The National Solid Waste Policy enacted in 2010 instituted a fairly simple initiative for industrial waste generators, which is to reduce the waste generated and, of course, to recycle (or destine for recycling), causing these wastes to become raw material again, saving natural resources. This legislation aims to promote changes of posture in the production chain of leather and footwear, whose final disposition entails several risks to the environment and human health. The leather-footwear sector is highly expressive and significant in relation to the national economy. Unfortunately, this sector is characterized by the high amount of waste due to the use of non-homogeneous raw materials in terms of morphology and quality. The generation of a large volume of waste is the largest of the environmental problems faced by the sector. As in Brazil, the majority of the leather processing industries use chrome salts in their tanning processes, the destination of the waste generated in the leather-footwear sector, is seen as harmful by environmental legislation, because in addition dyes are still rich in trivalent chromium and / or hexavalent. With the objective of minimizing environmental impacts, saving natural resources and reconciling methods of environmental protection, social justice and economic efficiency, we made use of leather waste, whose resulting products (biodiesel, dyes, bricks and chromium sulfate) factors of entry of several industrial segments, as energy source and as added value, saving currencies and making the leather-footwear sector more competitive. The study indicated that it is possible to obtain a new source of renewable energy, from raw materials that do not compete with human consumption, in addition to sustainable chemicals and, above all, to offer a noble destination for these highly aggressive wastes to the environment and human health.

Leather Waste: New Source of Renewable Energy and Sustainable Chemicals

@LatinXChem is a virtual forum through which the community of Latin American chemists, located anywhere in the world, can share and discuss their research results and advances. More than 1200 posters from 43 countries were received in its first version, with 20 million impacts on Twitter. The second event organized by @LatinXChem will be the #LXChem2021 Conference (September 20, 2021), where posters divided into eleven categories can be discussed via Twitter.

LatinXChem 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.