Synthesis of thermal insulator using chicken feather fibre in starch-clay nanocomposites

Incorporating chicken feather fibre (CFF) into natural based-nanocomposite comprising of glycerine plasticized-cassava starch binder with bentonite (BNT) as nanofiller, a thermal insulator (TIN) was synthesized. Central Composite Design (CCD) Response Surface Methodology was employed to carry out the experimental design using two factors (CFF and BNT) along with one response (thermal conductivity) to produce nine materials as insulators, comprising of 0%, 5%, and 10% BNT based on 8 g initial weight of CFF. A sample without CFF was used as the control. Developed thermal insulators were subjected to thermal conductivity tests using Lee's disc method at a steady state. The best insulator is TIN-4 with the lowest thermal conductivity of 0.0313 W/(mK) and the highest insulation property of 114.63 m²k/W, while TIN-10 with no CFF has the highest thermal conductivity of 0.0549 W/(mk) and lowest insulation property of 48.1603 m²k/W. Proportionate use of chicken feather fibre in starch-clay nanocomposite will help synthesize an effective thermal insulator with minimum cost.