Renewable composites based on oak acorn extract, collagen and whey, with applications in leather processing

This research elaborated novel biotechnologies for including active substances from oak acorn extract, collagen and whey, and glyceraldehydes, obtaining novel stable systems-bioactive compounds, with application in leather processing. The bioactive composites with different concentrations of oak acorn extract, collagen hydrolysate processed from leather waste, and whey were used with or without glyceraldehydes for sheepskin tanning. The new biocomposites and processed leathers were characterized by physical-chemical microscopy and spectral methods. The characterizations allowed selecting the suitable technology for skin processing as a potential alternative to classical technologies. The composites with higher concentrations of acorn extracts in combination with glyceraldehyde showed the best performances in collagen crosslinking. We estimate that the new ecological leathers processed with renewable materials will generate biodegradable waste and leather products with wearing durability and higher biodegradability at the end of their life cycle.