Utilization of waste wool fibers for fabrication of wool powders and keratin: a review

Wool fiber contains approximately 95% keratinous proteins, which is one of the most abundant sources of structural protein. However, a large amount of wool waste is underutilized. Developing appropriate approaches to recycle wool waste and produce value-added products is vital for sustainable development and reducing environmental burden. Thus, this paper reviews the mechanical methods of fabricating wool powder, including pan milling, combined wet and air-jet milling, steam explosion, freeze milling, and three-stage milling. The influencing factors of shape and size, structure, and properties are highlighted to overview of the possible controlling methods. Then, this review summarizes various chemical methods for the extraction of wool keratin, underlining the dissolution efficiency and the structure of wool keratin. Furthermore, the application of reused wool particles in textile, biosorbent, and biomaterials are also reported. Finally, several perspectives in terms of future research on the fabrication and application of wool particles are highlighted.