Addressing Scope 3 emissions
Stahl’s climate change mitigation ambitions include the reduction of its Scope 3 (upstream) greenhouse gas emissions by 25% over the next 10 years as well as supporting customers in achieving their own climate goals.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 0
Biocircular leather
Metal-free tanning has been used since the first hide was tanned. Modern advances in
technology have improved the performance of the leathers but, in doing so, have limited the disposal routes of the leather and the end products. Silvateam believes it has
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2020
Over-complication
In the first in a series of articles that draw on his long, personal experience as a tanner, technical editor, Matthew Abbott, argues that the processes involved in making leather are difficult enough already. To add more complexity is to invite trouble.
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2020
Smit & Zoon promises sustainable tanning solutions
With a long-established background in retannage, fatliquoring and syntans, Smit & Zoon, a seventh-generation, family-owned business based in the Netherlands, has strengthened its portfolio of products over recent years. In 2017 it acquired further wet-end
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2020
Smit & Zoon promises sustainable tanning solutions
With a long-established background in retannage, fatliquoring and syntans, Smit & Zoon, a seventh-generation, family-owned business based in the Netherlands, has strengthened its portfolio of products over recent years. In 2017 it acquired further wet-end
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2020
The yellowing problem: Causes and possible technical solutions
Light-coloured leather, especially leather with a white finish, falls within the category of materials used mainly for luxury and high-end products. For this type of article, the uniformity of colour and appearance of the overall surface are fundamental r
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2020
Low chrome options for high exhaustion tanning
United Chemicals has developed the ProWhite Tanning System to add value to the
leather industry by offering more environmental applications.. ProWhite are tanning
processes without a pickling stage, carried out at neutral pH and are environmentally
benign
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2020
For a natural look
Seta S/A was the pioneer in Brazil in the production of acacia tannins with the start of
its activities in 1941, in the city of Estância Velha / RS. Today, the company produces
and markets mimosa wattle extracts worldwide, not only to produce leathers, bu
World Leather - Jun/July 2020
The dynamics of leather combustion
Leather is a combustible material and must be treated with appropriate flameretardant
products to pass fire-prevention testing. This is part one of a twopart
article on this subject from Ikem. With more than 40 years’ experience of
offering beamhouse, tan
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2019
Driving leather innovation
On a recent visit to its main production site at Dongen in the Netherlands,
World Leather had the opportunity to look behind the scenes at Ecco Leather
and see why the company is a driving force of leather innovation.
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2019
Sustainable sourcing of tannins
In this article, Italian chemicals manufacturer Silvateam offers more details
about how it sources sustainable tannins, and its use of quebracho from
Argentina and of tara from Peru. In the previous issue of World Leather, it
focussed on its sourcing of c
World Leather - Jun/July 2019
Tannins: a sustainable solution
In the first of two articles, Italian chemicals manufacturer Silvateam offers insight
into sources of sustainable tannins from areas of Italy and South America. The
second article will contain information about its use of quebracho from Argentina
and tara
World Leather - Apr/May 2019
Hides go to waste
Demand for high-quality leather remains strong, but no one in the global
industry can be in any doubt that lower-value material is harder to sell
than at any time in living memory. As a result, what we thought would
never happen has come to pass: hides re
World Leather - Apr/May 2019
LIFE Biopol project moves out of the laboratory
During the 2019 India International Leather Fair (IILF) in Chennai, World Leather
sat down with commercial director wet end for Smit & zoon, Arnaud Backbier,
to discuss the LIFE Biopol project that the company has been involved with
through Codyeco, the I
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2019
Mercier Turner augments its Newsplit machine
Since World Leather last published information about the Newsplit splitting machine from
French tanning machinery provider Mercier Turner in 2015, the company has continued to
make progress on a seven-year project to refine and improve lime-splitting capa
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2019
Generating consistent leather splits for footwear
Tanning technology provider Gemata has said the Starsplit splitting machine it
developed and introduced to the market in 2017 can bring about a revolution in
the lime-splitting process. This could be very good news for tanners but equally
so for the large
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2018
Boron in hide and skin curing processes
With the prevalence of tannery effluent being used for irrigation, tanners need to be aware of the specific monitoring requirements pertaining to soil and water sources as this article about boron illustrates.
