Exploration of Functional Polymers for Cleaner Leather Industry

The progress of low-toxic and little-waste technologies, as well as scientifically justified utilize of chemical ingredients and raw materials, are all linked in order to reduce the negative footprint of the tanning industry on the nature. Expansion and application of alternate pre-tanning and tanning methods using polymeric chemicals could be acted as a solution for such problem. Modern polymeric material based on acrylic acid and amphoteric were employed to replace the traditional pickling process. Experiments have shown that using polymeric materials for leather manufacturing could intensify the tanning process, increase the thermo stability of leather, and make better use of chemical resources. The functionalized polyurethane is one of the influential re-tanning agents and coating materials for leather processing. Owing to having polymers instead of conventional chemicals at different operation in the leather making, the amount of chromium (III) compounds, chlorides, and sulphates in the wastewater has greatly reduced. Therefore, polymers in the leather manufacturing could mitigate the pollution load of tanning waste, assist the prompt advancement of cleaner production. Based on that, the current article review gives a summary of polymers that are applied in the leather industry at different operations during leather processing.