Dissymmetry Gemini Sulfosuccinate Surfactant from Vegetable Oil: A Kind of Environmentally Friendly Fatliquoring Agent in the Leather Industry

Abstract

Compared with surfactants synthesized from petrochemicals, those synthesized from vegetable oil have outstanding environmental friendliness and superior surface activity. Dissymmetric gemini surfactants, a new class of gemini surfactant, have superior properties. Dissymmetry gemini sulfosuccinate surfactant (DGSS) was synthesized from vegetable oil. The structure of the product was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. The properties tests of DGSS showed that the DGSS can significantly reduce the surface tension and has good emulsification ability, good wetting ability, and poor foaming performance. DGSS was applied as a fatliquoring agent in leather for lubricating collagen fibers and improving physical and mechanical properties of leather. Compared with leather treated with 14 wt % commercial fatliquoring agent, leather treated with 8 wt % DGSS can reach the same fatliquor effect. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) per chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the bath after fatliquoring was beyond 0.3. DGSS has a good fatliquoring effect and was easily biodegradable. DGSS has the advantage of price in the market. DGSS has good features for application in the leather industry as a fatliquoring agent.