Hydrolysis of tanned leather wastes under alkaline, acidic and oxidative conditions

Abstract

Different wastes in large quantities are the outcome or the by-product of processes in the tanning industry. The largest part of solid wastes is collagen based and obtained in the reprocessing steps of tanned and non-tanned products. The quality collagen substance obtained from wastes of the leather industry used as a supporting material in many reprocessing industries. Hydrolysis is the basic step of collagen processing, namely the shortening of its polypeptide chain. The main goal of this investigation was to examine the influence of the following parameters on the extent of collagen hydrolysis: type and quantity of reagent used for hydrolysis temperature of hydrolysis, pH, duration of hydrolysis as well as the dimensions of the "shavings" samples. The change of molar mass during hydrolysis was monitored by UV-spectroscopy. Special attention was paid to the dechroming process of the collagen hydrolysate.

Keywords

• tanned leather
• wastes
• collagen
• hydrolysis