Abstract

Leather samples were produced with five different types of fatliquor and were treated with a standard milling process. The leathers were assessed before and after milling for strength and softness using standard methods and fatliquor distribution was analysed. Milling was found to increase softness and thickness, and increased the strength of the leather for four of the five different fatliquored samples. The fatliquor distribution was determined using a novel technique where image analysis of a series of photomicrographs of cross sections stained with Sudan III/IV was carried out. It was found that different fatliquors were distributed slightly differently in the leathers. There were peaks of fat in the grain and lower corium with much less in the upper corium. When the fatliquored crust leather was milled the overall distribution of fat through the cross section remained unchanged indicating that changes in physical properties brought about by milling were not the result of bulk fatliquor redistribution.