Abstract:
Leather processing not only serves social needs by putting into use
the meat industry’s by-products (hides and skins) but also makes a
significant contribution to global economic growth through trade
and job creation. In the wake of globalization, however, leather
manufacturers are facing new challenges in meeting environmental
imperatives and improving the utilization of wastes generated during
leather processing. This study describes the recovery of hair and fat
from fleshings obtained after enzymatic unhairing of goatskins using
a protease from an isolate of Bacillus cereus Strain 1-p. The recovered
hair and fats were further characterized to facilitate recommendations
for different industrial applications. The following hair properties
were visually examined and evaluated by hand; straight length,
density and uniformity, hair strength and overall quality. The fats
were analyzed by characterizing the fatty acid composition using the
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS analysis). The
recovered hair was intact and rated to be of average to good quality.
The fat characterization indicated that methyl 9Z-octadecenoate
(9Z-heptadecenoic acid; oleic acid) was the most abundant fatty
acid with an abundance of 31.65%. The sulfide-free fats and intact
hair, therefore, were recommended for use in various industrial
applications such as manufacturing of poultry feedstuff, organic
fertilizers, biodiesel and biofuels, fatliquoring agents, soaps and
cosmetics after further purification where necessary. The hair and fats
recovered from this study are particularly advantageous over those
recovered from sulfide unhairing systems as they are free from any
sulfides or lime contamination thus easier to purify and use. The study
concluded that the use of the enzyme extract from Bacillus cereus
Strain 1-p to unhair goatskins facilitated the recovery of valuable hair
and fats that can be used for other industrial applications.
