Valorization Strategy for Leather Waste as Filler for High-Density Polyethylene Composites: Analysis of the Thermal Stability, Insulation Properties and Chromium Leaching

Abstract

Leather waste (BF) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were compounded in a lab scale internal mixer and processed by means of injection molding. In this study, leather waste and HDPE composites were characterized by instrumental techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Physical integrity of composites against chemical exposure and chromium-leaching properties of the composites were also investigated. This study shows that the incorporation of 30% leather waste fiber into HDPE composites decreases the thermal conductivity of the composite samples by 17% in comparison to that of neat HDPE samples. Composites showed no thermal degradation during processing cycle. Strong interfacial bonding between leather waste and polymer results in comparable low-leachate levels to maximum allowed concentration for nonhazardous waste, and good chemical resistance properties. The BF/HDPE composites could be a promising low-cost alternative in industrial application areas of HDPE, where high-mechanical strength and low-thermal conductivity is required.

Leather-like composite materials prepared from natural rubber and two leather wastes: Wet blue leather and finished leather

“…Such effluents mainly consisted of collagen fibers, can be further converted into desirable and useful finished leather goods, including footware, handbags, clothing, sport equipments, vehicle seats, and upholstery. [1][2][3][4] Nevertheless, the leather industry has been considered as one of the highly polluting industries owing to the large amounts of solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes generated at various production steps, particularly the tanning step, causing severe environmental damages to soil, rivers, groundwater, and atmosphere. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] As a consequence, sustainable technologies have been developed in order to minimize the leather solid wastes by recovering and recycling instead of disposal to landfills owing to an increasing concern about the control of environmental pollution especially from industrial activities.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] Nevertheless, the leather industry has been considered as one of the highly polluting industries owing to the large amounts of solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes generated at various production steps, particularly the tanning step, causing severe environmental damages to soil, rivers, groundwater, and atmosphere. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] As a consequence, sustainable technologies have been developed in order to minimize the leather solid wastes by recovering and recycling instead of disposal to landfills owing to an increasing concern about the control of environmental pollution especially from industrial activities. [1][2][3][4]6,8 Tanning is an important process that stabilizes the proteins, particularly collagen, of the raw hides and skins.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] As a consequence, sustainable technologies have been developed in order to minimize the leather solid wastes by recovering and recycling instead of disposal to landfills owing to an increasing concern about the control of environmental pollution especially from industrial activities. [1][2][3][4]6,8 Tanning is an important process that stabilizes the proteins, particularly collagen, of the raw hides and skins. 2,3,12 The tanned leather is no longer susceptible to putrefaction or rotting and is then suitable for a wide variety of utilizations.…”

“…[1][2][3][4]6,8 Tanning is an important process that stabilizes the proteins, particularly collagen, of the raw hides and skins. 2,3,12 The tanned leather is no longer susceptible to putrefaction or rotting and is then suitable for a wide variety of utilizations. 1,2,12 The most widely used tanning agent is salt of trivalent chromium (Cr +3 ), especially basic chromium sulfate due to its high quality and stabilization ability.…”

“…8,9,11 Besides, the finished leather (FL) scraps are also discarded as waste from the production factory, leading to environmental problem. 2,14 Several studies have investigated the incorporation of leather solid wastes as filler into various polymeric materials, such as high density polyethylene, 3 polycaprolactam, 11 poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC), 5 poly (lactic acid) (PLA), 8 polyamide 12 (PA 12), 8 thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), 8 thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), 4,8 poly (vinyl butyral) (r-PVB), 13 acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), 15,16 and natural rubber (NR) 1,6,7,9,10,17 to produce composite materials. Babanas et al 5 incorporated different loadings of WBL scraps (20À60 parts by weight per hundred (phr) of resin) into plasticized PVC to produce leather-like material that could be used in footwear industry.…”