Performance of Microbicides for the Preservation of Vegetable Tanned Leather

Abstract

In the tanning industry, the deterioration of leather due to the development of fungi is of great concern. Some fungi metabolize important substances in leather, causing serious damage such as pigmented stain that is difficult to remove, defects, surface roughness, and loss of physical and mechanical resistance, which affect the quality of the final product. This work evaluated the performance of five microbicides conventionally used in the leather industry, against different fungi. Microbicides were applied during the tanning process with vegetable tannin in the fatliquoring step. Accelerated microbiological tests (plating and tropical chamber) were performed. The results revealed a low antifungal capacity of selected microbicides when applied at an offer of 0.2% (mass hide base) fungicides. Treatment with OIT+BMC/water at an offer of 0.75% showed satisfactory fungal protection against different fungi tested and proved to be the most suitable for the preservation of vegetable tanned leather.