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Green processing: minimising harmful substances in leather making

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Abstract

Conventional leather processing poses serious threat to the environment due to its numerous chemical treatments which include hazardous chemicals such as sodium sulphide and lime. To minimise the pollutants and harmful substances during leather processing, an enzymatic rehydration–dehairing–fibre-opening process has been achieved in shortest possible time compared to conventional process. The physicochemical characteristics of experimental leathers were found to be comparable with those of conventionally processed leathers. The releases of sugar and proteoglycans were found to be in congruence with the scanning electron micrographs and histology. TGA and DSC results ascertained the stability of enzymatically processed leathers. Pollution load in terms of TOC, BOD, COD, and TDS was reduced up to 80% compared to that of the conventional process. The present work provides immense potential for a new approach in leather making with environmental safeguards.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director of CSIR – Central Leather Research Institute for his support and encouragement.

Funding

This research received funding from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. J. Durga received a Senior Research Fellowship from the CSIR-SRF (CSIR – CLRI communication number: A/2018/LPT/CSIR-CLRI/1271).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-CLRI Campus, CSIR - Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai, 600020, India

    Durga Jayanthi

  2. Leather Process Technology Division, CSIR - Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai, 600020, India

    Durga Jayanthi, John Sundar Victor & Muralidharan Chellappa

  3. Department of Biotechnology, CSIR - Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai, 600020, India

    Rose Chellan

Authors
  1. Durga Jayanthi
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  2. John Sundar Victor
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  3. Rose Chellan
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  4. Muralidharan Chellappa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muralidharan Chellappa.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Jayanthi, D., Victor, J.S., Chellan, R. et al. Green processing: minimising harmful substances in leather making. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 6782–6790 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-04111-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-04111-z

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