Diseño de la etapa de curtición de piel bovina con la utilización del extracto tánico y gálico del guarango, Caesalpinia spinosa

Abstract

The present research consisted in the design of the tanning stage of bovine hides with the use of guarango extracts as tanning agent, detailing the process variables to be controlled and their respective operating conditions, in order to establish the basis for a later replication on an industrial scale obtaining multiple benefits. The process was replicated at laboratory scale in 6 highland bovine hides of good quality, within the tanning laboratory, Faculty of Livestock Sciences, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Chimborazo, obtaining full grain leather for footwear and leather goods, which was subjected to physical tests (maximum traction and percentage of elongation) and sensory analysis (softness, fullness and roundness) to evaluate the quality of the product and therefore the efficiency of the design. An average of 2.65 N/mm2 was obtained for maximum traction and 43% for elongation percentage, while the average scores for softness, fullness and roundness were 3.42, 4.67 and 4.50 points, in that order. At the same time, a traditional tanning with chromium salts was carried out to compare the results of the physical and sensory tests of these hides in contrast with the responses of the hides treated with guarango, concluding that a product (expressed as finished leather) of higher quality is obtained under a vegetable tanning model with guarango extract, denoted in the process design of the research, which is why the application of guarango extracts in the national tanning industry is recommended.