A NEW ENZYME PROCESS FOR IMPROVED YIELD AND SOFTER LEATHER - TECHNICAL NOTE

The main purpose of bating is to remove the noncollagenous proteins to make the leather softer with greater stretch. Failure to remove the n oncollagenous proteins causes a cementing together of the fibres when the leather is dried and results in firmness and lack of flexibility. It is well known that the classical bating process in the alkaline con dition makes use of proteolytic enzymes, which are of pancreatic or ba cterial origin, and the efficiency/activity of the process depends on the enzyme concentration as well as temperature, pH, and time during t he bating process. Therefore, the enzyme treatment in alkaline conditi ons is considered a very sensitive process. A new development in this field is the use of the enzyme, pepsin, which is extracted from bovine or porcine stomach mucous and is active in acid condition. Treatment with this enzyme under acid conditions may be done after the pickle pr ocess or after the chrome tanning. The treatment is safer and has a mo re selective action than the classical bating under alkaline condition s. By treating the shaved wet blue hides with the acidic enzyme not on ly are the advantages of improved yield and softer leather achieved, b ut uniformity of quality and physical properties are also achieved.