Preparation and characterization of composite sheets from solid leather waste with plant fibers: a waste utilization effort

Large amounts of solid wastes are produced in manufacturing of leather and leather products. Nearly 80–85% of solid wastes is generated in leather production whereas 20–30% of leather is ended up as wastes from leather goods and footwear industries which poses significant concern regarding environmental pollution. An attempt was made to produce environmentally friendly bio-composite materials with higher mechanical characteristics by utilizing solid wastes released from leather industries. In this study, leather fibers (LF) from shaving dust and leather cutting scrap were used with plant fibers such as banana ( Musa acuminata), pineapple (Ananas comosus), betel nut ( Areca catechu), and moringa (Moringa oleifera) for making composite sheets reinforced with natural rubber latex (NRL). New composite materials were characterized by using thermogravimetric (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques which confirmed the presence of desired physical and chemical properties in them. FTIR analysis showed characteristics absorption resonances at 3287, 2919, and 2855 cm −1 which were not apparent in starting single fibers. TGA data indicated that banana fiber (BF) composite is thermally more stable than others. The tensile strengths of pineapple fiber (PF) composite and BF sheet were 3.89 and 3.59 Mpa, respectively, which were higher than those observed in control sheet (CS). New composite sheets possess significant properties which make them suitable to be used as valuable raw materials for manufacturing of various footwear and leather goods. This interesting approach will reduce environmental pollution and ensure the sustainability of the respective ecosystem. Graphical abstract A—different fibrous sources (A1—leather scraps and A2–A4 are plant fibrous sources), B—raw fibers (B1 is leather fiber and B2-B4 are plants fibers), C—small-sized raw fibers, D—alkali treatment, E—crushing machine, F—different fibers (ready), G—hydraulic press machine, and H—prepared composite sheet