The document summarizes the tannery process, associated wastewater treatment, and impact on public health. It describes the various stages of tanning including soaking, liming, pickling, and tanning. This generates wastewater high in salts, chromium, sulfides, and organic matter. Primary treatment includes screening, equalization, coagulation, and sludge dewatering to remove solids and reduce BOD and COD. Effluent standards vary by country but are often exceeded by tanneries. Pollutants from tanneries like chromium, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide can cause respiratory illness and dermatitis. Alternative treatment methods are evaluated based on cost, technical criteria, and

1. Tannery process scheme, wastewater treatment, its
impact to public health and effluent discharge
standards
BY
1. WILLIAMS NDIFREKE ETUK 20153694
2. MOSES FARRELL LUKA 20150168
3. SULAIMAN ISHAQ MUKTAR 20162418
4. OGBOGU TELMA 20154374
1

2. 2

3. Overview
• Leather tanning is a wide common industry all over the world.
• one of the most important industries in Mediterranean countries.
• Due to complex waste characteristics leather tanneries are generally
located in so called organized industrial districts.
• Fig a, some tanneries in Italy, a proportional distribution of the
leather tanneries in Italy and in EU countries is shown in Fig. b. The
industrial processing from the raw hides to finished leather is shown
in Fig. 2.
3

4. Figure 1 Spatial distribution of leather tanneries in (a) Italy and (b) among the member states (UNIC. www.unic.itum, 2013).
4

5. Figure 2 Overview of the tanning industry (Naturgerechte Technologien, 2002). 5

6. Tannery processing and contaminant load
• The production of fresh hides has been estimated at about 8-9 million
tonnes per year
• During the processing of these hides a total of 1.4 million tonnes of
solid waste is produced
• This means that in all likelihood ca 16% of the processed hides is
leather waste
• puts the figures for trimmings and splittings (i.e. leather waste) at a
total of 225 kg/ton hide (i.e. ca 23%).
• Tannery wastewater is slightly alkaline in nature ranging between pH
7.5-8.5. It is because of mixing of acidic liquor from pickling & chrome
tanning effluent with alkaline liquor from beam house operation.
6

7. Tannery processing and contaminant load
• The highest amount of the salt load occurs in the beam house area
• Soaking is intended for the removal of the salt, impurities etc. and for
increasing the moisture content, which is lost during the curing
operation. In soaking about 15% (w/w) to 40% (w/w) of common salt is
used for preserving animal skins and it is removed during the soaking
• Liming and unhairing is accomplished for removal of epidermis layer
and inter-fibre substances (mainly soluble protein and fats) providing
the room for the tanning agent.
7

8. Tannery processing and contaminant load
• This fundamental process is conducted in paddle operation, which is
followed by another task called fleshing. Thereafter ‘Deliming & Bating’ is
carried out in drum operation
• Deliming is practiced for the removal of the lime added during liming &
unhairing and also for lowering the pH
• Bating, a special operation is also followed along with deliming for the
production of good quality leather to be used in Bag making.
• During the liming and unhairing process, CaO and Na2S are normally used
during liming-unhairing operation.
8

9. Tannery processing and contaminant load
• If a tannery is processing salted hides then the biggest salt
component in the wastewater is always the NaCl from hide and skin
preservation
• Pickling & chrome tanning is accomplished after deliming and bating
in the same drum. Pickling & chrome tanning is considered as the
most polluting process in tanning operation due to presence of
untreated Basic chrome sulfate (BCS) in the form of Cr(III).
• In tanning process about 25–30% of the total chrome used emanate
through the wastewater.
9

10. Tannery processing and contaminant load
• The wet-end re-tanning, dyeing and fat liquoring processes have only a
minor impact on the total salt load dominantly originated from the hides in
the initial pre-soak and main soak
• The tanning wastewater contains the highest concentration of total
chromium (up to 4950 mgL−1)
• Coloring usually involves combining dyes with the tanned skin fibers to
form an insoluble compound.
• Retanning and wet finishing streams are relatively low in BOD and TSS, high
in COD and contain trivalent chromium, tannins, sulfonated oils and spent
dyes
10

11. Tannery processing and contaminant load
• reports the average composition of mixed effluents of leather
tanneries. The average influent chromium (III) concentration varies in
a wide range (30–260 mgL−1) depending on the tanning process
applied.
• Generally tannery effluents are rich in nitrogen, especially organic
nitrogen but very poor in phosphorous
11

12. Sources and types
of pollutants
generated in
leather processing
(Naturgerechte
Technologien,
2002)
12

13. Sources and types of pollutants generated in leather processing
(Naturgerechte Technologien, 2002)
Contd……….
13

14. Treatment stage in Tannery industry
• Primary treatment
• In order to carry out effluent treatment in the most effective manner,
flow segregation is useful to allow preliminary treatment of
concentrated wastewater streams, in particular for sulphide- and
chrome-containing liquors.
• Where segregation of flows is possible, thorough mixing of chrome-
bearing effluents and other effluent streams improves the efficiency
of the effluent treatment plant because the chromium tends to
precipitate out with the protein during pretreatment the layout is
shown in the Figure that follows
14

