Developing of a dehydration process for bovine leather to obtain a new collagenous material

The aim of the present work is to develop a dehydration process for bovine hide to obtain a new collagenous material for use in the leather industry. What is obtained through this new process is a dry and very porous collagenous substrate which allows the application of tanning and retanning chemicals by immersion in aqueous solutions. When compared to existing, traditional processes, there are economic and environmental advantages resulting from the use of this new material. More specifically, the new process results in reductions in water use (21.7%), chemical use (46.9%) and processing time (21%). (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.