Non-chemically modified prefix substance as a fat liquor for leather manufacture from recovered neatsfoot oil

Abstract

THE STUDY is an attempt to provide an economic prefix substance for leather manufacture. An economic and straightforward method has been applied to recover neatsfoot oil from abundant low-cost byproduct (local massacres byproducts). Leather lubricant agent with extra lubricating power has been formulated from the recovered crude oil without chemical modification or further chemical treatment, using a commercial anionic surfactant. It was found that the highest emulsion stability of the formulated lubricants against pH variation and sundry factors involved in leather tanning has been verified at 30 – 40% oil concentration with 2 – 4% anionic surfactants as an emulsifier, at 500 rpm stirring speed. Different emulsion concentrations (2-10%) of the formulated lubricant has been tested as lubricant agent for wet blue leather. The emulsions concentration of 8% and 10% formulated lubricant were able to add the required quantity fatty matter to the lubricated leather fiber (9.12 % and 9.89 % respectively,based on the weight of lubricated leather). These ratios are close to that was added by the commercial lubricant at the same concentration. The lubrication process enhances high-performance power and good lubricant effect. The highest values of tensile strength and elongation at break of lubricated leather have been reached at 10 % emulsion concentration, nearly similar to the effect developed by the commercial lubricant. The microscopic examination of the lubricated leather shows that the leather fiber is genuinely coated with a thin film of fat and the perspective of the lubricated leather surface was superior. In addition, the lubricated leather was ostensibly amended.