Bark of Siberian Conifers: Composition, Use, and Processing to Extract Tannin

The rational use of natural resources, including the creation of new and improvement of existing technologies in order to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the environment, is currently an important task. This review covers different methods of softwood bark processing. Bark is used for the production of heat-insulating plates, and also as filler in adhesives and composites. In agriculture, it is used as a mulch. Softwood bark is a valuable raw material for chemical processing. Extractive substances of the bark are of particular interest. Among them, phenolic compounds are very important, in particular of tannin nature, which are used as tanning agents in leather production. Bark is used for the isolation of substances with antibacterial activity for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. Aqueous-alkaline solutions, in particular monoethanolamine, are used as an extracting agent. Currently, tannins have been applied into many different fields, including medicine, food, beverage, the manufacture of ink and adhesives, the dye and tanning industry, plastic resins, water purification, and surface coatings. Tanning extracts obtained as a result of extraction are refined by ultrafiltration. The obtained extracts are of high purity. The extraction residue, the so-called tan, is a promising raw material for obtaining a cellulosic product. In addition to the chemical conversion of tan, biotechnological processing is an alternative option. In the process of tan biodegradation by the microscopic Trichoderma fungus, a biological product trichodermin is obtained, which is used to protect plants from phytopathogens.

The Potential of Constructed Wetlands for Liquid Waste Management in Small and Medium-Scale Tannery: A Literature Review

The leather tanning industry or tannery, mainly in the small and medium scale (SMEs), is not environmentally friendly. Limited capitals drive the SMEs-scale tanneries to dispose of liquid waste directly into water bodies without proper treatment. It might cause serious environmental problems due to the high content of COD, BOD, chromium, and dyes. Treatment of liquid waste using constructed wetlands has been widely used because it is efficient, cheap, and powerful. This review discusses the latest studies in the wastewater treatment of tanneries using phytoremediation techniques and constructed wetlands and their potential applications in the SMEs tanneries.

EFFECT OF ELECTRODE DISTANCE AND VOLTAGE ON CR, COD, and TSS REDUCTION IN WASTE WATER TANNING INDUSTRY USING ELECTROCOAGULATOR BATCH

Wastewater from the tanning industry has relatively high Cr, COD, and TSS metal pollutants. According to the regulation of the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Indonesia No. 5 of 2014 concerning the quality standard of wastewater for industrial activities, the standard quality value is 0.6 mg/L of Cr, 110 mg/L of COD, and 60 mg/L of TSS. This research aimed to determine the effect of electrode distance and voltage on reducing Cr, COD, and TSS levels in the wastewater from the tanning industry using batch electrocoagulation. The electrocoagulation method used in this research with fixed variables was the number of 2 plate electrodes and the changing variables; it was the distance between the electrodes (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 cm) and the electric voltage (3, 6 and 9 volts). The research was conducted on a laboratory scale in batches with a capacity of 10 litres. The electrodes used were aluminium (Al) as the anode and the cathode in plates. The analysis showed that the highest percentage reduction in COD reached 88.8889% and the highest Cr reached 83.4712% occurred at a distance of 2 cm with 9 volts voltage, the highest percentage reduction in TSS reached 85.0746% with a distance of 3 cm with 9 volts voltage. From the results of this research, it could be concluded that the electrocoagulation method in the batch electrocoagulator was efficient enough to reduce the levels of Cr, COD, and TSS with variable electrode distance and electric voltage.

Teknologi Pengolahan Kandungan Kromium dalam Limbah Penyamakan Kulit Menggunakan Proses Adsorpsi: Review

Permasalahan yang sering terjadi pada industri-industri saat ini adalah pengolahan limbah yang tidak sempurna. Salah satu jenis industri yang memerlukan perhatian serta pengolahannya adalah limbah yang mengandung kromium seperti pada industri penyamakan kulit. Limbah penyamakan kulit masih menyisihkan logam-logam berbahaya dalam limbahnya seperti logam berat kromium (Cr). Kromium yang digunakan untuk menghasilkan olahan kulit yang lebih halus. Sekitar 30-40% kromium akan terbawa dalam limbah cair penyamakan. Tingginya kadar kromium yang tersisa dan terbawa dalam limbah dapat menyebabkan toksisitas akut dan kronis terhadap lingkungan bahkan juga sangat berbahaya terhadap mahluk hidup. Salah satu penanganannya adalah dengan menggunakan metode adsorpsi yang dimana merupakan salah satu metode alternatif dengan berbagai keuntungan yang ada. Biaya penanganan yang relatif murah, proses yang sederhana, dan kemungkinan dapat didaur ulang merupakan beberapa keuntungan dari proses adsorbsi. Selain itu, proses adsorbsi dapat dimaksimalkan dengan menggunakan adsorben yang memiliki spesifikasi potensi tertentu terhadap penyerapan kromium. Artikel ini me-review perbandingan metode adsorbsi batch dan kontinyu pada proses pengolahan kandungan kromium dalam limbah penyamakan kulit.The waste management issue is one of the biggest problems in the industries recently. Every industry has a high probability of releasing toxic by-product to the environment in the form of waste. One example is in the leather tanning industry. Leather tanning waste still removes harmful metals in its waste, such as heavy metal chromium (Cr). Chromium is used to produce finer skin products. About 30-40% chromium will be carried in the tanning liquid waste. The high chromium levels remaining and carried away in the waste can cause acute and chronic toxicity to the environment and even very harmful to living things. Adsorption is one of the highly recommended methods available to overcome this problem. Relatively low handling costs, simple processes, and the possibility of being recycled are some of the adsorption process's advantages. In addition, the adsorption process can be maximized by using adsorbents that have specific potential specifications for chromium absorption. This article reviews batch and continuous adsorption methods in the processing of chromium content in tannery waste.

