Pisa University team claims green breakthrough in tanning process
05/11/2014
Based on using metal-free tanning agents, the partners have said the process will offer tanners a low environmental impact as well as the opportunity to bring innovation to their production set-up and, potentially, grow their business.
Tanning agents used in the research project are from renewable resources, are non-toxic and biodegradable, with molecules easily obtainable from biomass available in Tuscany described as the key to the studies the researchers have carried out.
Results have shown that it is possible to make finished leather with high-quality aesthetic characteristics and high performance levels “while respecting the environment and guaranteeing the highest levels of environmental and economic sustainability”, they said.
Tests carried out by a team led by the University of Pisa’s professor Anna Maria Raspolli Galletti took place in laboratories at the university and in the technical centre that serves the nearby Santa Croce tanning cluster.
“Apart from the complete novelty of using the molecules we have used, which until now have never come into consideration for use by any industrial or academic team anywhere in the world, the best thing about this innovation is the absence of toxicity and the possibilities for using exclusively renewable raw materials,” the professor explained.
Without going into more detail, she said the raw materials were widely available in Tuscany from food waste and that the conversion process her team has developed is environmentally and economically attractive.
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