Leather Science

Module III
 INTRODUCTION
When an animal is alive
• its skin is soft
• flexible
• very tough
• ability to allow water vapour to pass out
• it will not allow water in

When the skin dies It loses these characteristics

• if it is kept wet it rots
• if it is dried it goes hard and brittle

Leather is animal skin that has been treated such that its
natural properties are retained.
 Leather making Process
• Tanning is the main process by which leather is
made.
• Main purpose of tanning is to permanently fix
the fibres apart by chemical treatment.
It is mainly divided into three stages
• Pre Tanning
• Tanning
• Post tanning
 Objectives of Tanning

• To retain the skin's natural properties

• To stabilise its structure
• To chemically process it so it will no longer be
subject to putrefaction
• It impart colour, texture and finish to the
leather
 Pre Tanning Operations
CURING

• Raw hides and skins are preserved to stop

them from deteriorating

• Methods of preservation include

– salting
– Chilling
– freezing
– use of biocides.
Soaking
• Cured hides or skins are soaked in water for
several hours to several days.
• This allows them to reabsorb any water they
may have lost.
• It also helps to clean them of salt and dirt.
Unhairing
• The keratin of hair and wool is subject to
attack by alkali, which will break the cystine
linkage of the keratin.
• The hair is attacked first at the root.
• Hair roots are dissolved after being steeped in
a solution of alkali (sodium or calcium
hydroxide) and a reducing agent
Liming
• The process of liming is a combination of
chemical and physical action on the skin structure

• A solution of lime and sodium sulphide is used

and the skins are immersed in this solution.

• Effects of liming process

– Modification of collagen
– Swelling
– Removal of unwanted material
 Fleshing
• It is the first mechanical operation carried on
the skins.
• The hides are passed between two rollers
• remaining fat and flesh is removed.
 Deliming & Bateing
Deliming:-The principal action of deliming is to
gradually neutralise the alkali in the pelt
• It is carried out with slightly acidic chemicals
Bateing : It is an operation to complete the
deliming process, by eliminating residues of
other substances to achieve a soft and flexible
leather.
• It is based on the use of enzymes .
 Pickling
• It lowers the pH value to the acidic region.
• Pickling is normally done to help with the
penetration of certain tanning agents
• Pickling solutions are used to preserve pelts so
that they can be stored or transported in a
stable form over periods of several months.
 Tanning
• Tanning converts the protein of the raw hide or skin
into a stable material, which will not putrefy

• It form cross links in the collagen structure and

stabilise it against the effects of acids, alkalis, heat,
water and the action of micro-organisms.

• Types of tanning
– Vegetable Tanning
– Mineral Tanning
 Vegetable tanning
• A vegetable tannage uses tannin extract, which occurs
naturally in a variety of different tree barks like oak,
chestnut, tanoak or hemlock.
• The tannin extract is mixed with water and placed in a
rotating drum along with the animal skin.
• The rotation of the drum will evenly distribute the extract
over the skin.
• This process takes about three to four days and produces a
leather that is flexible.

Mineral tanning
• Mineral tanning uses a chemical called chromium sulphate.
• The chromium sulphate has to sufficiently soak into the
animal skin to achieve proper tannage.
• This process takes around 24 hours to complete and
produces a leather that is stretchable.
 Post Tanning Operations
• Neutralisation
• The primary object of neutralisation is to neutralise
the excess acid present in leathers, which
interferes with subsequent operations like dyeing,
fatliquoring and retanning.
• The extent of neutralisation would depend on the
desired properties of the finished leathers.
• The agents commonly used for neutralisation are
sodium formate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium
sulphite, ammonium bicarbonate,