Author:
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Roig, Joan; Font Vallès, Joaquim; Marginet, Xavier; Jorba, M.; Ollé Otero, Lluís; Bacardit Dalmases, Anna; Puig Vidal, Rita
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Abstract:
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This paper documents a technical feasibility study opf tannery wasterwater which was reclaimed (treated) and reutilized in tannery leather making processes. The studied waste water was processed in the waste water treatment plant owned by Igualada tanners (IDR), in Spain. The objectives included reduction of city fresh water consumption by the tanners of this city. A pilot plant using membrane technology, determined to be the most appropiate technology in this case, was installed at the IDR wastewater treatment facility. It worked in three consecutive stages: pre-treatment by sand filtration, subsequent ultrafiltration, and then reserse osmosis. The reclaimed water was of the highest quality, superior to any other water currently available to city tanners. The right sides of 24 calf hides were fully processed with the reclaimed water, while the left sides of the same hides were processed with softened tap water. Three different leather articles were produced. No significant differences were detectable between the left and right sides, neither organoleptically nor analytically. |