Extended Surfactants for Leather

Konferenzbeitrag

Content: Surfactants of different ionic nature are used in virtually all steps of leather production. In processes like soaking, degreasing and wool washing, tremendous amounts of surfactants are applied and to a great extent discharged into the tannery effluent. In order to improve the sustainability of leather processing, there is a constant search for more efficient, environmentally friendly emulsifiers, which give superior results already in smaller usage amounts. By introduction of propylene oxide based lipophilic linkers between the hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail, the wetting and emulsion capability of a surfactant can be increased significantly. The resulting surfactants, so called extended surfactants, are generally more hydrophobic and have an extended tail, which reaches further into the oil face without scarifying the water solubility, what would be the results when increasing the alkyl chain. Thus, the use of lipophilic linker changes the emulsion on a structural level. Extended surfactants have been found to be superior in various applications, including textile laundry or tertiary oil recovery. In the present work, the efficiency of various types of non-ionic and anionic extended surfactants is demonstrated in various stages of leather making. Model surfactants with lipophilic linkers are compared to their analogues without linker molecules. In many processes, significantly improved surfactant efficiencies are found making this group of molecules an interesting topic for further exploitation. Take-Away: Significantly improved surfactant efficiency for more sustainable leather processing

References and Relationships

• Related object and literature: urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-340872 ; qucosa:34087

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Ingenieurwissenschaften

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Reetz, Ivo ; Kilikli, A.
• Event: Herstellung
• (who): International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Verein für Gerberei-Chemie und -Technik e. V. ; Forschungsinstitut für Leder und Kunststoffbahnen (FILK) gGmbH

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-341925
• Last update: 14.03.2025, 8:16 AM CET