Abstract

Up until the publication of the German standard DIN 53316 in March 1997, no official method existed for the determination of arylamines in azo dyed leathers. Consequently, each laboratory used their own analysis method which therefore meant not only did procedures vary but the results obtained varied too.

In the present work, a method has been established for determining arylamines in azo dyed leathers, obtaining a yielding of approximately 90% or more, of amines present in the leather.

A comparative study has also been carried out between the proposed method and the method indicated in the German standard DIN 53316. The application of both procedures on each one of the 20 arylamines forbidden by German legislation, shows that in general the average yields obtained in both cases are similar, but that the dispersion of values is higher when the DIN standard is used. On the other hand, applying this standard method on finished leathers results in general, in more interferences during the determination of amines, than the method proposed in this work.