Assignment

SUBJECT: APPLIED CHEMISTRY

COURSE CODE: CHEM-312

SUBMITTED TO: MA’AM ANUM

SUBMITTED BY: SEHRISH JAVED

Roll no. 69

SEMESTER: 6th

SECTION: B

DEPARTMENT: CHEMIST RY

GC WOMEN UNIVERSITY SIALKOT

CONTENTS:

Sr
no. Topics Page no.

1 Introduction to Leather 2

 Leather industry 3-7

 Leather manufacturing process
 Tanning method
 Types of leather

2 Wastes of leather industry 7-13

 Solid wastes of leather industry

 Biogas from tannery wastes

 Keratin, skin and chrome shaving wastes

3 Treatment of waste of leather industry 13-15

 Deal with hydrogen sulfide gas

 Treatment of tanning effluents
 Ultrafiltration treatment
 Leather industry
Leather:
Leather is a natural durable and flexible material created
by tanning animal rawhides and skins. The most common raw material is cattle hide. It can be
produced at manufacturing scales ranging from artisan to modern industrial scale.
Leather is used to make a variety of articles, including footwear, automobile seats, clothing,
bags, book bindings, fashion accessories, and furniture. It is produced in a wide variety of types
and styles and decorated by a wide range of techniques. The earliest record of leather artifacts
dates back to 2200 BC.
Leather Manufacturing Process:
The leather manufacturing process is divided into three
fundamental subprocesses: preparatory stages, tanning, and crusting. A further subprocess,
finishing, can be added into the leather process sequence, but not all leathers receive finishing.
Preparatory stages
The preparatory stages are when the hide is prepared for tanning. Preparatory stages may
include: soaking, unhairing, liming, deliming, bating, bleaching, and pickling.
Tanning:
Tanning is a process that stabilizes the proteins, particularly collagen, of the raw
hide to increase the thermal, chemical and microbiological stability of the hides and skins,
making it suitable for a wide variety of end applications. The principal difference between raw
and tanned hides is that raw hides dry out to form a hard, inflexible material that, when rewetted,
will putrefy, while tanned material dries to a flexible form that does not become putrid when
rewetted.
Crusting:
Crusting is a process that thins and lubricates leather. It often includes a coloring
operation. Chemicals added during crusting must be fixed in place. Crusting culminates with a
drying and softening operation, and may include splitting, shaving, dyeing, whitening or other
methods.
Finishing:
For some leathers, tanners apply a surface coating, called "finishing". Finishing
operations can include oiling, brushing, buffing, coating, polishing, embossing, glazing,
or tumbling, among others.
Leather can be oiled to improve its water resistance. This currying process after tanning
supplements the natural oils remaining in the leather itself, which can be washed out through
repeated exposure to water. Frequent oiling of leather, with mink oil, neat foot oil, or a similar
material keeps it supple and improves its lifespan dramatically .
.
Tanning methods:
Tanning processes largely differ in which chemicals are used in the tanning
liquor. Some common types include:
Vegetable-tanned leather:
is tanned using tannins extracted from vegetable matter, such as tree bark prepared in bark mills.
It is the oldest known method. It is supple and brown in color, with the exact shade depending on
the mix of materials and the color of the skin. The color tan derives its name from the appearance
of undyed vegetable-tanned leather. Vegetable-tanned leather is not stable in water; it tends to
discolor, and if left to soak and then dry, it shrinks and becomes harder. This is a feature of oak-
bark-tanned leather that is exploited in traditional shoemaking. In hot water, it shrinks drastically
and partly congeals, becoming rigid and eventually brittle.
Boiled leather:
Boiled leather is an example of this, where the leather has been hardened
by being immersed in hot water, or in boiled wax or similar substances. Historically, it was
occasionally used as armor after hardening, and it has also been used for book binding.
Chrome-tanned leather:
Chrome-tanned leather , invented in 1858, is tanned using chromium
sulfate and other chromium salts . It is also known as "wet blue" for the pale blue color of the
undyed leather. The chrome tanning method usually takes approximately one day to complete,
making it best suited for large-scale industrial use. This is the most common method in modern
use. It is than vegetable-tanned leather and does not discolor or lose shape as drastically in water
as vegetable-tanned. However, there are environmental concerns with this tanning method, as
chromium is a heavy metal.
Aldehyde-tanned leather:
Aldehyde-tanned leather is tanned
using glutaraldehyde or oxazolidine compounds. It is referred to as "wet white" due to its pale
cream color. It is the main type of "chrome-free" leather, often suppler and more reliable seen in
shoes for infants and automobiles. Formaldehyde has been used for tanning in the past; it is
being phased out due to danger to workers and sensitivity of many people to formaldehyde.
Chamois leather:
Chamois leather is a form of aldehyde tanning that produces a porous and
highly water-absorbent leather. Chamois leather is made using marine oils (traditionally cod oil)
that oxidize to produce the aldehydes that tan the leather.
Brain tanned leathers:
Brain-tanned leather are made by a labor-intensive process that uses
emulsified oils, often those of animal brains such as deer, cattle, and buffalo. They are known for
their exceptional softness and wash ability.
Alum leather:
Alum leather is transformed using aluminium salts mixed with a variety of
binders and protein sources, such as flour and egg yolk. Alum leather is not actually tanned;
rather the process is called "tawing", and the resulting material reverts to rawhide if soaked in
water long enough to remove the alum salts.
Bicast leather:
Bicast leather is split leather that has a polyurethane or vinyl layer applied to the
surface and embossed to give it the appearance of a grain. It is slightly stiffer than top-grain leather but
has a more consistent texture.
Patent leather:
Patent leather is leather that has been given a high-gloss finish by the addition of a
coating. Dating to the late 1700s, it became widely popular after inventor Seth Boyden
developed the first mass-production process, using a linseed oil-based lacquer, in Newark, New
Jersey, in 1818. Modern versions are usually a form of bicast leather.

