Waste leather particles as a filler for poly(vinyl chloride) plastisols

Waste leather granules were incorporated into poly(vinyl chloride) plastisols containing di-octyl phthalate as plasticizer. The rheological behavior and gelling characteristics of plastisols were investigated and the filled samples were tested for their physicomechnical properties. It was found that density, wear resistance and Shore D hardness of composites increase whereas the tensile properties are considerably deteriorated with the incorporation of leather. In order to improve mechanical properties, treatment of the leather granules was applied with a solution of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer. This seemed to produce a coating that promotes adhesion as well as proper wetting of the granules and, thus, significantly improves the tensile characteristics of specimens. The upper level of leather content, in order to produce filled products with acceptable properties, was estimated at the concentration of 50 phr. This is an extension to the limits of the system plasticized poly(vinyl chloride)/leather determined in the case of its processing via melt mixing techniques.