Fatliquoring agent and drying temperature effects on leather properties

Leather, a collagen structure material, usually requires the addition of fatliquoring agents that have been recently found to cause instability during heating in critical manufacturing processes. The effect of fatliquoring agent concentration and drying temperature on the leather properties was investigated. Leather shrinkage, leather absorption of water and water vapour, and water vapour permeability were measured under defined conditions. The samples of bovine leather obtained after commercial liming and chrome tanning processes were used. The samples were fatliquored with 3, 6, 9 and 12% solutions of anionic synthetic fatliquoring agent and dried at different temperatures. The results of the investigation are corroborated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) study. It was shown how the concentration of fatliquoring agent and drying temperatures influence the leather properties.