A research is done in University of the Philippines Los Baños by Professor Menandro Acda, which is funded by the Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants programmed. The research is being heralded as economically and environmentally sound.
Acda has created a new composite building board made of chicken feathers that could be a major breakthrough for the construction industry in Asia.
The new material would be resistant to the region’s armies of termites, and could also solve a major environment problem in the Philippines by providing a way to dispose of millions of kilos of waste feathers each year.
Acda said the material, made of compressed cement and chicken feathers, could be widely used for housing, replacing boards now made with wood chips, which are easily ruined by hungry insects.
Although more research needs to be done, Acda said the feather boards could be used for panelling, ceilings and as insulation but not for weight-bearing building components like walls or pillars.
In addition, the researcher said his work would also solve the significant problem of disposing of the 2.4 million tonnes of feathers produced each year by the Philippines poultry industry, while doing less damage to the environment.
Acda is hoping to perfect his feather board by year’s end, at which point he will publish his findings. And if the results are good, then it will be applied for a patent and publish the study.