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2017
Developments in fatliquoring
At February’s IULTCS Congress in Chennai, Dirick von Behr, technical manager for leather at chemicals
manufacturer Smit & zoon, presented a paper entitled “Method for determining the optimised exhaustion of
fatliquors to minimise the ETP-inflow”. The pape
World Leather - Apr/May 2017
Tackling “veininess”, Part two
The second and final part of a paper from Lanxess examining the best strategy for addressing the problem
of veininess in hides. The first part appeared in World Leather December 2016-January 2017.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2017
ReVeal – the Dutch veal and calfskin industry opens its doors
Leather chemicals manufacturer Stahl hosted a one-day event called ReVeal last November.
The aim was to give finished product brands up-to-date information about transparency
and traceability in the leather supply chain, with the focus firmly on Dutch cal
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2016
Improving the biodegradability of vegetable tanned leather
Tanning stabilises protein, thus making leathers more
difficult to biodegrade than raw hides and skins, composting offers a solution
to waste disposal problems associated with these leather
products. In this event this offers a strong alternative to land-
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2016
greenLIFE 1: Oxidative liming
In 2014, two of the biggest tanners in the Arzignano cluster, Gruppo Dani and Gruppo Mastrotto, formally launched a
joint project called Green Leather Industry for the Environment (greenLIFE), on which they have worked with three
technical partners: chemi
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2016
Chamois leather process based on rubber seed oil, and rationalisation of the oxidation stage
Chamois leather has unique uses, including high quality gasoline filtration, gloves, garments, and cleaning and drying of
optical equipment, spectacles, windows, vehicle, jewellery, and silverware.
Indonesia is a rubber producing country with the largest
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2016
The influence of syntans on the assembly of collagen
Since the introduction of the first syntan one hundred years
ago by BASF, the role of syntans in the tanning process has
changed significantly. While syntans were initially used as
dispersers and accelerators for vegetable tannins, they were
applied as so
World Leather - Apr/May 2016
SLTC 117th Annual Conference / The Mary Rose
The 118th Annual Conference of the SLTC was held at The University of Northampton 25th April 2015. The event was attended by 79 delegates, and was followed in the evening by the SLTC Annual Dinner Dance.
World Leather - June/July 2015
Deep shelf/slow speed processing vessels
Drums fitted with deep shelves and rotating at relatively
slow speeds for wet processing hides into leather were
first brought into use in the mid-1990s. Since that time
the technology has evolved, and they are now being used for
soaking, liming, tanning
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2010
Small moulds can cause big problems
Asignificant cause of loss in value in leather processing
is due to fungal or bacterial growth, and even biocidal
agents fail in certain cases. These small
microorganisms are not visible to the naked eye, and are
normally only identified when the defect r
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2010
Tannery machinery accessories and spare parts from Italy
Providing the many
leather producers
clustered in the
leather centres of Italy with
a just-in-time specialist
service, spares and an array
of auxiliary devices has
created a huge marketing
opportunity for the small
but technically qualified
enterprise.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2013
Somalia: The Berbera Tannery
The region that today encompasses Somaliland was home
to the earliest civilization in the region. The most salient
feature of this ancient civilization is thought to be the
Laas Geel Neolithic cave paintings, which are among the oldest
such rock art in Af
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2013
Oxidative unhairing
The following overview by R.P.Daniels is based on:
• Presentations: G.A.Defeo, Ars Tinctoria SRL (Italy), and S.Dani, Italprogetti Engineering (Italy): LGR, Reutlingen 2011
and Freiberg Leather Days April 2012.
• G. Defeo, ARL Tinctoria,: SLTC Conference
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2013
Sustainable tanning: waste minimisation in the tannery
Over the last few years the chemical industry has introduced many new technical solutions to the leather industry. Most offer environmental advantage or reduced risk of harm, and these advances are set to continue. In particular, novel enzymatic beamhouse
World Leather - Apr/May 2014
Flame resistant leathers for the aviation industry
Clariant: There is a demand for flame retardancy, and a new approach based on EasyWhite Tan achieves these critical specifications as well as meeting the need for secure and environmentally friendlier ingredients and processes.
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2013
Flame resistant leathers for the aviation industry
Clariant: There is a demand for flame retardancy, and a new approach based on EasyWhite Tan achieves these critical specifications as well as meeting the need for secure and environmentally friendlier ingredients and processes.
