DEVELOPMENT OF BIODEGRADABLE POLYMER-LEATHER COMPOSITE BY INCORPORATION OF LEATHER BUFFING WASTE IN POLY-ε-CAPROLACTONE MATRIX

Abstract

The leather processing industry produces large volumes of leather buff during the leather cleaning process. The buff is a fluffy material of low bulk density and is made up of micron diameter fibers and particles. Currently, it is land-filled and this raises severe environmental concerns, particularly if the leather is chrome-tanned. This project envisages the use of the leather buff as a filler into Poly-ε-Caprolactone matrix with the aim of producing low cost, biodegradable leather-like polymer-leather composites. Waste leather buff was incorporated into polycaprolactone polymer in different weight proportion from 2 to 40 wt%. The blends were prepared by melt mixing process using a DSM micro-compounder. The components of the composites were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Effect of leather contents on mechanical properties of composites is investigated by tensile testing. PCL grafted with maleic anhydride was synthesized and its use as compatiblizer for PCLLeather composite was investigated.