Evaluation of Desorption Potential of Chromium from Finished Leather

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of time and temperature on leaching potential of chromium from chrome-tanned finished leather. The experimental matrix consisted of two varieties of chrome-tanned finished leather with different colors and two liquid phases i.e., distilled water and synthetic sweat solution, optimized with respect to time and temperature for maximum leaching. As expected, the leaching potential in synthetic sweat solution was found to be relatively higher compared with that in distilled water. The effect of scrubbing the leather surface to reduce chromium leaching was also studied as a treatment option by comparing the leaching of scrubbed and unscrubbed leather. It was observed that when the surface of the leather is thoroughly scrubbed, the leaching is significantly reduced. This, however, affects the leather quality and is not a viable option. Moreover, EDTA-Salt complexation of Cr has been used to offset the disadvantages of scrubbing method and it was detected that the quality of leather remained same. Besides, EDTA-Salt complexation, Charcoal Adsorption Method was also tested as a treatment option. The results indicated that charcoal can be used as an adsorbent.