The process of making leather is quite complicated and cumbersome, from naked skin to finished leather, it needs to go through many processes. Before tanning, preparations for soaking in water, soaking in lime, enzyme softening, pickling and deacidification, degreasing, etc. are required; after tanning, dyeing, fatliquoring, and finishing are also required. In all these processes, surfactants are used as additives to promote the physical and chemical effects and processes of each process, shorten the production cycle, improve the quality of finished leather, and save chemical raw materials.
Fur processing also needs to go through multiple processes. Surfactants are also used as additives in the processes of water immersion, degreasing, softening, tanning, bleaching, dyeing, fatliquoring, and finishing. Tanning must remove animal hair, and fur processing requires that the original structure of the hair is not damaged as much as possible, and the use of surfactants can play a good protective role.
The main functions of surfactants in leather production and fur processing are solubilization, emulsification, wetting, penetration, foaming, defoaming, washing, level dyeing and fixing. In each process, the requirements for its role are different. For example, in immersion in water, it is mainly required to play a role in wetting and penetrating; in degreasing, it is required to play a role in emulsification, wetting and penetrating; Good solubilization; it needs good diffusion, penetration and foaming in dyeing; it needs good emulsifying performance in fatliquoring.