SBIR Phase I: Upcycling animal hair waste into regenerated textile fibers

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目通过从蛋白质废料中设计再生的可持续纤维来减少时尚业的环境足迹。每年从食品、美容和纺织行业产生的数百万吨工业和消费后角蛋白废物被用作生物质来源，以设计出性能可与羊毛和羊绒等动物纤维相媲美的可持续和低成本的蛋白质纺织品。该项目将允许在生态友好型纤维市场领域引入一个新的参与者，并有助于对抗合成材料对环境的有害影响。羊毛、皮革和家禽行业的角蛋白废物的再利用和重新估价将使美国农业生态系统的很大一部分受益。开发角蛋白再生纤维所需的蛋白质自组装和生物材料工程的基础研究将成为其他工业部门的科学资产，包括生物医学、高性能材料和绿色化学工业。这个SBIR第一阶段项目将开发化学工艺和材料制造平台，使角蛋白废物能够升级到纺织纤维中，通过标准的织物制造技术证明可加工性。计划通过以下方式实现目标：1)开发一种从动物毛发中提取角蛋白的高效和可持续的方法；2)在分子水平上对纺织纤维进行改造，使其首次匹配，然后改善羊毛和羊绒的机械和感官性能；3)实施定制的实验室规模的纤维制造工艺，展示出潜在的可扩展到复丝生产线的能力。为了达到计划中的里程碑，将进行以下活动：1)实施从毛发废料中提取角蛋白的非变性提取过程，并将提取的蛋白质配制成可通过挤出型制造平台加工的材料；2)通过在纤维制造过程中通过化学和物理调节提取的角蛋白的自组装过程来重建动物毛的纤维和各向异性结构；3)通过改变纤维核心和表面的反应性来调节纤维的吸湿性；以及4)分别在剪切力和纤维形成过程中调整蛋白质材料的流变性和液-固相变。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project reduces the environmental footprint of the fashion industry by engineering regenerated sustainable textile fibers from protein waste. The millions of tons of industrial and post-consumer keratin waste produced every year from the food, beauty, and textile industries are targeted as sources of biomass to engineer sustainable and cost-effective protein-based textiles with properties comparable to animal fibers such as wool and cashmere. This project would allow the introduction of a new player in the eco-friendly fiber market space and contribute to the fight against the detrimental environmental impacts of synthetics. The repurposing and revalorization of keratin waste from the wool, leather and poultry industries would benefit a broad part of the US agriculture ecosystem. The fundamental research on protein self-assembly and biomaterial engineering necessary for the development of the keratin regenerated fibers will serve as a scientific asset in other industrial sectors including biomedical, high-performance materials, and green chemistry industries.This SBIR Phase I project will develop chemical processes and material fabrication platforms to enable the upcycling of keratin protein waste into textile fibers proving processability through standard fabric manufacturing technologies. The target deliverable is planned to be achieved by 1) developing an efficient and sustainable method to extract keratin from animal hairs; 2) engineering the textile fibers at the molecular level to first match, and then improve the mechanical and sensorial properties of wool and cashmere; and 3) implementing a custom lab-scale fiber manufacturing process, demonstrating potential scalability into a multifilament production line. The following activities will be conducted to meet the planned milestones: 1) implementing a non-denaturing extraction process of keratin from hair waste and formulation of the extracted protein into a material processable through extrusion-based fabrication platforms; 2) reconstructing the fibrillar and anisotropic architecture of animal hair by chemically and physically regulating the self-assembly process of the extracted keratin during the fiber fabrication process; 3) modulating the hygroscopicity of the fiber by modifying the reactivities of both fiber core and surface; and 4) tuning the rheological properties and the liquid-to solid phase transition of the protein material under shear stress and during the fiber formation step, respectively.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.