Bonded leather:

Bonded leather also called reconstituted leather, is a material that uses leather scraps
that are shredded and bonded together with polyurethane or latex onto a fiber mesh. The
amount of leather fibers in the mix varies from 10% to 90%, affecting the properties of the
product.
Stingray leather:
In Thailand, stingray leather is used in wallets and belts. Stingray leather is tough and
durable. The leather is often dyed black and covered with tiny round bumps in the natural pattern
of the back ridge of an animal. These bumps are then usually dyed white to highlight the
decoration. Stingray rawhide is also used as grips on Chinese swords, Scottish basket hilted
swords, and Japanese katanas. Stingray leather is also used for high abrasion areas in motorcycle
racing leathers (especially in gloves, where its high abrasion resistance helps prevent wear
through in the event of an accident.)

Environmental impact
Leather produces some environmental impact, most notably due to:
 The carbon footprint of cattle rearing

 Use of chemicals in the tanning process (e.g., chromium, formic

acid, mercury and solvents)

 Air pollution due to the transformation process (hydrogen sulfide during dehairing
and ammonia during de liming, solvent vapors)
Carbon footprint:
One estimate of the carbon footprint of leather goods is 0.51 kg of CO2 equivalent per
£1 of output at 2010 retail prices, or 0.71 kg CO2eq per £1 of output at 2010 industry prices.
Water footprint:
One ton of hide or skin generally produces 20 to 80 m3 of waste water, including
chromium levels of 100–400 mg/l, sulfide levels of 200–800 mg/l, high levels of fat and other
solid wastes, and notable pathogen contamination. Producers often add pesticides to protect hides
during transport. With solid wastes representing up to 70% of the wet weight of the original
hides, the tanning process represents a considerable strain on water treatment installations.[10]
Disposal:
Leather biodegrades slowly—taking 25 to 40 years to decompose. However, vinyl and
petrochemical-derived materials take 500 or more years to decompose.
Chemical waste disposal:
Tanning is especially polluting in countries where environmental regulations are
lax, such as in India, the world's largest producer and exporter of leather. To give an example of
an efficient pollution prevention system, chromium loads per produced tone are generally abated
from 8 kg to 1.5 kg. VOC emissions are typically reduced from 30 kg/t to 2 kg/t in a properly
managed facility. A review of the total pollution load decrease achievable according to
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization posts precise data on the abatement
achievable through industrially proven low-waste advanced methods, while noting, "even though
the chrome pollution load can be decreased by 94% on introducing advanced technologies, the
minimum residual load 0.15 kg/t raw hide can still cause difficulties when using landfills and
composting sludge from wastewater treatment on account of the regulations currently in force in
some countries."
Wastes of leather industry
Solid waste of tanning industry:
The conventional leather tanning technology is highly polluting as it produces large
amounts of organic and chemical pollutants. Wastes generated by tanneries pose a major
challenge to the environment. Anaerobic digestion of tannery wastes is an attractive method to
recover energy from tannery wastes.
According to conservative estimates, more than 600,000 tons per year of solid waste are
generated worldwide by leather industry and approximately 40–50% of the hides are lost to
shavings and trimmings. Everyday a huge quantity of solid waste, including trimmings of
finished leather, shaving dusts, hair, fleshing, trimming of raw hides and skins, are being
produced from the industries. Chromium, sulfur, oils and noxious gas (methane, ammonia,
and hydrogen sulfide) are the elements of liquid, gas and solid waste of tannery industries.

