Additives and Advanced Biomaterials Obtained from Leather Industry by-products

Abstract

Animal skin/hide as the by-product of the meat processing is reclaimed by the leather manufacturing industry which generates large amounts of hide and leather wastes containing proteins, fatty matters, sodium, calcium, chromium and other inorganic salts. Processing such wastes is impaired by their high water content, difficulties in the protein separation from fatty matters or deleterious chromium compounds. This paper presents some innovative processes for reclaiming the proteins carried by a large variety of leather wastes, along with the fatty matter separation and transesterification to obtain biofuels for heating plants. Several other products, as biofertilizers and surfactants intended to be used in the concrete manufacture have been obtained from the hide waste protein hydrolysates.