Enzymatically processed animal biomass derived from treated bovine hides (wet blue scraps) is herein used as building block for the synthesis of a novel biopolymer. An enzymatic hydrolysis process allows to produce water-soluble lower molecular weight proteins (Bio-A), which are then reacted with glycerol and maleic anhydride (MA) in order to obtain a new intermediate (Bio-IA). With Bio-IA in hand, co-polymerization in the presence of acrylic acid is then carried out. Hydrolysed biomass, intermediates and the final biopolymer (Bio-Ac) have been characterized by means of NMR, FTIR and GPC analysis. Bio-Ac shows good performance when used as retanning agent to produce leather. Physical and mechanical properties of the leather treated with Bio-Ac have been compared with acrylic resin retanned leather, showing similar performance. The reported protocol represents an environmental-friendly interesting alternative to traditional petrochemical based retanning agents, commonly used by the leather industry.

Green and eco-friendly reagents for the leather industry based on Biopolymers (Biopol) have been developed through Life Biopol European project. The new biopolymers represent an innovative, non-hazardous and environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional products based on petrochemicals. Biopol are a virtuous example of circular economy since they are obtained from industrial by-products such as animal and vegetable biomasses otherwise disposed in landfill. Several protocols are under investigation in order to produce chemicals to replace the traditional ones. NMR, FT-IR characterization of the Biopol will be carried out in order to rationalize the synthetic strategy and practical application of the products giving important parameters such as molecular weight and chemical composition of the new biopolymers. Preliminary performances of new synthesized biopolymers have been inspected and compared with traditional chemicals through the leather making process.