Keratin Hydrolysates Extracted from Sheep Wool with Potential Use as Organic Fertilizer

Keratin hydrolysates were obtained from sheep wool by alkaline hydrolysis at different concentrations of KOH (3%, 5% and 8%) and temperatures (75°C, 85°C, 95°C and 99°C) of the reaction medium. The protein content of the keratin extracts was between 65.54% and 87.10%. Particle measurements showed a decrease in particle size with the increase of concentration and temperature of the reaction medium. The ATR-FTIR spectra revealed specific bands to proteins and sulfur originated from keratin amino acids. The keratin hydrolysate type KerK895 was further investigated as organic fertilizer for two types of wheat seeds. The results showed that the use of 5% KerK895 led to the increase of the wheat stems lengths by 10.7% for Mirastar wheat and 18.3% for Tamino wheat, respectively, compared to control sample. Keratin hydrolysates are promising biopolymers as organic fertilizers in agriculture applications.