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Nanomaterials to help eco-friendly leather processing

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Abstract

The leather industry converts the hide, a byproduct of slaughterhouses, into leather, a value-added product. This old industry generates wastes, causing environmental pollution. However, nanomaterials can help to decrease this problem. These tiny particles (1–100 nm) can replace chemicals in various steps of leather processing. This paper aims at giving an overview of the fundamentals of classical leather process and how nanomaterials can be applied in each step to obtain a more sustainable manufacturing. After a comprehensive literature review of journal articles, six steps were identified for potential for application of nanomaterials: unhairing, tanning, retanning, dyeing, fatliquoring, and finishing. With nano-oxides, polymers, and metals, it is feasible to reduce the amount of chemical products and also improve the properties of leather. Thus, it is possible to reach a more eco-friendly and effective process with the use of nanomaterials to turn hide/skins into finished leather.

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Abbreviations

DMDAAC:

dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride

GLYMO:

(3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane)

HMDSO:

hexamethyldisiloxane

PLGA:

poly(lactide co-glycolide)

PMMA:

poly(methyl methacrylate)

PMAA:

poly(methacrylic acid)

PMAAS:

methacrylic acid-co-acrylamide-co-acrylonitrile-co-salicylic acid tetrabasic copolymer

TEOS:

tetraethoxysilane

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Funding

V.V.K. thanks CAPES for the grant. J.H.Z.S. thanks FAPERGS (19/2551-0001869-0) for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Leather and Environmental Studies – LACOURO, Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Victória Vieira Kopp, Caroline Borges Agustini & Mariliz Gutterres

  2. Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    João Henrique Zimnoch dos Santos

Authors
  1. Victória Vieira Kopp
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  2. Caroline Borges Agustini
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  3. Mariliz Gutterres
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  4. João Henrique Zimnoch dos Santos
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Contributions

Victória Kopp: investigation, writing—original draft. Caroline Agustini: writing—review and editing. Mariliz Gutterres: writing—review & editing, supervision. João dos Santos: conceptualization, writing—review & editing, supervision.

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Correspondence to Victória Vieira Kopp.

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Kopp, .V., Agustini, C.B., Gutterres, M. et al. Nanomaterials to help eco-friendly leather processing. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 55905–55914 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16216-z

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