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Microbial populations within the rhizosphere have been considered as prosperous repositories with respect to bioremediation aptitude. Among various environmental contaminants, effluent from textile industries holds a huge amount of noxious colored materials having high chemical oxygen demand concentrations causing ecological disturbances. The study was aimed to explore the promising mycobiome of rhizospheric soil for the degradation of azo dyes to develop an efficient system for the exclusion of toxic recalcitrants. An effluent sample from the textile industry and soil samples from the rhizospheric region of Musa acuminata and Azadirachta indica were screened for indigenous fungi to decolorize Congo red, a carcinogenic diazo dye, particularly known for its health hazards to the community. To develop a bio-treatment process, Aspergillus terreus QMS-1 was immobilized on pieces of Luffa cylindrica and exploited in stirred tank bioreactor under aerobic and optimized environment. Quantitative estimation of Congo red decolorization was carried out using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The effects of fungal immobilization and biosorption on the native structure of Luffa cylindrica were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope. A. terreus QMS-1 can remove (92%) of the dye at 100 ppm within 24 h in the presence of 1% glucose and 1% ammonium sulphate at pH 5.0. The operation of the bioreactor in a continuous flow for 12 h with 100 ppm of Congo red dye in simulated textile effluent resulted in 97% decolorization. The stirred tank bioreactor was found to be a dynamic, well maintained, no sludge producing approach for the treatment of textile effluents by A. terreus QMS-1 of the significant potential for decolorization of Congo red.

Leather gloves are very light leather used for protection against various risks. A flame-resistant product is needed to increase the flame resistance of natural leather. In this study, 02 flame resistant retanning products had been prepared utilizing waste leather protein extract with phosphoric acid and formaldehyde. These products had been applied at the retanning stage during leather processing. The utilization of phosphorus compounds chemically reacted with or deposited in leather fibers represented the most significant contribution in durable flame retardancy.  The final prepared leathers had been characterized for different physical properties such as radiation and electric heat resistance, flame spread resistance and impact of spatter. These products had been found to be compatible with commercial flame-resistant products. The thermal behavior of prepared leathers showed significant resistance.

The shrinkage of leather becomes a problem when leather is used in the form of leather shoes or other products and is heated at a high temperature. This technical study addressed shrinkage occurring in most leather shoes used in Pakistan during the shoe manufacturing process.  The chemical testing results revealed fat content (4.0-4.5%), chromic oxide (2.3-2.5%), ash content (1.3-1.6%), and pH (3.5-3.7) under significant limits. The effects of hydrothermal and dry heat shrinkage were investigated in selected shoe-upper leathers. The leather samples showed (18-41%) shrinkage in all 03 samples. The results revealed that an extensive change in various physical tests, such as tensile strength, % elongation, tear strength, had been found with heat induction. The temperature and time of heat contact significantly affect the destruction of bonding in shoe upper leather after being converted into shoes.

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