The aim of the present work is to evaluate a new sustainable continuous system for processing bovine leather. By means of a prototype described in the international patent WO, 2010/070571 (A2) of the technological centre AIICA, a dehydration process for bovine hides is carried out. What is obtained through this new process is a dehydrated leather with the optimal physical and chemical characteristics that will allow its subsequent tanning by immersion processes in aqueous solutions of chemical products. When compared to existing traditional processes, there are economic and environmental advantages resulting from the use of this new system. More specifically, the new process results in reductions of 30.6% in water use, 50.2% in chemical use and 16.4% in process time. In addition, a reduction of 27.3% in wastewater and a reduction of 47.5% of thermal energy consumption are obtained. However, this new system presents an increase in electricity consumption of 63.03% and an increase in gaseous emissions of 75% due to the use of acetone in the dehydration process and the 0.5% losses of acetone during the process.; In order to better assess the environmental impact of this new tanning system, life cycle analysis methodology has been chosen to perform calculations on the Global Warming Potential (CO2 equivalent emissions) and the energy consumption comparing both traditional and new tanning processesPostprint (published version
The manufacture of upholstery and automotive articles is linked to the release of Volatile Organic Compounds (hereinafter VOCs) during their manufacture, which have short and long-term effects on the health of users and the environment. In the leather sector, around 40 kg of VOCs are generated per 1000 kg of raw skin. This research work has focused on the synthesis of new and more sustainable urethane-based polymers that, in turn, allow the quality requirements of the finish to be met, which vary depending on the leather article manufactured. The main objective of the study is to minimize the content of VOCs in the different aliphatic polyurethanes synthesized in a pilot-scale reactor, making small modifications to the synthesis formulations. The synthesis route developed is based on the preparation of polymers of ionomeric polyurethanes and their subsequent dispersion in water. In the synthesis processes developed, the content of coalescing solvents and neutralizing agents, which directly contribute to the concentration of VOCs of the urethane polymers, is eliminated and / or minimized as much as possible. The new urethane-based polymers obtained have been analyzed according to the parameters of pH, viscosity, density and percentage of solids in the resin. Likewise, organoleptic tests (color, transparency, hardness, touch and tacking) and physical tests (tensile strength, water absorption, hardness and color change at 100°C for 24 hours) have been carried out on the film corresponding to each synthesized polyurethane resin. These products will be introduced in finishing formulations designed to obtain high-performance upholstery and automotive leather with minimal impact in terms of VOC content at the pilot level. Tests of fastness and physical resistance have been carried out to evaluate the performance of these leathers.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) arise from the chemicals used in the various stages of the leather manufacturing process. An important aim of the tanning industry is to minimize or eliminate VOCs and SVOCs, without lowering the quality of leather.
This paper shows the development of a new headspace-solid phase micro extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) method for the identification of VOCs and SVOCs emitted by newly designed polymers for the leather finishing operation. These new polymers are polyurethane resins designed to reduce the VOC and SVOC concentration. This method enables a simple and fast determination of the qualitative and semi-quantitative content of VOCs and SVOCs in polyurethane-type finishing resins. The chemicals that are of concern in this paper are the following: Dipropylene glycol Monomethyl Ether (DPGME), DBE-3 (a mixture of dibasic esters) and Triethylamine (TEA). The test conditions that have been determined to carry out the HS-SPME assay are the following: incubation time (2 hours), extraction temperature and time (40°C; 5 minutes) and the desorption conditions (280°C, 50 seconds).
Ten samples of laboratory scale resins were tested by HS-SPME followed by gas chromatography (GC-MS). DPGME and DBE-3 (a mixture of dimethyl adipate, dimethyl glutarate and dimethyl succinate) have been identified effectively. The compounds are identified by a quantitative method using external calibration curves for the target compounds. The technique is not effective to determine the TEA compound, since the chromatograms shown poor resolution peaks for the standard.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.