Leather waste as a filler of synthetic fibers: a novel approach to waste recycling

Finished leather scrap (FLS) is a footwear industrial waste that is often dumped in landfills. Because of environmental problems, there has recently been an increase in interest in using wastes as inclusion for blending materials. Microleather fibers (MLFs) were extracted from the LFS with the help of fiber isolation machine. This study examines the possibility of using LFS waste as a blending in polypropylene fiber (PPF). For the purpose of consumer application, 500 wt.% of MLF and different concentrations of PPF (100, 200, and 300 wt.%) were used to develop the web fibrous matrix (WFM) using the web formation method and injection molding techniques. The impact of PPF blending concentration on the mechanical characteristics of WFM was assessed. WFM containing up to 300 wt.% PPF increased characteristics such as tensile strength (85.95 ± 1.81 MPa), elongation at break (81.18 ± 0.23%), tearing strength (22.69 ± 0.23 N/mm), and flexing index (10.55 ± 0.73%), attaining mechanical properties comparable to nonwoven polypropylene composite. A biodegradation study was carried out using an enzymatic method, and the results demonstrated the biodegradable properties. WFM demonstrated desirable applications such as in home interiors, shoe lining materials, carpets, and puppets, as well as in low-cost materials and prevention of pollution.