Assessment and Characterization of Leather Solid Waste from Sheba Leather Industry PLC, Wukro, Ethiopia

Abstract

Leather manufacturing processes raw hides and skins into various finished leather products, generating huge amounts of untanned and untanned leather solid wastes (LSWs). The present study investigates the LSWs generation, characterization, and management practices of the Sheba leather industry in Ethiopia. Results revealed that LSWs are categorized as non-chrome solid waste, including de-dusted salt, raw trimming, hairs, fleshing waste, pickle trimming, and splitting wastes. Chrome-based wastes include chrome shaving waste, crust leather trimming waste, buffing dust waste, finished leather trimming waste, etc. Further, solid wastes were characterized for the physico-chemical parameters viz. moisture (31.5%), ash content (7.3%), pH (5.7), carbon content (14.7%), nitrogen content (0.3%), chromium content (2%), calorific value (20,107 kJ.kg-1), VOCs (75.1%) and carbon to nitrogen ratio (52:1). Results obtained suggested various sustainable technological options for the effective LSWs management to preserve environment.

Keywords

• leather solid waste, chrome-based waste, non-chrome-based waste