Abstract

The chrome tanning agent is always an important material for leather manufacture because of its tanning power and the leatherʼs sensory appeal which cannot be achieved by other tanning agents. The maturation of the chrome tanning technique over one hundred years, allows the leather produced to be distinguished by its nuances. Nowadays, it is beneficial to review the function of chrome tanning agents again because the standards of new market values and environmental requirements require more sophisticated application techniques.

The characteristics of two kinds of chrome tanning agents, such as the glucose reduced chrome powder (GCr-S) and the sulfur dioxide reduced chrome powder (SCr-S), were explored by modern analytical detection methods, including the hydrolysis and spectral absorption features; the penetration velocity and absorption rate in pickled hides. The application performance of the two chrome tanning agents used in tanning and retanning was characterised by the handle and physical/mechanical properties of leather after dyeing and fatliquoring. Because of their different composition, structure and hydrolysis characteristics of their solutions, the differences between the two chrome tanning agents in the tanning powers and the differences between the two kinds of leathers in appearance, strength and histological state are represented respectively. It was suggested how to choose and use the type of chrome tanning agent to meet the quality requirements of the leather.