Reclamation treatment of the chrome leather scrap

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Jiang, Ting-da | Zhang, Chun-ping | Qin, Fei

Affiliations: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China

Note: [] Corresponding author

Abstract: A novel method to extract protein and Cr(III) from the chrome leather scrap discarded by leather industry is described.Chrome leather scarp was hydrolyzed under basic condition to remove chromium compound and extract protein. The extracted protein was mixed with substrate and used as feed protein after being dried and ground. The basic residue was treated with sulfuric acid to obtain chrome(III) sulfate which can be used as tanning agent again after adjusting pH with base. The acidic residue was processed and used as flower fertilizer. The safety of the protein powder produced has been by toxicology and nutriology test. This reclamation method has been industrialized.

Keywords: protein, chromium compound, tanning agent, solid-waste

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 375-379, 2000