Results
The project has the following technical goals:
- Demonstration of use of innovative formulations free from toxic products deriving from leather tanning.
- Substitution of chlorinated with eco-sustainable natural products in the defatting process
- Optimization and application of new tanning formulations specific to defatting phase, containing products derived from natural raw materials such as glucosides, bio-masses, husk, vegetable oils, highly absorbed by leather.
- Study and application of intelligent and ecological products: leather treated with formulations allowing controlled release of natural biological active principles or perfumes.
The main project ECODEFATTING results quantification consist in:
- The substitution (100%) of raw materials of petrochemical origin with others based on renewable sources implies a substantial change in the project’s environmental sustainability.
- The potential problems connected with bio-accumulation are ruled out by the foreseen elimination (100%) of the presence of chlorinated molecules from the process. This, as well as the elimination (100%) of the chlorinated functional group, will increase the project’s sustainability.
- As for biodegradability, the use of raw materials derived from natural sources does not necessarily imply an increased biodegradability. Nevertheless, since bio-accumulation is by definition connected with non-biodegradability, the elimination or drastic reduction of bio-accumulation will involve an increase (100%) in the biodegradability profiles of the molecules used.
- Increased (50%) penetration of defatting products into derma, resulting in better performances of the finished product.
- Defatting exhaustion, i.e. less (30%) product consumption.
- Less (20%) pollutants in bath waste-waters.
- Reduction (20%) of water consumption during the tanning process.
- Reduction (20%) of polluting load in tannery waste water.
- Toxicity reduction of high chlorine in the tanning cycle (100%).
- Reduction of tannage waste (reduction of the waste management cost by 33%).
- Reduction of energy consumption (20%).