Biogas from Tannery Wastes:

Anaerobic digestion (or bio methanation) systems are mature and proven processes
that have the potential to convert tannery wastes into energy efficiently, and achieve the goals of
pollution prevention/reduction, elimination of uncontrolled methane emissions and odor,
recovery of biomass energy potential as biogas, production of stabilized residue for use as low
grade fertilizer.
Anaerobic digestion:

Anaerobic digestion of tannery wastes is an attractive method to recover energy from

tannery wastes. This method degrades a substantial part of the organic matter contained in the
sludge and tannery solid wastes, generating valuable biogas, contributing to alleviate the
environmental problem, giving time to set-up more sustainable treatment and disposal routes.
Digested solid waste is biologically stabilized and can be reused in agriculture.

Until now, biogas generation from tannery wastewater was considered that the complexity of the
waste water stream originating from tanneries in combination with the presence of chroming
would result in the poisoning of the process in a high loaded anaerobic reactor.

When the locally available industrial wastewater treatment plant is not provided by anaerobic
digester, a largescale digestion can be planned in regions accommodating a big cluster of
tanneries, if there is enough waste to make the facility economically attractive.

In this circumstance, an anaerobic co-digestion plant based on sludge and tanneries may be a
recommendable option, which reduces the quantity of landfilled waste and recovers its energy
potential. It can also incorporate any other domestic, industrial or agricultural wastes. Chrome-
free digested tannery sludge also has a definite value as a fertilizer based on its nutrient content.
Potential Applications of Biogas:

Biogas produced in anaerobic digesters consists of methane (50%–80%), carbon

dioxide (20%–50%), and trace levels of other gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen sulfide. Biogas can be used for producing electricity and heat,
as a natural gas substitute and also a transportation fuel. A combined heat and power plant (CHP)
not only generates power but also produces heat for in-house requirements to maintain desired
temperature level in the digester during cold season.

CHP systems cover a range of technologies but indicative energy outputs per m 3 of biogas are
approximately 1.7 kWh electricity and 2.5kWh heat. The combined production of electricity and
heat is highly desirable because it displaces non-renewable energy demand elsewhere and
therefore reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Types of Pollution in Leather
Industry
Soil Pollution
Untreated wastewaters
from tanneries have been
applied on land merely to
contain them at one place.
The soils holding it
directly and irrigated with
contaminated groundwater
lose product
Waste Types in Leather Industry
Skin Collagen:
Animal skin is composed of proteins (90-95 % of solids, 35% by wt), lipids,
carbohydrates, mineral salts and water. Among several classes of proteins (collagen, elastin,
keratin, glycoproteins, albumins and globulins), collagen is present in the largest amount
and is responsible for the formation of leather by combination with tanning agents

Solid Wastes:
Out of 1000 kg of raw hide, nearly 850 kg is generated as solid wastes in leather
processing. Only 150 kg of the raw material is converted into leather. Tannery generates
huge amount of solid waste as follows: fleshing, 50-60; chrome shaving, chrome splits
and buffing dust, 35-40; skin trimmings, 5-7; and hair, 2-5%. Solid wastes in the leather
processing constitute: beam house, 80; tanning, 19; finishing, 1%. The solid wastes can be
hydrolyzed and used as a useful byproduct11 in many ways.
Fleshing Wastes:
Fleshing (50-60% of the total wastes generated in leather industry) has been
explored for the possible utilization into useful end products13. Modified fleshing
hydrolysate, prepared from fleshing and acrylic acid14, at the level of 2% showed
improved uptake of chromium in chrome tanning and rechroming. The physical strength
properties and organo-leptic properties of leather are better than conventionally produced
leather
Chrome Shaving Wastes:
Chrome tanned leather, splits and trimmings have been useful in obtaining glue,
gelatin, protein flavor and reconstituted collagen. The above products can be made by treating
with hydrogen peroxide to bring about important degree of maceration and then grinding
and extraction to yield the by-product (95%)19,20. Chrome shaving hydrolyzed using
magnesium oxide alone or in combination with calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide or
sodium carbonate increase efficiency of the solubilization and at the same time reduce the
amount of enzyme needed and thus making the treatment more cost effective21. It has been
found that there is no migration of Cr(III) at actual land disposal sites.
Keratin Wastes:
Keratin is difficult to hydrolyze and highly resistant towards enzymes and most
of the chemicals. It is rich in cystine. Keratin has been hydrolyzed using conc. NaOH or
HCl. The hydrolysate prepared from keratinous material has been employed in chrome
tanning and re chroming at various levels and the exhaustion is studied.

