Ahmet Aslan

Determination of heavy metal toxicity of finished leather solid waste.

This paper investigates the toxicity in leather products of heavy metals known to be detrimental to the ecosystem. Heavy metal concentrations in leather samples were identified with ICP-OES, and toxicity was determined using a MetPLATE bioassay. Chromium and aluminium were found to constitute 98% of the total concentration of heavy metals in finished leather tanned with chromium and aluminium salts, while in some vegetable-tanned leather, zirconium was the only heavy metal identified. The average inhibition values for chromium, aluminium and vegetable tanned leather were 98.08%, 97.04% and 62.36%, respectively.

A new morphological approach for removing acid dye from leather waste water: Preparation and characterization of metal-chelated spherical particulated membranes (SPMs)

In this study, p(HEMA-GMA) poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate) spherical particulated membranes (SPMs) were produced by UV-photopolymerization and the synthesized SPMs were coupled with iminodiacetic acid (IDA). Finally the novel SPMs were chelated with Cr(III) ions as ligand and used for removing acid black 210 dye. Characterizations of the metal-chelated SPMs were made by SEM, FTIR and swelling test. The water absorption capacities and acid dye adsorption properties of the SPMs were investigated and the results were 245.0, 50.0, 55.0 and 51.9% for p(HEMA), p(HEMA-GMA), p(HEMA-GMA)-IDA and p(HEMA-GMA)-IDA-Cr(III) SPMs respectively. Adsorption properties of the p(HEMA-GMA)-IDA-Cr(III) SPMs were investigated under different conditions such as different initial dye concentrations and pH. The optimum pH was observed at 4.3 and the maximum adsorption capacity was determined as 885.14 mg/g at about 8000 ppm initial dye concentration. The concentrations of the dyes were determined using a UV/Vis Spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 435 nm. Reusability of p(HEMA-GMA)-IDA-Cr(III) SPMs was also shown for five adsorption-desorption cycles without considerable decrease in its adsorption capacity. Finally, the results showed that the metal-chelated p(HEMA-GMA)-IDA SPMs were effective sorbent systems removing acid dye from leather waste water.

Modification of Leather Surface with Atmospheric Pressure Plasma and Nanofinishing

ABSTRACT In this study, the effect of plasma treatment and nanofinishing on leather properties was investigated. O2 and N2 gases were used for activating the leather surface, and thin layers were deposited by hexamethyldisiloxane and tetraethyloxysilane. Nanofinishing process was performed using TiO2–SiO2 nanocomposite solution. The surface properties of the treated leathers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The results showed that the hydrophobicity of leather was clearly improved after plasma end treatment with hexamethyldisiloxane, while treatment with tetraethyloxysilane increased its hydrophilic property. Moreover, the fastness properties and water vapor permeability of leathers were improved. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT