Development of tanning with tannins from fir trees at industrial scale

Important results from the project

The objective of the project has been to develop tanning using tannins from fir tree at industrial scale. The project has addressed some of the barriers that exist for an industrial use of tannins from fir tree. All objectives have successfully been achieved in the project.

Expected long term effects

The project has achieved all expected results and the results will be valuable for a future development of the process. The project has demonstrated that a tanning agent with good and competitive properties can be produced from fir tree. The tanning agent has been used during tanning trials with very good results. The produced leather had better properties than leather produced with commercial vegetable tanning agents. A number of leather products have been produced from leather tanned by tannins from fir tree.

Approach and implementation

The project was divided into the following tasks: 1. Initial production of tannins from fir tree 2. Tanning trials at Tärnsjö Garveri 3. Analyses of the produced leather 4. Evaluation of potential for production of tannins from raw material from Swedish Forest Industry. In addition, a number of leather products have been produced from leather tanned by tannins from fir tree. The products had good quality which illustrates that the produced leather have good commercial properties.