Alternative Uses for Leather Tannery Waste in Paraguay
Transcript of Alternative Uses for Leather Tannery Waste in Paraguay
Protein Precipitation
Protein Precipitation
FilterFilter
SettleSettle Chrome Precipitate
Chrome Precipitate
FilterFilter
Stand Overnight
Stand Overnight
Dissolution Of SludgeDissolution Of Sludge
Tanning ProcessTanning Process
WashWash
Purified Chromium
Purified Chromium
Gelatin
Hydrolysate
Chrome Oxide
Chrome Oxide
ProblemLeather tanneries in Paraguay are dumping their chemical waste, including Chromium, into the environment. These toxins seep into the ground and into the aquifers from which people obtain their drinking water. The environment is also impacted by this tannery waste as the chemicals runoff into the rivers and streams affecting all life sustained by these bodies of water.
Methods○ Obtain a government subsidy to
employ a cheap method of measuring Chromium concentration in the sludge produced from leather tanneries.
○ Produce two materials from the tannery waste that could be used to invoke the government to invest in this research.
SolutionUse enzymatic digestion to purify chrome cake filtered from leather wastewater and sludge to make tanning salts that can be reused. The process yields a hydrolysate and gelatin. The hydrolysate can be used to make pills for medication. The gelatin could be chemically modified for the preparation of leather finishing agents, a highly value-added product. These two materials can create an industry which would benefit the Paraguayan economy.
Hydrolysate
Alternative Uses for Leather Tannery Waste in ParaguayTeam Members: Josue Canales (ChE), Nick Cunha (AE),
Eli Frank (ME), Robert Hayes (AE), James Rios (CE) Advisors: Professor Svetlana Nikitina, Hannah Sattler, Martin Burt (Fundación Paraguaya)
Pollution in lakes due to extreme chemical waste
Selected BibliographyKolomaznik, K et al. Experience In Industrial Practice Of Enzymatic Dechromation Of Chrome Shavings. 1st ed. Columbia: The Journal of the
American Leather Chemists Association, 2000. Print
Cabeza, L et al. Isolation Of Protein Products From Chromium-Containing Leather Waste Using Two Consecutive Enzymes And Purification
Of Final Chromium Product: Pilot Plant Studies. 1st ed. 1998. Print.
Tomascastelazo(Photographer). (2011, May 28) Pile of leather[Digital Image]. Retrieved from
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Leather.jpg
Changdao Mu, Wei Lin, Mingrang Zhang, and Qingshi Zhu. “Towards Zero Discharge of Chromium-containing Leather Waste through Improved Alkali
Hydrolysis.” N.p.: Pergamon, 18 Feb. 2003. PDF.
Recycling and
Repurposing Chromium
Process
Goals/Objectives○Develop a procedure to recycle Chromium from leather tannery waste into the
next tanning cycle using a method that is economically feasible by providing a possible source of marketed goods to benefit the government and economy of Paraguay.
○Understand the effects leather tannery waste has on the environment and public health and why a solution is imperative.
○Propose a plan to the Fundación Parque Tecnológico Itaipu to fund our research on chromium recycling.
b
U.S. value of chromium from scrap
between 2005 and 2013(in million U.S. dollars)
Levels of Chromic Oxide Recovered From Recycling
Process (%/ ton)Chrome SludgeChrome
CakePurified
Chromium
Gelatin
AcknowledgementsFundación Paraguaya for information and ideas. Mr. Martin Burt for inspiration. Laura Hanlan for research assistance. Professor Svetlana Nikitina and Hannah Sattler for advice and guidance.