![]() ![]() "And while there are minor differences in the process, there are no technical obstacles."ĪRS scientists have a formal research agreement with Kalium of Canada, Ltd, and informal collaboration with other hide processors and tanners.Ĭhemists William Marmer and Maryann Taylor look at material shaved from the underside of hides. "We found no major differences in the quality of 2,500 hides tanned with KCl compared to hides tanned with NaCl," Bailey says. However, potash is a little more expensive than NaCl, adding about $2 to the cost of curing each hide. Using potassium chloride (KCl), or potash, to cure hides would actually be beneficial to the environment because potassium is a plant nutrient that enhances growth. "They're just not being used by the tanning industry simply because salt is cheap and easy to use, and there is no mandate that prohibits its use." "We've shown that each of these is an effective, viable alternative to curing hides with common salt," Bailey says. But adding salt water to soil lowers fertility and leeches important minerals like magnesium, iron, and manganese deeper into the earth, away from plant roots."īailey's research has identified three solutions to the brine problem: potassium chloride, electron beam irradiation, and gamma irradiation. Tanneries must then wash out that salt before converting the hides to leather. "If a packinghouse cures 5,000 hides a day, it'll have to dispose of 5,000 gallons of salt water. "Each salt-cured hide produces a gallon of salt-saturated brine that must be disposed of," says biochemist David G. But this salt curing puts a load on the environment. Salt is still used to preserve hides that can't be immediately tanned. Bacteria which can destroy a hide's quality can't grow in the absence of water. Early trappers favored salt to cure meat and hides because it's easy. Throughout history, sodium chloride (NaCl), or common salt, has been the key to preserving hides and foods like fish and meat, primarily because it draws water out of products. The remainder are tanned into about $4 billion worth of finished leather here in the United States." " About 60 percent are exported as preserved hides that's more than $1 billion in foreign trade. "Here in the United States, we produce about 35 million of them each year," he says. ![]() leather industry."Īccording to Marmer, cattle hides are the most valuable coproduct of the meat packing industry. Domestic tanners come here to take short courses sponsored by the U.S. "This is the only public facility of its kind in the United States. "We have our own pilot plant tannery here at ERRC," Marmer says. He heads the ERRC's Hides, Lipids, and Wool Research Unit, a part of USDA's Agricultural Research Service. ![]() "Not only does our research benefit the hide-tanning industry, it also promotes the health of the environment," says William N. But scientists at the Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, have come up with innovative ideas to increase the efficiency of processing those animal skins into leather, while ensuring better quality end products. The process that turns raw cowhide into supple leather is a complex one. ARS industrial specialist Gary Dimaio (left) and biochemist David Bailey inspect a cowhide being packaged for preservation by irradiation. ![]()
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