USAGE OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE IN LEATHER MANUFACTURING PROCESSES AND ITS EFFECTS ON LEATHER CHARACTERISTICS

In this study, hydrogen peroxide usage instead of sodium sulphide (Na2S) under alkaline condition in leather manufacturing was investigated, whether hydrogen peroxide could be an alternative to high pollutant conventional unhairing-liming process or not. Besides, the effect of hydrogen peroxide on leather properties and the pollution load of liming wastewater were studied. The results indicated that the unhairing and fiber opening performance of hydrogen peroxide were satisfactory and the physical characteristics of the leathers as well as the air permeability values were comparable to those obtained by conventional unhairing-liming process. In addition, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the sulfide values of the waste water were also lower than the conventional one.