The Exact Research Student Creativity Program Team (PKM-RE) Universitas Brawijaya in Malang examines the use of chicken feather waste as an absorber as well as a color substitute for industrial waste.

The team consisted of Muhammad Alfan Nurdin and Ridho Pambudi from the Faculty of Animal Science, as well as Sherina Yasmin Valeria, Kamila Rohadatul Aisy, and Nancya Ayu Pratmaning Putri from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MIPA).

The five friends conducted a study entitled "The Potential of Keratin from Chicken Feathers as an Adsorbent for Methylene Blue Dyes Based on FTIR Spectrophotometry", with the supervisor, Mulia Winirsya Apriliyani.

"Our research aims to find an organic-based adsorbent material, using the principle of waste for waste, such as keratin from chicken feather waste," said Ridho.

According to Ridho, most of the waste comes from water from the production process, remnants of lubricants and oil, chemicals left over from the production process, and scraps of cloth. Post-production textile wastewater management is aimed at eliminating or reducing levels of contaminants so that industrial wastewater meets the requirements to be disposed of.

He explained that the dye used in the textile industry is a synthetic dye. Generally, dye waste from the textile industry is a synthetic dye in the form of non-biodegradable organic compounds or cannot be biodegraded.

Textile waste is liquid waste with high color and concentrated concentration, which is difficult to degrade in nature so that it can cause disease because it is carcinogenic (triggers cancer) and mutagenic alias can cause genetic mutations and affect reproduction.

Textile dye waste is a special concern for Ridho and his friends because the aromatic structure of dyes is difficult to degrade in nature and produces toxicological effects (poisonous). In addition, most dyes are made to have resistance to environmental influences such as pH (acidity), temperature, and microbial effects.

One of the common and most widely used dyes in the textile industry is methylene blue or methylene blue. Methylene blue is also widely used in the printing and plastics industries, such as for dyeing paper, hair dye, cotton fabrics, and wool.

Contamination by methylene blue can cause irritation to the human digestive tract if ingested, cause cyanosis (blue skin due to oxygen deprivation of red blood cells, especially in the areas of the lips and fingers) if inhaled, and cause skin irritation if in contact with skin. This compound can also cause burns to the eyes to blind the vision of humans and animals.

"That's why we are trying to get rid of the odor and levels of methylene blue by using natural and environmentally friendly dyes. The technique of removing it is using the adsorption or absorption method. This method is more efficient, economical, and simple,” said Ridho, a 7th semester student.

Ridho and colleagues studied that various adsorbents such as activated clay and activated carbon, carbon nanotubes (CNT), polymers and zeolites have been widely used to absorb and replace methylene blue. The problem is, this adsorbent material is expensive and difficult to obtain.

So, Ridho's team chose chicken feather waste as an absorbent material for methylene blue dye. "Absorbent material from chicken feathers can be used for years and the raw materials are very easy to obtain at low prices, even free of charge," said Ridho.

The use of chicken feather waste is also intended to reduce the volume of waste. Based on 2019 BPS data, it is known that broiler chicken feather waste is more than 200 million tons. Chicken feather waste usually smells bad and is a source of spread of disease.

Whereas fur waste contains 60-80 percent protein, with 80-91 percent crude protein from dry matter, 7.79 percent crude fat, and 0.88 percent crude fiber. Chicken feather protein also contains keratin, which is a natural protein that can be found in feathers, hair, skin, nails, and horns. Keratin levels in chicken feather protein reach 85-95 percent. Well, this keratin is used as an adsorbent.

Ridho and his friends began researching the use of chicken feather waste that had been extracted since last June. All stages of research are centered in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory of MIPA Brawijaya University.

The equipment used included several glassware, pH meter, analytical balance, oven, thermometer, Buchner funnel, shaker, magnetic stirrer, 100 mesh filter, UV-Vis spectrophotometer and FTIR spectrophotometer. The FTIR spectrophotometer is a technique based on the determination of the interaction between infrared radiation and a sample which can be a solid, liquid, or gas. This tool measures the frequency at which the sample absorbs and the intensity of its absorption.

In addition to chicken feathers, other materials needed include a solution of hydrochloric acid (Hcl), aka hydrochloric acid, distilled water, acetone, and methylene blue dye.

“The chicken feathers that we have applied are able to absorb methylene blue dye in textile industry waste. This success can be seen in the change in the water which was previously blue because the methylene blue content has changed to a little clearer,” said Ridho.

Ridho and his friends are determined to perfect the research results so that they can be applied commercially, in collaboration with the textile industry. Currently, Ridho's team wants to submit their research results to a scientific journal.