Utilization of waste leather shavings as filler in paper making

Leather industry generates large amounts of wastes, most of them are burned causing environmental pollution. This study aims to use these wastes as filler in bagasse pulp before sheet formation, as a novel method. Leather shavings were subjected to multistage disintegration to prepare powder, then treated with different monomers and applied in paper sheets. The formed sheets exhibit a considerable improvement in some of their properties such as tear, water resistance, air permeability, and thermal stability. Only breaking length was affected by adding untreated and treated leather shavings. Consequently, the resulting paper sheets have potential for application in wrapping and packaging industries. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010