Tuning a green carboxymethyl cellulose-based pre-tanning agent via peroxide oxidation for high chrome exhaustion in leather industry

The low chrome uptake by collagen in the conventional tanning process leads to the pollution of the wastewater. Due to environmental concerns, leather scientists are already searching for innovative ways to produce pre-tanning agents as a high exhaustion chrome tanning auxiliary. Herein, a novel kind of pre-tanning agent is engineered by converting carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to oxidized carboxymethyl cellulose (OCMC) via the hydrogen peroxide process. FT-IR and carboxyl content analysis demonstrated the increase in carboxyl content after oxidation. After that, the obtained OCMC was utilized as a pre-tanning agent, resulting in a high exhaustion of chrome (92.76 %) which is 27.76 % more than conventional chrome tanning (65 %), and the amount of chrome in wastewater reduced to 7.24 %. The hydrothermal stability of wet-blue increased by increasing the uptake of chrome (Ts = 118 °C). The obtained crust leather represented excellent mechanical properties (Tensile strength: 305.68 kg/cm2; tear strength: 50 kg/cm) and desirable organoleptic properties. The environmental analysis signifies a significant step towards a cleaner and sustainable tanning process (COD = 1600, BOD5 = 560 mg/L) compared to the conventional chrome tanning process. Consequently, the obtained results offer a green pre-tanning agent to meet the requirements of the sustainable development of the leather industry.