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2013
X-Zyme – a novel beamhouse technology
In a partnership for the tanning industry, Novozymes and Lanxess are combining patented biotechnology with chemical and global processing know-how. The two companies are introducing a novel beamhouse process that delivers high-quality pelts and significan
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2013
Chrome and veg-tanned leathers from a footwear perspective
Tanners have become increasingly frustrated by the way in which the use of chrome has been presented to the public in general. It is high time that its continued usage or replacement by vegetable tanning agents was examined in a less hysterical and alarmi
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2010
The mechanisms of effective soaking: Fresh and brine-cured hides
The soaking of fresh cattle hides differs from the soaking of salted or brine-cured cattle hides. This paper reveals the differences between these two types of raw material, including the relationship between hyaluronic acid extraction from the hide into the float and effective soaking, and other related issues.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2010
A modern semi-rapid vegetable tanning with high exhaustion
A new approach to vegetable tanning has been developed that brings together the technical advantages of both pit and drum vegetable tanning systems. The system operates with a very high uptake of vegetable tannins, and eliminates the need for
common salt
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2012
A new green leather
As a result of close cooperation between N-Zyme BioTec and LGR, a tanning process has been developed and optimised on bovine hides using activated olive residues.
World Leather - Apr/May 2012
EasyWhite Tan leather: A tanning evolution
This paper describes a new white tanning system from Clariant for leathers suitable for automotive, shoe upper and other classic leather types. The absence of common salt as normally used in the pickle stage has significant implications within clean techn
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2011
Relationships in the formation of hexavalent chrome [Cr(VI)] (Part 2)
Leather research institutes have examined the occurrence of toxic materials in a variety of chrome leathers and leather articles for many years. The Health & Safety department of the German government has shown that some leather goods - such as gloves, sh
World Leather - Jun/Jul 2011
X-Tan – new leather qualities by sustainable organic tanning
This paper describes an innovative organic tanning system suitable for a wide range of leather articles. The system is not based on metal salts or aldehydes and produces a very white and stable intermediate. As the pickle step is no longer necessary and a
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
Wet-green leather: the ultimate green tannage
A new tanning system has moved from concept, through the development stages and now into manufacture on production scale. Based on initial development work by Lederinstitut Gerberschule Reutlingen in conjunction with N-Zyme BioTec GmbH, this new tannage h
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
The roots of raw material
National Beef’s ambition to make its wet blue plant in Missouri an example for the whole industry is well on the way to becoming true.
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
Studies on assembly and de-assembly of collagen
Collagen type I is the main component of skin. There are still unanswered questions in the mechanism of tanning that make it necessary to continue research on this topic. There is a need to understand tanning more clearly, or rather the interaction betwee
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
Balancing innovation with commercial reality
In today’s commercial world, innovation usually results from a ‘what if ’ or ‘can we get rid of a problem’ discussion. Innovation for innovation’s sake is a luxury that many major companies, with multiple stakeholders, simply cannot afford, although it wo
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
Today’s view on vegetable extracts in wet-end processing
Vegetable tannins are compounds of vegetable origin from various parts of trees and plants. They have been known and used by tanners for over two thousand years, but until the 19th century they were mainly used in the form of raw, untreated material such
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
Innovation Part 1: Recycling and regeneration
Twenty world standard tanneries have opened their doors for in-depth study as part of Tannery of the Year Awards 2009 and 2011. Considerable technical information has been published in World Leather following these visits, and there has been an emphasis o
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
Innovation Part 1: Recycling and regeneration
Twenty world standard tanneries have opened their doors for in-depth study as part of Tannery of the Year Awards 2009 and 2011. Considerable technical information has been published in World Leather following these visits, and there has been an emphasis o
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2011
Attaining Zero effluent discharge: Presidency Kid Leathers, India
In the State of Tamil Nadu, India, it is mandatory that all tanneries have a reverse osmosis (R.O.) plant and achieve zero discharge of effluent from the site. If tanners do not comply with this legislation they will not be licensed to run the tannery. Fu
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2009
Benchmarking: Part 4
Three papers have been published in World Leather setting down various aspects of Benchmarking.
1) Benchmarking: a comparison with the best in the sector in Oct 2008.
2) Benchmarking: A tannery model for comparison in Nov 2008.
3) Benchmarking: overall materials balance in conventional tanning in Dec/Jan 2008/9.
