-53003, A P, India. E-mail: nrmrbhargava@rediffmail.com.
The object of this study was to make an exhaustive characterization of one of the most abundantly available fibers sourced from chicken feather. Fractionation was taken up to document the relative amounts of fiber and quill in different types of feathers. Feathers having minimal quills comprise about 75% of the total while large-quilled flight feathers were about 25% of the total. Of the flight feathers, some 30% was fiber with the remaining 70% being quill. It was found that feather yields nearly 50% useful fibers. Five properties viz., density, chemical durability, moisture content, moisture regain and tensile strength of feather fiber were determined. The density was found to be on par with wood based fibers. Chemical durability tests indicate that alkaline matrix is more deleterious than acidic one. Moisture content and moisture regain were found to be around 13 and 10% respectively. The tensile strength was determined to be around 70 MPa. Spectroscopic analysis was carried out using Fourier Transform infrared. Finally, scanning electron microscopy has been carried out to ensure a full characterization. Microscopic examination of the feather barb indicates a diameter of 30 to 200 micrometers. Sustained availability, low cost, low density, less hazardous nature, combined with reasonable tensile strength; qualify feather fiber for many consumer applications that are currently using man made fibers which are not so user friendly.