Thermoplastic Blends Based on Poly(Butylene Succinate-co-Adipate) and Different Collagen Hydrolysates from Tanning Industry—II: Aerobic Biodegradation in Composting Medium

Two different raw hydrolyzed collagens (HCs), by-products of the Tannery industry, were investigated in blends with a bioplastic, as poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), for the production of thermoplastic items for possible applications in agriculture. Chemical characterization of selected PBSA/HC blends and phytotoxicity assays on garden cress seeds (Lepidium sativum L.), used as spy species, were carried out; in addition, biodegradation and disintegration of specimens were assessed under controlled composting conditions at different temperature (58 and 25 °C). Although one of the HC investigated released sodium chloride in the aqueous extract, all PBSA/HC blends, up to 20 wt.% HC, resulted no-phytotoxic and showed considerable amounts of macro- and micro- nutrients for plants (mainly nitrogen). Regardless the amount added, HCs enhanced the biodegradation rate of PBSA/HC blends in compost at 58 °C compared to pure PBSA; lowering the temperature at 25 °C, as expected, biodegradation rate slightly lowered using the same compost. Most disintegration tests, performed on dog bone samples, corroborated the results of the biodegradation tests, thus suggesting that plastic mixtures could reasonably end their life cycle in a composting facility without decreasing the quality and the safety of the resulting compost. The outcomes achieved encourage the use of raw collagen hydrolysates from tanning industry in the production of PBSA-based thermoplastic blends to produce compostable items (mulching films and/or plant pots) for more sustainable uses in agriculture and/or plant nurseries. In addition, the use of these low-cost by-products can lower the cost of final product and give it fertilizing properties for plants given the presence of organic nitrogen in the hydrolysates.

Determination of the Tolerant Concentration of Eisenia fetida to Chrome Solid Residues from Tannery

The tanning industry, although it is characterized by the use of the skin waste originated by the cattle raising, in contrast, produces huge volumes of waste, among which chrome shavings stand out due to their high percentage of chromium. The objective of this research was to determine the concentration where earthworms (Eisenia fetida) could tolerate chrome shavings, in order to evaluate the potential for degradation of these wastes through biological treatment. To determine the tolerant concentration, an experimental design was established that included as factors, the time of exposure in weeks (0-11) and the concentrations of exposure: 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.08, 0.12 and 0.16 grams of shavings per grams of substrate. The response variable was the mortality rate. Each treatment was performed in triplicate and a negative control was included. Statistical treatment was performed using ANOVA and multiple comparison tests at 95% confidence with the statistical complement Real Statistics, Statgraphics and Yupana software. The tolerant concentration established in the study was 0.04 g/g (grams of shavings per grams of substrate) which is equivalent to 636 mg/kg (based on dry weight) expressed in weight of chrome per weight of compost.

SER 2020 - A comparative approach proving the EU tanning industry's continuous striving towards sustainable development

The paper presents results of the new Social and Environmental Report of the European Leather Industry (SER 2020) that follows up on the exercise done in 2012. Based on an intensive survey amongst European tanneries, led by COTANCE and industriAll-European Trade Union, company data on social indicators and environmental parameters that reflect the performance of the tanning sector were collected. Companies’ data, anonymised and aggregated at national level and centrally computed at European level are presented and analysed, versus 2012 data, where appropriate (in terms of average values). Social Footprint of the EU Tanning Industry (employment contracts, age distribution in the EU force, staff retention, education, citizenship, gender balance) and Environmental Footprint of the EU Tanning Industry (chemical consumption, energy consumption, breakdown of energy sources, water consumption, removal of water pollution, waste generation, solvent consumption, costs and investments) are thoroughly discussed. Finally, Sustainability priorities / Ethical issues for the value chain and Objectives and challenges for the future are communicated in order to demonstrate the continuous striving of Europe’s leather sector towards excellence in social and environmental performance.

Vaccine, Emergence, Termination, Sunspot Number as ON-OFF Switch for COVID-19 Pandemic with 25 Worst-Hit Countries

COVID-19 vaccine sample at Arctic Ocean and Antarctic Peninsula, plasmas from recovered people and CMV infected cetaceans, and modified MMR vaccines with the cetacean host. The present study proposes that the11-year cyclic sunspot number is analogous to a SWITCH, turning on and off an epidemic, inducing a public-health crisis. The ON period by the minimum (maximum) sunspot number initiated mutant viruses (AIV, SARS, MERS-CoV, and COVID-19) to transmit from the Poles to Continents by migratory birds and humpback whales. The first COVID-19 arrival dates in China, USA, Japan, Mexico, and Hawaii, determined by the distance between feeding grounds and breeding areas of humpback whale habitats. The OFF period occurs during the high sunspot number (>25-50) and may terminate COVID-19 in September (optimistic prediction) or in November, 2020 (pessimistic prediction) with three cases. Leather tanning industry (R2 = 0.8514), global coastline (R2 = 0.7864), USA coastline (R2 = 0.3099) , USA refinery (R2 = 0.4874),CO2 emissions (R2 = 0.7627), population (R2 = 0.3748), and minimum sunspot number (R2 = 0.8907) showed high linearity with COVID-19 pandemic, as major causes in the 25worst-hit countries. COVID-19 can globally decrease by reducing toxic chemicals during the leather industry.