The following information provides benchmark values for pollution and the performance in
conventional tannery processing.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2009
The extraction and profile of Mimosa
Although vegetable extract usage in leather manufacture has declined over the years, mainly due to the fall-off in demand for heavy veg leather, there is still a substantial use of the three main extracts, Mimosa (or Wattle/Acacia), Quebracho and Chestnut. Also, because of its good light fastness properties, Tara is experiencing an increase in demand for automotive upholstery leather. Strap and case leather tanned with vegetable extracts remains buoyant, and vegetable retanning of chrome leather has gained in importance with the swing to more ‘natural’ leathers.
World Leather - 06 - Oct 2008
Benchmarking: Part 3
OVERALL MATERIALS BALANCE IN CONVENTIONAL TANNING
World Leather - 08 - Dec/Jan 2008
Improving the traditional vegetable tanning process
Vegetable tanned leathers are typical of the high-quality leathers produced within the tanning district of Santa Croce sull’Arno, Italy. This is the oldest and most classic type of leather, combining the values of quality and tradition.
World Leather - 01 - Feb/Mar 2008
Carbon dioxide deliming of full thickness hides
In World Leather May 2007, a list was given of 45 papers that had been published which addressed various aspects of salinity that arise from leather manufacture. To make the compendium as complete as possible, some papers that were still awaiting publication were also included.
This was an unusual step but, with consideration to the growing environmental pressures that tanners are facing, and to make the compendium comprehensive, it was considered right to include this material.
The following is one of the papers that was awaiting publication, and concerns the use of carbon dioxide as a proven method of reducing the total dissolved solids (TDS) content of wastewaters.
CSIRO was at the forefront in the investigation of this technology and its introduction into commercial use. When reading this paper, it should be remembered that the original report was produced in the early 1990s and, as it has only been subject to a very light edit, some minor details will have now changed. The information set down is, however, fundamental to the highly successful technology and this is probably the most informative study written on this subject.
World Leather - 01 - Feb/Mar 2008
The scientific and commercial significance of variations in strength and stretch in leather
Any variations in physical properties—especially the degree of stretch under load and the tensile strength—need to be accommodated within a manufactured item to both extract the best value from the leather and, in the longer term, to ensure customer satisfaction. This applies to almost all items manufactured from leather—garments, leather goods, furniture, automotive components, and footwear—as there is a need for shape retention during wear and use.
World Leather - 07 - Nov 2007
The theory and practice of direct pickle/chrome liquor recycling
Minimising the chloride/sulfate and chromium ion content from pickle tanning
Although the information set down in this paper is fundamental to the highly successful technology and this is probably the most informative study that has been written on this subject, it should be remembered that the original report was produced before the technology became widely established and some minor details will have changed by now.
World Leather - 06 - Oct 2007
The soaking, unhairing and liming process – Part 3 of 3: Managing the process formulation
In Parts 1 and 2 of this three-part series, detailed guidelines for the successful soaking and unhairing/liming of bovine hides were presented, but there is a problem in practical manufacture. Not only are these initial steps in leather-making the foundation of good quality leather, but the appearance of hides and skins after unhairing and liming is difficult to relate with the final leather.
World Leather - 05 - Aug/Sept 2007
Collagen as a substrate for biomaterials: Part 1
Using advanced biotechnology, it is possible to cut specific regions of the collagen molecule in order to solubilise collagen whilst, at the same time, retaining its helical nature. This new form of collagen can then be precipitated from solution, solubilised and moulded into any shape or form that may be required.
World Leather - 05 - Aug/Sept 2007
The application of modern biotechnology methods and the manufacture of quality leathers
The increased use of biotechnology methods by leading chemical supply companies is impacting the way that leather is produced today. Changes have resulted in improvements to the repeatability of processing, reductions in cost, and a decrease in the environmental footprint along with improvements in leather quality.
World Leather - 05 - Aug/Sept 2007
Formaldehyde analysis: Test methods and results
There have been recent changes in the understanding of the toxicity of formaldehyde, and a proposed change in the testing method. With the realisation that the greatest risk to human health comes from airborne formaldehyde, test methods are now tending to change to reflect this.
World Leather - 03 - May 2007
Technologies to improve the useful area of leather
The manufacturing of leather is facing diverse challenges including pressure from the eco-toxicity point of view, in the form of stringent new regulations. The measures necessary to deal with these issues add to the cost pressure that tanners are experien
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2006
Technologies to improve the useful area of leather
The manufacturing of leather is facing diverse challenges including pressure from the eco-toxicity point of view, in the form of stringent new regulations. The measures necessary to deal with these issues add to the cost pressure that tanners are experien
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2006
A salt-free pickling regime for hides and skins
This paper describes a series of pilot studies to investigate salt-free pickling systems based on phenol sulfonic acid preparations on hides, sheepskins pelts, and woolsheep leading to the successful commercialisation of the findings.
