Atmospheric Tanning Process for Animal Hides
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tanning processes generate excessive wastewater and are costly due to the use of high-pressure equipment and excessive tanning agents, leading to environmental damage and increased chemical waste.
Innovation Solution
A tanning process that limits the amount of water and tanning agent in the tanning container to 110% of the hide's capacity, allowing for efficient penetration and binding of the agent, reducing waste and costs, and operates at atmospheric pressure without the need for expensive high-pressure equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional tanning processes use excess water and tanning agent, then the tanning agent can penetrate the hide, but excessive wastewater is generated and chemical waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the water content parameter from conventional excess water to a controlled amount (10-50 wt% of hide weight), and adjusts tanning agent concentration accordingly (5-20 wt% of hide weight). This parameter optimization ensures complete penetration without excess, resolving the contradiction between sufficient tanning agent quantity and chemical waste reduction
Solution Approach 2:
The hide itself determines the required amount of water and tanning agent through its absorption capacity. By adding water and tanning agent in amounts proportional to hide weight rather than using fixed excess amounts, the system self-regulates to achieve complete penetration without generating wastewater, thus resolving the contradiction between sufficient treatment and waste minimization
2Reliability
If high-pressure equipment is used for tanning, then the process can be completed, but equipment cost and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, complex high-pressure equipment with simple atmospheric pressure vessels. The process uses conventional tanks or drums that are already present in tanneries, eliminating the need for specialized high-pressure apparatus while achieving complete tanning through optimized chemical parameters rather than mechanical pressure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the pressure parameter from high-pressure conditions to atmospheric pressure, and compensates by optimizing temperature (20-50°C) and chemical concentration parameters. This parameter substitution resolves the contradiction between process reliability and equipment complexity by achieving the same tanning effect through milder, more conventional conditions
3Quantity of substance
If excessive tanning agent is used, then complete coverage is ensured, but tanning agent cost and environmental impact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the tanning agent concentration parameter to 5-20 wt% of hide weight, which is sufficient for complete penetration and reaction. This optimized parameter range ensures complete coverage while minimizing excess chemical that would become waste, thus resolving the contradiction between adequate treatment quantity and environmental harm reduction
Solution Approach 2:
The process uses the hide's absorption capacity as feedback to determine the appropriate amount of tanning agent. By adding chemical in controlled amounts based on hide weight and monitoring penetration, the system avoids over-application, ensuring complete coverage while minimizing environmental impact from excess chemical discharge
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the volume of wastewater, minimizes chemical waste, lowers tanning agent costs, and decreases the environmental impact by ensuring only the necessary amount of tanning agent penetrates the hide, while maintaining effective tanning within a shorter time frame.
Implementation Method 1
the tanning agents may penetrate into the fibrillar interstices of the hide fiber fabric
Implementation Method 2
basifying the animal hide to bind the tanning agent in the animal hide
Data Source
AI summary
A process for tanning animal hides comprising the steps of: providing a container comprising a pickled hide, a tanning agent and optionally an aqueous solution, where the total amount of water in the container is no more than 110% of the total water that can be retained by the pickled animal hide, and where the total amount of tanning agent in the container is no more than 110% of the total tanning agent that can be retained by the pickled animal hide, and basifying the animal hide to bind the tanning agent in the animal hide.