MEDITERRANEAN Pollution prevention opportunities in the Tanning sector industry CLEANERwithin the mediterranean region production Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (RAC/CP) Mediterranean Action Plan Ministry of the Environment Spain Autonomous Government of Catalonia Ministry of the Environment Centre for Cleaner Production Initiatives Pollution Prevention Opportunities in the Tanning Sector Industry within the Mediterranean Region Note: This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form of educational and non-profit purposes without special permission from the Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (RAC/CP), provided acknowledgement of the source is made. RAC/CP would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this material as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purposes whatsoever without prior permission in writing from RAC/CP. If you consider that some part of this study could be improved or there is any lack of precision, we would appreciate if you could notify it to us. Study finished on January 2000 Study published on October 2000 Additional copies or information could be requested to: Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (RAC/CP) C/ París, 184 – 3ª planta 08036 Barcelona (Spain) Tf. (+34) 93 415 11 12 - Fax (+34) 93 237 02 86 e-mail: [email protected] Web page: http://www.cema-sa.org Page 1 of 162 Pollution Prevention Opportunities in the Tanning Sector Industry within the Mediterranean Region TABLE OF CONTENTS PROJECT CONTEXT ....................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 5 OBJECTIVE..................................................................................................................... 5 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 6 LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF THE TANNING SECTOR IN THE MAP COUNTRIES ............. 8 1.1 Albania ............................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Algeria................................................................................................................ 9 1.3 Bosnia-Herzegovina .......................................................................................... 10 1.4 Croatia.............................................................................................................. 11 1.5 Cyprus.............................................................................................................. 12 1.6 Egypt................................................................................................................ 13 1.7 France.............................................................................................................. 15 1.8 Greece ............................................................................................................. 17 1.9 Israel ................................................................................................................ 18 1.10 Italy ................................................................................................................ 19 1.11 Lebanon ......................................................................................................... 21 1.12 Libya .............................................................................................................. 23 1.13 Malta .............................................................................................................. 23 1.14 Monaco........................................................................................................... 24 1.15 Morocco.......................................................................................................... 25 1.16 Slovenia.......................................................................................................... 26 1.17 Spain.............................................................................................................. 28 1.18 Syria............................................................................................................... 29 1.19 Tunisia............................................................................................................ 31 1.20 Turkey ............................................................................................................ 33 LEGISLATIVE ISSUES AND POTENTIAL TRADE BARRIERS RELATED TO THE LEATHER MARKET .... 34 CHAPTER II: THE TANNING PROCESS......................................................................... 36 Preservation........................................................................................................... 40 Preliminary Trimming .............................................................................................. 42 Rinsing................................................................................................................... 43 Soaking.................................................................................................................. 45 Liming .................................................................................................................... 47 Rinsing after Liming ................................................................................................ 49 Lime Fleshing & Trimmimg...................................................................................... 50 Deliming & Bating ................................................................................................... 52 Rinsing after Deliming ............................................................................................. 54 Degreasing............................................................................................................. 55 Pickling .................................................................................................................. 57 Tanning.................................................................................................................. 59 Sammying .............................................................................................................. 62 Splitting & Trimming ................................................................................................ 64 Shaving.................................................................................................................. 66 Re-Tanning ............................................................................................................ 68 Finishing................................................................................................................. 70 CHAPTER III: TANNERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT ................................................... 72 IMPACTS THAT TANNERIES MAY CAUSE IF POLLUTION PREVENTION MEASURES ARE NOT TAKEN... 72 3.1 Impact on Surface Water................................................................................... 72 3.2 Impact on Land ................................................................................................. 73 3.3 Impact on Ground Water.................................................................................... 74 Page 2 of 162 Pollution Prevention Opportunities in the Tanning Sector Industry within the Mediterranean Region 3.4 Impact on Air..................................................................................................... 74 3.5 Impact on Waste Management Systems ............................................................. 75 3.6 Effect on Human Health..................................................................................... 75 3.7 Effects of Most Significant Tanning Pollutants ..................................................... 76 CHAPTER IV: POLLUTION PREVENTION OPTIONS ...................................................... 78 4.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 78 4.2 IN-PLANT CONTROLS AND PROCESS CHANGES ............................................................ 80 Using freshly flayed hides or skins ........................................................................... 80 Salt and chemical free conservation methods ........................................................... 81 Shaking the salted hides or skins before soaking ...................................................... 82 Introducing green fleshing ....................................................................................... 83 Hair Recovery from Liming Process ......................................................................... 84 Re-use of liming wastewater.................................................................................... 86 Separating residual baths after liming and chrome tanning ........................................ 87 High tech sulfide recycling ....................................................................................... 88 Segregating sulfides from the effluents..................................................................... 89 Split limed hides...................................................................................................... 90 Reducing Ammonium