Chitosan based chromium free tanning system for reducing the carbon footprint to leather production process
摘要
In order to solve the pollution of Cr3+ and toxic dyes cause by traditional tanning technology, this study developed chromium-free tanning agents (COS-Dyes-Al) that incorporate high-performance dyeing functions by using oligo-chitosan (COS) as a matrix and chemically modifying it with three types of dyes, reactive Blue R19, tartrazine, and eosin B, and then coordination with Al (III). COS-Dyes-Al exhibit excellent tanning properties, raising the shrinkage temperature of leather to 98.6 °C, with tensile and tear strengths reaching 17.4 MPa and 70.1 N/mm, respectively, along with superior durability against rubbing and washing. Moreover, COS-Dyes-Al reduced the environmental burden by effectively integrate tanning and regulable color dyeing functionality into the leather. The COS-Dyes-Al tanning system can save 60–80% of water, 30% of electric energy, and 50–70% of thermal energy. Therefore, the tanning system helps to reduce the carbon footprint in leather production.