Indonesia Conference Directory

Keratin is an important biomaterial for industrial applications. About 90% of keratin is found in chicken feathers. Chicken feathers are accumulated from poultry processes and produced in millions of tons annually. Besides being abundant and cheap, keratin is insoluble in water and organic solvent which makes it difficult to recycle. Previous study showed that Solid state fermentation of keratinase using Bacillus sp. MD24 using chicken feathers a sole carbon and nitrogen source produced micro-keratin as a solid by-product. This paper reported our investigation in the soluble keratin in liquid by-product. Liquid by-product was produced through Solid-State fermentation of keratinase for 10 consecutive days by Bacillus sp. MD24 . Liquid by-product was separated from solid byproduct by centrifugation at 2000 rpm. The size of soluble keratin was examined by zeta particle analyzer. The soluble keratin was filmed and the film was characterized using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and film surface was analyses using scanning electron microscopy. Dissolution of keratin using ionic liquids ([BMIM]Cl and [EMIM]Ac) was done to compare its properties. Dissolution was performed under nitrogen atmosphere at 130 °C for 7 hours. Insoluble fraction was recovered by addition of water. The results showed the liquid by-product contains soluble keratin with size between 100-600 nm, and FTIR spectrum indicated the presence of polypeptide with high concentration of –S-H bond. There is no difference on surface structure between keratin biofilm produced from soluble keratin by-product and soluble keratin produced by dissolution using ionic liquids.