Switch to bisphenol-free retanning agents from Zschimmer & Schwarz
Leather chemicals group Zschimmer & Schwarz will present new bisphenol-free retanning and filling agents at the IILF 2023 exhibition in Chennai (February 1-3). It said the new products would offer customers “alternatives that are more environmentally friendly”.
In the past, bisphenol A (BPA) was present in products ranging from babies’ bottles to thermal paper but is no longer used for these purposes owing to concerns about its effect on human health and on the environment. And in the future, the use of other, structurally similar bisphenols is likely to be regulated.
In small quantities, Zschimmer & Schwarz said, two of these substances (bisphenol F and bisphenol S) are present in synthetic tanning agents, which have been used in the retanning of leather for decades.
The current draft of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) provides for the introduction of strict limits for bisphenols in leather articles and chemical auxiliaries for leather processing. “This poses a great challenge to tanneries and the chemical industry,” Zschimmer & Schwarz said, “and we have addressed this issue at an early stage and now present newly developed bisphenol-free retanning and filling agents that do not contain these substances.”
Its new products are Tafigal HFB, Tafigal S-TF and Novaltan S-VF. The company said these innovations will allow tanners to produce bisphenol-free leathers with comparable properties to previous articles. With a high proportion of bio-based raw materials and good biodegradability, two of the new products meet the requirements of the company’s S-Range, a particularly sustainable product range that its leather auxiliaries business unit offers to customers.
The new tanning and filling agents have been successfully tested on various leathers at the company’s test tannery in Lahnstein in Germany and are on the market now.
