'Reverse' tanning process could revolutionize leather industry

Every little bit helps the environment...--Dictynna

A new 'greener' and cleaner chemical process* could revolutionize the leather-tanning industry, according to a report in the Feb. 15 issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology. ‘Reverse’ leather tanning, which essentially works backward from the point where conventional tanning ends, saves time, money and energy while drastically slashing water use and pollution, say researchers at the Central Leather Research Institute in Adyar, India.

From pre-tanning to finishing, conventional leather tanning requires about 15 steps, which produce enormous amounts of wastewater and pollutants, including sulfides, chlorides, sulfates and other compounds. The new approach flips the process around and eliminates some of the steps, which results in multiple and substantial production efficiencies, the researchers say.