TANNERY INDUSTRY

INTRODUCTION
• Tanning is an art by which putrescible animal hides and skins are preserved
from decay and converted into non-perishable substance, known as ‘Leather.‟
• Man has been aware of this art since the dawn of human civilization. Many
ancient civilizations had evolved and perfected this art of making leather. The
earliest records of such ancient civilization, those of Egypt, China and India,
establish the fact that the art was well-known to the ancient people and was
widely practiced.
• raw hides and skins are converted into leather by the application of astringent
called tannin or tannic acid. The process of tanning has been appropriately
referred to as a “Series of baths in water containing certain ingredients.”
• Leather tanning is one of the traditional industries in many developing
countries. It is estimated that currently about 15 million tons of hides
and skins is processed annually in the world per year.
• Tanning Industry is considered to be a major source of pollution and
tannery wastewater in particular, is a potential environmental
concern.
• Because tannery wastewater contains a complexity of pollutants
including chromium and chlorinated phenols, it is vital to dissect the
toxic nature of such wastewater both to understand its environmental
impacts and identify potential remediation strategies.
PROCESS FLOW CHART OF TANNERY
 PREPARATION

• Preparing hides begins by curing them with salt.

• Curing is employed to prevent putrefaction of the protein substance (collagen)
from bacterial growth during the time lag from procuring the hide to when it is
processed.
• Curing removes water from the hides and skins using a difference in osmotic
pressure. The moisture content of hides and skins is greatly reduced, and osmotic
pressure increased, to the point that bacteria are unable to grow.
• In wet-salting, the hides are heavily salted, then pressed into packs for about 30
days. In brine-curing, the hides are agitated in a saltwater bath for about 16 hours.
• Curing can also be accomplished by preserving the hides and skins at very low
temperatures.
 BEAMHOUSE OPERATIONS
• The steps in the production of leather between curing and tanning are
collectively referred to as beamhouse operations.
• They include, in order, soaking, liming, removal of extraneous tissues
(unhairing, scudding and fleshing), deliming, bating or puering,
drenching, and pickling
SOAKING
• The main aim at this stage is to wash the raw stock from physically
bound materials mostly insecticides, salts (NaCl2 ) and other
preservatives.
• Moreover rehydration of hides and skins occurs during soaking to
replace lost moisture during the preservation
• Takes about 5-10 days.
• Odorous process.
• W.W from this stage contains salt, dirt, dung, blood etc. and may be in
dark olive green colour.
Fleshing
• Removes the fatty tissues from the hides.
• May be done mechanically or manually.
LIMING
• Liming involves the use of alkaline medium (e.g. lime) to condition
raw hides and skins. The aim is to remove the hair, flesh and splitting
up of the fibre bundles by chemical and physical means.
• This helps in swelling of hide and loosening of the hair.
• In this process, Na2 S is added to facilitate de-hairing .
Objectives of Liming
• Remove the hair and other keratinous matter
• Remove some of the interfibrillary soluble proteins such as mucins
• Swell up and split up the fibres to the desired extent
• Remove the natural grease and fats to some extent
• Bring the collagen in the hide to a proper condition for satisfactory
tannage
 UNHAIRING AND SCUDDING

• Unhairing agents used at this time include sodium sulfide, 

sodium hydroxide, sodium hydrosulfite, calcium hydrosulfide, 
dimethyl amine, and sodium sulfhydrate. The majority of hair is then
removed mechanically, initially with a machine and then by hand
using a dull knife, a process known as scudding.
 DELIMING AND BATING

• The pH of the collagen is brought down to a lower level so the

enzymes may act on it, in a process known as deliming. Depending on
the end use of the leather, hides may be treated with enzymes to
soften them, a process called bating.
 PICKLING
• Once bating is complete, the hides and skins are treated first with salt
and then with sulfuric acid, in case a mineral tanning is to be done.
• This is done to bring down the pH of collagen to a very low level so as
to facilitate the penetration of mineral tanning agent into the
substance. This process is known as pickling.
• The common salt (sodium chloride) penetrates the hide twice as fast
as the acid and checks the ill effect of sudden drop of pH.
 TANNING
• The reason for tanning leather is to change the skin or hide’s protein
structure.
• Tanning arrests the decaying process and changes the skin into
leather. Once tanning is complete, the leather can be used to create a
wide variety of leather goods.
2 Types
• VEGETABLE TANNING
• CHROME TANNING
VEGETABLE TANNING
• This is a traditional method that uses natural materials and products.
There are not many tanneries using 100% vegetable tanning process
these days.
• With this method, the skins are soaked in vegetable liquors. This is a
time consuming process as a series of soaks is required.
• Leather that has been vegetable tanned is usually quite thick, but it is
still pliable. This type of leather can mold, stretch and breathe.
• This type of tanning process uses no dangerous chemicals or
carcinogens, and it is much easier on the environment than chrome
tanning.
CHROME TANNING
• When chrome tanning is used, the leather will be soaked in a solution
containing metal chromium. 
• One good thing about chrome tanning is that it produces leather that
is very water resistant.
• At the same time, the leather feels soft and can be dyed with a wide
variety of colors. The colors tend to set well and stay vibrant with the
passage of time.
• The chrome tanning leather process also produces leather that
endures heat better
• De-liming, Bating and Pickling Weak organic acids, digestive enzymes
and inorganic acids, respectively, are used to remove lime, digest and
remove the non-structural proteins and eventually bring the pH to a
level that will enhance the tanning process