World Leather - June/July 2006
Microbiological testing of leather
Growing competition from lower cost countries in the Far East has forced the predominantly small- and medium-sized enterprises that comprise Europe's footwear industry to adopt innovative features and optimise comfort. One area to receive increased attent
World Leather - June/July 2006
Vegetable tannage of heavy leathers
Over and above the type of skin or hide, the characteristics of vegetable tanned heavy leathers are highly dependent on the nature of the vegetable tanning material selected; the percentage of tannin offered; and the levels of acids and salts in the tannage.
World Leather - April 2006
Otzi died with his boots on
In 1991 a deep frozen corpse was discovered at 3,210 metres on top of a mountain on the border between Austria and Italy. He has been nicknamed Otzi and has been the subject of intense scientific research. The ancient footwear fascinated Petr Hlavacek from Zlin's Thomas Bata University who has reconstructed Otzi's boots.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2006
Protein and leather charge
A study of the charge of collagen/leather depending on the relationship between pH and pI.
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2005
The real cost of a kilo of salt
The following paper provides an overview of a different approach to tanning. The technique is managed in the ‘non-swelling’ pH zone, and thus eliminates the need for salt within the conventional acid pickle. The fibre stabilisation provided – somewhat sim
World Leather - Nov 2005
The diffusion barrier within the unhairing process
World Leather takes a look at the hair-saving processes for bovine hides that are being applied in tanneries in several countries to replace traditional hair burning systems.
World Leather - Oct 2005
Hides and skins: Physical change and effects within chemical processing
The forces applied to skins in wet chemical processing relate to the type of processing vessel and its internal configuration. These forces can be viewed as constant when processing at uniform loadings, float levels, speed of
rotation and time. We take a look how the way these forces act will vary as the skin physically changes.
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2005
Hides and skins: Physical change and effects within chemical processing
The forces applied to skins in wet chemical processing relate to the type of processing vessel and its internal configuration. These forces can be viewed as constant when processing at uniform loadings, float levels, speed of
rotation and time. We take a look how the way these forces act will vary as the skin physically changes.
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2005
The real cost of a kilo of salt: Part 1
The first part of two looks at salinity in the tanning process: responsibility and actions, and the elimination of salt from acid pickles.
World Leather - May 2005
A practical alternative to salt for the preservation of hides and skins
Salt as a preservative for hides and skins is simple in application, low in cost and effective.
Accordingly it is the most common form of preservation, but in practical term salt cannot be removed
within effluent treatment. It enters the environment where the true costs are experienced in reality.
World Leather - May 2005
A practical alternative to salt for the preservation of hides and skins
Salt as a preservative for hides and skins is simple in application, low in cost and effective.
Accordingly it is the most common form of preservation, but in practical term salt cannot be removed
within effluent treatment. It enters the environment where the true costs are experienced in reality.
World Leather - May 2005
The role of bound and free water in the liming process
In World Leather August/September 2004, observations were presented showing
that if limed hides were washed at different temperatures, a warmer wash caused
an increase in softness and hide relaxation, but without change in the total water
content. Referen
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2004
Bating: gaining area while retaining cutting values
It is almost 100 years since Otto Röhm introduced the first
industrial application of an enzymatic product. This was the
bating process of animal hides within leather production, the
enzymes being derived from pancreatic glands. This can be seen
World Leather - Oct 2004
Bating: gaining area while retaining cutting values
It is almost 100 years since Otto Röhm introduced the first
industrial application of an enzymatic product. This was the
bating process of animal hides within leather production, the
enzymes being derived from pancreatic glands. This can be seen
World Leather - Oct 2004
Wasserglass in leather production
The main objective of this project—funded by the CRAFT
programme of the EC(2)—was to develop findings from a
previous investigation on the application of Wasserglass.
In the study, procedures for pelt treatment with Wasserglass(3)
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2004
Wasserglass in leather production
The main objective of this project—funded by the CRAFT
programme of the EC(2)—was to develop findings from a
previous investigation on the application of Wasserglass.
In the study, procedures for pelt treatment with Wasserglass(3)
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2004
