Green Solution for Salinity in Tannery Wastewater: A Step Forward in Leather Processing

Abstract

The conventional leather processing method contributes to high salinity in wastewater due to the discharge of enormous amount of salts used for preservation. Hence, an attempt has been made to replace the salt with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to reduce the salinity in tannery wastewater. The molecular weight (MW) and percentage offer of PEG were standardized based on the rate of dehydration of hide matrix during preservation and rehydration of preserved hide matrix. The determination of hydroxyproline in spent soak liquors at various time periods during storage showed that the preservation of hides using PEG MW 2000 was more effective than sodium chloride. The reduction in total salinity by 43% is possible in tannery wastewater through PEG based preservation of raw hides. Functional characteristics of the experimental crust leathers are shown to be on par with control crust leathers. The developed greener process appears to be technically viable and economically acceptable alternative for salt based preservation.