Abstract

The tannery industry uses huge amounts of water and increasingly more energy. Any attempt to reduce this use would result in economic savings in the processing of hides. It can be seen in this paper that the use of new types of drums for processing leather, called Cangilones drums [cangilones = scoops/buckets], can result in important technical advantages for the tanneries as well as water and energy savings. The technical advantages are derived from the design of the drums. This design determines the physical movement of the load inside the drums. In the Cangilones drum, the movement of the hides is caused by gravitational forces and the float moves with the hides. Consequently, the penetration of chemicals is greater and the wastewater is more highly exhausted. Less float is needed for processing the hides and water savings are thus obtained.