Abstract

Oxazolidines are a new class of tanning agents which has been developed in recent years. The leathers obtained after treatment by oxazolidines are soft and light in colour. Oxazolidines, in combination with chrome, lead to a higher uptake of chromium than by treatment with chrome alone. A detailed study has been made in this field by preparing several oxazolidines and studying their tanning action using pickled sheepskin. Two of these, 1,3-oxazolidine and 3-hydroxyethyl-1,3-oxazolidine gave encouraging results. Studies were made with these oxazolidines to determine optimum concentration, pH of the bath and time required to obtain an improved result on pickled sheepskin.