Cleaner Processing of Leather and its Wastes

Leather Processing deals with various unit operation and unit processes. Varieties of chemicals are used to process the raw skin into leather and these chemicals cause pollution problems in the resulting effluent. The leather industries are forced to adopt cleaner technological options to prevent the pollution problems. Enzyme based technologies are viable, eco-friendly and form alternative to the existing technologies. Similarly the solid waste generated in the leather processing operation also generates pollution problem and its utilization or conversion into useful end product is imperative for the cleaner environment. The solid wastes such as raw trimmings, fleshings, chrome shavings, buffing dusts and keratin wastes are converted into useful end product by means of enzymatic/chemical treatment. Thus the aim of the work is to highlight the cleaner technological options for leather and its wastes for various benefiters such as tanners, Poultry feed food industries, fertilizer industries and leather chemical industries