15. Primary treatment
• This treatment stage is majorly to eliminate the coarse matter,
remove almost completely Cr and sulphides, remove the major part
of suspended solids, and considerably reduce the BOD and COD
content which follows the following basic steps: screening (bar, self-
cleaning), pumping/lifting, fine screening (Fig. 6).
• Equalization, and sulphide oxidation, chemical treatment
(coagulation, flocculation), settling, sludge dewatering.
15

16. Flowchart of in-house segregation of streams, including chrome recycling, treatment of liming
effluents and pre-treatment of mixed effluent
16

17. Rough bar screen, operation principle (Hayelom and Adhena, 2014). 17

18. Layout of in-house segregation of streams, including chrome recycling and oxidation of sulphides in liming effluent (Aravindhan et al., 2004).
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19. Equalization – homogenization – sulphide oxidation
• The main aims here are
• Homogenization of the effluent (quantity and quality); and
• sulphide elimination, mostly by catalytic oxidation.
• This is achieved by using mixing-cum-aeration devices such as
diffused-air systems (preferred), Venturi ejectors, and fixed or floating
aerators (lately avoided due to lower efficiency and the problem of
aerosols). In practice, to play it safe, the volume of the equalization
tank corresponds to the total daily effluent discharge.
19

20. Schematic view of an equalization, homogenization tank and Schematic view of the coagulation and flocculation
system (Aravindhan et al., 2004). 20

21. Simplified flowchart of the physical-chemical (primary) tannery effluent treatment (Naturgerechte Technologien, 2002).
21

22. Sludge dewatering
• The sludge drawn from the bottom of the tank is in the form of slurry with
a dry-solid (DS) content of only 2-4%. For its evacuation, special pumps –
usually of the Mohno type – are used.
• For further handling and disposal of sludge, it is necessary to reduce
drastically the water content.
• This is usually achieved by:
• (i) thickening in sludge thickeners (very much like circular clarifier);
• (ii) mechanical dewatering in filter presses, belt-filter presses or decanters
(centrifuges);
• (iii) natural drying in sludge-drying beds.
• In addition to power and chemical requirements, the key parameter for
equipment selection is the achievable dry matter content in the dewatered
sludge.
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23. National and International Standards of Tannery Industry
• Solid and liquid wastes are the inevitable by-products of the leather
industry process, which cause significant pollution unless treated
prior to discharge.
• . In most cases, liquid waste is discharged into sewage systems
(indirect discharge) where it undertakes full-scale treatment before
being returned to the surface waters.
• . Effluent discharge standards limits are set by the authorities for
compliance by industries in order to protect the environment (Table
1-2).
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24. Standard limits
• (a) Based on standards which have been widely applied and found
generally acceptable.
• (b) Set along the lines of mass-balance, whereby the quality of the
water upstream and the quality requirements of the water
downstream (for industrial or drinking purposes) are determined. The
difference between the two figures determines the tolerance levels at
the point of discharge.
24

25. Pollution limits for discharge of effluents into water bodies and sewers
Parameter Argentina
Surface
Argentina
Sewer
Austria
Surface
Austria
Sewer
China
Surface
China
Sewer
Nigeria
Surface
Nigeria
Sewer
pH 5.5 5.5-10 6.5-8.5 6.0-9.5 6.0-9.0 6.0-9.0 6-9 6-9
Temp 45 45 30 30 70-150 400 Less than 40 Less than 40
Sus Solids
(mg/L)
- - 70 150 200 10 30 -
Sett.Solids
(mg/L)
0.5 0.5 - - - 10 - -
BOD(mg/L) 50 200 25 - 20-100 600 50 500
COD(mg/L) 250 700 200 - 100-300 1000 - -
TDS (mg/L) - - - - - - 2000 2000
Shlphide
(mg/L)
- 1000 0.1 2.0 1.0 10 0.2 -
Chlorides
(mg/L)
- - - - - - 600 600
Sulhates
(mg/L)
- 1000 - - - - 500 1000
Phosp - - 2.0 - - - 5 1025

26. Contd
Parameter Argentina
Surface
Argentina
Sewer
Austria
Surface
Austria
Sewer
China
Surface
China
Sewer
Nigeria
Surface
Nigeria
Sewer
Chrome 3
(mg/L)
- - - - 1.5 2.0 less than 1 -
Chrome 6
(mg/L)
- - 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.5 Less than 1 -
Total
Chrome
(mg/L)
0.5 2 1.0 3.0 1.5 1.5 - -
Oil & grease
(mg/L)
100 - 20 100 10-15 100 10 30
Phenol
(mg/L)
0.5 - - 20 0.5 2.0 0.2 -
Detergent
(mg/L)
- - - - - - 15 15
26

