Chromium Compounds Are Toxic, Chrome Free Tanning Leather And Healthier.

The traditional tanning leather uses chrome as the tanning agent. All chromium compounds are toxic. The safety problems caused by chrome tanning leather products are attracting more and more attention.

Recently, at the third "China Leather Industry Development Forum" held in Beijing, the leather products produced by chrome free tanning technology have attracted the attention of the participants.

According to Professor Lan Yunjun, director of the Key Laboratory of leather engineering in Zhejiang Province, the general biochemical method is difficult to degrade chromium and harmful substances accumulate for a long time without controlling emissions, causing serious pollution of the water body, affecting the growth of aquatic organisms and microbes, and destroying the ecological balance. Moreover, the presence of chromium may cause six times chromium, which is 100 times stronger than trivalent chromium toxicity. At the same time, chromium may also endanger human health and induce cancer through the food chain, and its environmental and human hazards have been scientifically verified repeatedly.

The new chrome free tanning technology developed by the Leather Research Institute of Wenzhou University uses zirconia as the main component of the LTA 1 type metal (chrome free) compound tanning agent and its auxiliary agent chrome free tanning partner D8. In the three chrome free tanning agents such as non chrome metal tanning agents, tannin extract and tanning based tanning agents, chrome free metal tanning agents are most likely to become the mainstream of chrome free tanning agents, whether from tanning leather shrinkage temperature, subsequent process, material compatibility, leather comprehensive properties, or environmental protection and ecological considerations.

The main tanning agents used in non chrome metal compound tanning agents are zirconium tanning agent, titanium tanning agent and aluminum tanning agent. Especially, tetravalent zirconium ions can give the leather higher shrinkage temperature. Therefore, zirconium is a necessary component and even the first component of chrome free metal compound tanning agent.

This technology has been applied to the tanning of light leather such as sheepskin, goat skin and cowhide, and produces all kinds of leather that can be made into clothing, leather boots, gloves, sofa and other daily necessities.

The application of this technology shows that the chrome free tanning technology has good repeatability and can be reproduced repeatedly. This technology is relatively mature and has the conditions for large-scale popularization and application.