Fatliquoring potentials of sulphonated Hura crepitans L seed oil

Fatliquors are oil-in-water emulsions required in leather processing for the purpose of leather lubrication. They ensure that the collagenic fibres do not stick together on drying and as a consequence make the leather flexible. In this work sulphonated oil with negligible inorganic salt content has been synthesised from Hura crepitans L. seed oil. Both the unsulphonated and sulphonated oils were characterized by DSC, FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and 13C NMR DEPT. The sulphonated oil and its blend with 7.5 % raw castor oil were applied onto light leather and compared with commercial fatliquor in the processing of shoe upper leather. The characteristics of the processed trial leathers were comparable with similar leathers made with commercially available fatliquors. This work raises the possibility of increasing the range of commercially viable, sustainable fatliquors in the leather industry.