Leather production involves several operations where the tanning plays the major role in improving the durability of leather products by forming durable linkages between the tanning agents and the collagen. Different agents are used, but the most important is chromium. However, nowadays there is a growing demand for a cleaner, but still effective alternative for production processes. In the traditional tanning process, the penetration of these agents inside the leather is governed by diffusion based on a concentration gradient. In this study, a new tanning approach is proposed, taking advantage of the intensification effects of an applied electric field, within two electrodes in solution, on the tanning method [1]. An improvement in the efficiency is observed due to the positive charge acquired by the agents (Cr, Ti, Zr and Fe) complexes in tanning solutions and the possibility to control the bath pH by exploiting the side reactions at the two electrodes. The new electrochemically intensified tanning technique shows better performances than the standard one, resulting in a larger agent uptake in the same amount of time, leading to a shorter process time. The intensification of the tanning process will be justified in light of a simulation model of the involved phenomena.

1. Enhanced chrome tanning process, Patent Pending