Stabilization and cyclic utilization of chrome leather shavings

For the sake of the safe and efficient cyclic utilization of chrome leather shavings (CLS), the temporary stabilization of CLS during the storage and transport processes was optimized. Afterwards, the large-scale stabilized CLS degradation and collagen degradation product (CDP) extraction were completed. In this research, hydroxyapatite (HAP) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) were for the first time used as stabilizers in the stabilization of CLS. The results showed that both Ca(OH)2 and HAP displayed resistance to chrome leaching, but HAP provided better stabilization effect than Ca(OH)2. The optimized stabilization conditions giving lower chromium leaching concentration were selected: 2% HAP, temperature 300 °C, reaction time 60 min, and initially added water contents of 50%. The reason for HAP and Ca(OH)2 stabilization was proved by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Subsequently, the exploitation value of the stabilized CLS was described by large-scale experiment. The hydrolysis of stabilized CLS could obtain the collagen degradation product (CDP), which had 3.52% of free amino content and a molecular weight of 3.4~30 kDa. The filter residue was treated by 5% sulfuric acid solution extraction and pressure filtration again. The extraction solution and final filter residue were dried separately to obtain chromium-containing organic compounds (COP) and industrial gypsum. The COP, used as a filling for tannery, contains 9.37% Cr2O3 content and 90.6% organic content. The industrial gypsum contains 68.37% CaSO4, 0.13% Cr2O3, and 31.5% residual organic or inorganic compounds, which can be used in building materials. No waste water or solid waste was discharged in this experiment process.