Company insight The SUCCUIR story
SUCCUIR is a modified glycerol tanning agent, or glycerol-tannage. SUCCUIR comes to Schill + Seilacher as a waste product from the energy industry – a plant-based residue from splitting plant oils. Here the leather processing chemicals manufacturer explains its many advantages.
lycerol is the simplest polyol, easily modified for tannage. It links to the leather in exactly the same way that sugars react to protein in food. The chemical reaction is basically a link between an amino acid (on the leather protein) and the tanning agent, SUCCUIR. This reaction happens in the body all the time – it is natural. The reaction causes bread to go brown and is an important part of food making. SUCCUIR is 100% fossil-free, is very low carbon, and as a tannage for leather (or tanned leather waste) very easy to compost. Product manufacturers can take cutting waste (from SUCCUIR and a biodegradable friendly post tannage) and compost it. Retailers can think about their Extended Producer Responsibility requirements and can easily look to take- back schemes or recycling opportunities (e.g., ELV Directive) to include SUCCUIR in those plans.
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Eco-friendly tanning with SUCCUIR By taking a waste product, glycerol, and changing it into SUCCUIR (using an environmentally friendly method), close to the market where it is going to be used, the tanner immediately improves
their Scope 3 emissions. The tanner can take SUCCUIR and use it as a tannage in a manner that is easy to use, compared to other tanning types. Studies carried out so far, show that SUCCUIR reaction means the tannage is mostly taken up (a very efficient process). If the tanning effluent contains some remaining tanning agent this can easily be eaten by effluent bacteria.
Chromium-free tanning is not hard – changing from chromium-tanned leather to chromium-free, isn’t difficult. SUCCUIR penetrates very easily – even unsplit hides can be easily penetrated by this tiny tanning agent.
Any process starting point is possible with SUCCUIR. It can be used with any technology to give high exhaustion of dyes, retans, and fatliquors – making the switch from chromium easy.
Searching for innovation The SUCCUIR tanning story is close to the natural world and is a credit to future leather sustainability. SUCCUIR is a true second-generation chromium-free tanning agent. First-generation chemistry such as GDA/GTA and some of the older
chromium-free chemistries are being left out of the modern tanner’s toolbox, due to regulations and process limitations. The certified advantages of the SUCCUIR chemistry are:
■ 100% biogenic (certified) Low carbon footprint as shown by LCA (with scope to be the first carbon-neutral tanning agent?).
■ Renewability of raw materials going into SUCCUIR manufacture (a waste).
■ Compostability (5 out of 5 criteria being met).
■ Leather performance and ease of use.
The sustainability and quality credentials of SUCCUIR listed above, stand out as they are rarely all found in one tanning agent. For tanners, product manufacturers, retailers, and end-users of leathers tanned with SUCCUIR, the five advantages below are great for ease of mind: ■ Market differentiator – a selling point to prevent their leather products just being sold on ‘price point’.
■ Specifically, the leather is compostable (part of the circular bioeconomy).
■ LCA studies show that SUCCUIR has a low-carbon footprint.
■ The performance of leathers tanned using SUCCUIR are the easiest to make compared to other second- generation tannages.
■ Intense dyeing, soft leathers, tight leathers, and a wide range of starting points.
The future of leather processing, using SUCCUIR is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the leather industry, with many tanneries looking for innovation. The SUCCUIR tannage is certified compostable and as such stands out as one of the world’s first truly circular tannage – marking the first opportunity that product manufacturers can design for full product circularity due to the inherent nature of their leathers. ●
Leather tanned with SUCCUIR is environmentally friendly and compostable, helping producers to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.
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www.schillseilacher.de/ Leather International /
www.leathermag.com
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