Leather waste as a filler of synthetic fibers: a novel approach to waste recycling

Abstract

Leather finished scrap (LFS) is a footwear industrial waste that is often dumped in landfills. Due to environmental problems, there has recently been an increase in interest in using wastes as inclusion for blending materials. The micro leather fibers (MLF) were extracted from the LFS with the help of using fiber isolation machine. This study examines the possibility of using LFS waste as a blending in a polypropylene fiber (PPF). 500 wt % of MLF and different concentrations of PPF (100, 200, and 300 wt %) were used to develop the web fibrous matrix (WFM) by the method of web formation, and injection molded techniques, for their consumer application. The impact of PPF blending concentration on the mechanical characteristics of WFM was assessed. WFM containing up to 300 wt % PPF increased tensile strength (85.95+1.81 MPa), elongation at break (81.18+0.23 %), tearing strength (22.69+0.23 N/mm), flexing index (10.55+0.73 %), etc., characteristics attaining mechanical properties comparable to non-woven polypropylene composite. A biodegradation study was carried out using an enzymatic method, and the results demonstrated the biodegradable properties. The WFM demonstrated desirable applications such as house interiors, shoe lining materials, carpets, puppets, etc., as well as low-cost materials and prevention of pollution.