Abstract

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the promotion of leather manufacturing by vacuum.The chromium tannage process was chosen as a model and influence of the factors such as thickness of pelt, temperature, concentration of Cr2O3 in the chroming solution and additionally, the use of pressure on the rate of solution penetration and qualitative indexes of leather was investigated. It was established that the use of 0.01 MPa vacuum reduces the duration of chroming to 3-20 minutes depending on the pelt thickness. An increase of temperature does not noticeably shorten the time of chroming but it has a positive influence on the shrinkage temperature of the leather. An increase in concentration of the chromium compounds in the chroming solution does not result in a large increase of amount of Cr2O3 in the leather. Comparing the acceleration of the process by either pressure or vacuum proved the use of vacuum to be more effective than the use of pressure.