Types of wastes in leather industry

 Treatment of waste of leather industries
Leather industry waste management has involved only partial utilization of the waste and
mainly their storage. The non-tanned waste was used as a raw material for glue, gelatin,
technical fats, protein sheaths and even feed and fertilizers. At present these wastes are not
utilized. Since for fleshing all BSE-related restrictions imposed on slaughter house waste were
applied, it became unusable. Other wastes are not treated for various, mostly economic, reasons.
The tanned leather waste used for secondary leather production as a result of Western companies’
competition became unprofitable in Poland6.In Poland leather industry converts on average
several thousand tons of raw hides and skins each year while consumption of various types of
hides is about 6.3mln tones annually.
According to research data over 55%of the processed material constitutes the waste. Thus
,comprehensive waste disposal technology developing is very important .Both the hides, skins
and leather waste and biological sludge contain organic substances and thus their energy values
are relatively high. They range from 50 to 60% of hard coal energy value (nominally 20 MJ/kg
as dry material). The considerable amounts of heat are not yet utilized.
The leather wastes are predominantly stored on landfill and pose hazardous pollution problem to
environment. In Table 1 the general physicochemical characteristic of selected tannery waste is
presented. The leather dust briquettes have the highest energy value ,comparable to hard coal.

Deal with hydrogen sulfide gas (in tanneries and ETPs):

Hydrogen supplied gas present in tanneries and effluent treatment plants (ETPs) has
proven fatal to workers exposed to it many times.

It is therefore necessary that the owners and managers of tanneries and effluent treatment plants
are fully aware of the dangers posed by this poisonous gas and take all preventive and
precautionary measures to protect the workforce from exposure to this gas. In the event of
accidental exposure of a worker, they should know how to deal with the situation.

UNIDO’s activities in the leather processing has as one of its important objectives, improvement
of occupational safety and health practices in tanneries and effluent treatment plants. Under this
objective, the project has been seeking to demonstrate in selected tanneries improvement
practices for better occupational health and safety of the workers.

Treatment of tanning effluents:

In view of ever increasing legal and social pressures, no tanner can afford to be unfamiliar with
the main issues and principles of environmental protection pertaining to tannery operations.
Among these, preventing pollution and promoting cleaner leather processing, which ultimately
leads to lower treatment costs, clearly remain a priority. Through the application of industrially
proven low-waste advanced methods - such as using salt-free preserved raw hides and skins,
hair-save liming, low-ammonia or ammonia-free deliming and bating, advanced chrome
management system, etcetera - it is possible to decrease the pollution load expressed as COD and
BOD5 by more than 30%, sulphides by about 60 to 70 %, ammonia nitrogen by 80%, total
(Kjeldahl) nitrogen by 50%, chlorides by 70%, sulphates by 65 % and chromium by 90%. Yet,
 despite all preventive measures, there is still a considerable amount of pollution load to be dealt
with by the end-of-pipe methods. The purpose of this booklet is to help a tanner or a tannery
manager (possibly a well-trained leather technologist) to get familiarized with basic principles
and methods of treatment of tannery effluents. This knowledge should make him better equipped
for communications with the factory’s environmental unit, environmental authorities and NGOs.
To keep the manual short and concise, there are many simplifications and omissions of details;
for in-depth understanding of the complexities of treatment of effluents and solid wastes (sludge)
we recommend you to consult extensive literature on this subject. Finally, and contrary to the
widespread misperception that vegetable tanning is environmentally harmless (in reality its
effluents have very high, difficult-to-treat COD), the manual basically refers to the combined
chrome tanning (i.e. chrome tanning supplemented by vegetable and synthetic tanning agents)
because it is by far the most prevailing leather tanning method.

Application of Ultrafiltration in Treatment of Tannery Waste Water:

Under the Regional Programme for pollution control in the tanning industry in
South-East Asia UNIDO has been actively looking for methods to improve conventional
treatment processes which simultaneously reduce the nitrogen content and give the possibility of
dealing with TDS/chlorides present in the effluent. The following technologies relating to the
issues mentioned were implemented in pilot demonstration units:

 Mechanical/manual removal of excess salt from wet salted hides and skins

 Reverse osmosis (RO) of treated tannery effluent

 Improved solar evaporation

 Carbon dioxide (CO2) deliming in a small scale tannery to reduce ammonical nitrogen

 Constructed wet land treatment system (reed beds) possibly resulting in

nitrification/denitrification

 Ultrafiltration
 A study with preliminary estimates of costs of multistage evaporation system to recover salt
from reject generated by RO has also been prepared
In another study, the scope of replacement of secondary clarifier in the biological treatment
stage by ultrafiltration has been assessed.

REFERENCES:
http://dl.Leather industry.edu/ch105/lesson4 advancd concentrations.htm
 https://socratic.org/questions/what-is leather

 https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-wastes of leather industry-605419

 https://sciencing.com/solid wastes -5194302.html

 https://www.treatment of wastes of leather industry .com.au/partspm.html

 http://.qora . com

 https://definedterm.com