27. Table 2 Comparative effluent waste from Tannery Industries from some countries
Parameter Lagos (Nigeria) Kano (Nigeria) Bangaladesh** FEPA* Permissible limit
(WHO)
DO (mg/) - - - - 4.5
Sodioum (mg/L) 367.5 - 12006 - nm
Electric
Conductivity
3487.5 - 42500 - -
TDS (mg/L) 3072.3 661.3 21300 2000 1200
pH 5.7 9.32 8.3 6.0-9.0 5.5-9.0
Cr (mg/L) - 1.33 10.35 (Cr3+,2)
(Cr6+,0.2)
2
Sulfate (mg/L) - 269.3 - - -
Nitrates (mg/L) - 171.6 - 20 -
Chlorides (mg/) - - 13.8 50 1000
27

28. Bangladesh Tannery
• As shown in the Table 3, all the parameters analysed by the
researchers highly exceeded the standard permissible limits
prescribed by NEQS-2000, ISI-2000 and ISW-BDS-ECR -1997.
• For this reason, European commission considered banning leather
imported from Hazaribag, because the tanneries discharge extremely
hazardous chemicals in to the open environment.
28

29. Table 3 Characteristics of Tannery Sludge in Bangladesh
Parameter Bangladesh National Standards (NEQS,2000),
(ISI,2000),(ISW-BDS-ECR,1997)
pH 7.67 7.80
OM (%) 9.15 3.83
Sodium (mg/L) 6060 0.226-0.3
Calcium (mg/L) 233.50 4.51-6.0
Magnesium (mg/L) 66.15 1.126-1.5
Total Nitrogen (mg/L) 21.5 0.271-0.36
Phosphorus (mg/L) 50.15 18.1-24.0
Sulfur (mg/L) 169.5 27.1-36.0
Chromium (mg/L) 9800 0.05-0.1
29

30. Table 4 Common pollutants, their sources and associated health effects on human
Pollutant Sources Health effects
Salt, Dust, Hair, Soot Fleshing, Dehairing, Soaking,
Washing process.
Can cause cancer, aggravates respiratory and
heart diseases, is toxic at high level causes
coughing, irritates throat and causes chest
discomfort.
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Decomposition wastes, Liming,
Pickling.
Has unpleasant odor, nausea, irritates and
throat, if toxic at high level.
Chromium (Cr) Chrome tanning Mainly effect on skin and respiratory system,
including mucous membrane irritation,
sensitization, erosion, dermatitis and chrome
ulceration, can also cause cancer.
Ammonia Mainly deliming, Bating. Inflame upper respiratory passages.
Sulfuric Acid Pickling process, Chrome tanning. Aggravates respiratory diseases, impairs
breathing, and irritates eyes and respiratory
tract.
Arsine (Arsenic) Tanning process. Breakdown red cells in blood, damage kidneys,
causes jaundice
Nitrogen Oxides Tanning, Polishing, Finishing. Aggravates respiratory and heart diseases,
irritates lungs, affects respiratory systems30

31. Alternative treatment
• The details of wastewater treatment alternatives with hierarchy are
presented in the Table below.
• The economic criterion has three components which includes capital
& O&M costs and land area requirement for the treatment
alternative.
• The technical criterion is mostly used to judge the suitability of the
treatment process.
• In the present project, factors such as BOD, COD, TDS, SS removal,
permeate recovery & reject generation, total treatment time, sludge
handling and operating flow capacity have been used.
31

32. Various treatment options implemented at individual tanneries.
(Girish et al., 2011) 32

33. Details of wastewater treatment alternatives along with hierarchies.
(Girish et al., 2011)
33

34. References
• UNIC. www.unic.itum, (2013).
• Naturgerechte Technologien (2002). Treatment of Tannery Wastewater Bau- und
Wirtschaftsberatung (TBW) GmbH, Frankfurt (Germany). Infogate. 1-11
http://www.gtz.de/gate/gateid.afp
• Aravindhan, R., Madhan B., Rao, J. R., Nair, B. U., and Ramasam, T. I (2004).
“Bioaccumulation of chromium from tannery wastewater: An approach for
chrome recovery and reuse,” Environmental Science and Technology, American
Chemical Society, 38(1):300–306
• Hayelom Dargo and Adhena Ayalew (2014). Tannery Waste Water Treatment: A
Review International Journal of Emerging Trends in Science and Technology.
1(9):1488-1494
• Girish R. Pophali, Asha B. Chelani , Rita S. Dhodapkar (2011). Optimal selection of
full scale tannery effluent treatment alternative using integrated AHP and GRA
approach Expert Systems with Applications. 38: 10889–10895
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