Section Five
WASTE MANAGEMENT
B. SLUDGE MANAGEMENT
58    BY-PRODUCT RECOVERY OF TANNERY SOLID WASTES AS
AN ALTERNATIVE TO SANITARY LANDFILLING
Tzu-Yar Liu, Graduate Assistant
Raymond W. Regan, Sr., Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
INTRODUCTION
The continuing search for improved solid waste management procedures by industry has been in
response to Federal and State environmental legislation. As noted by Pardus and Regan,' the ultimate
goal for industry has also been the development and application of a comprehensive waste management strategy that maintains or improves product quality while reducing costs. The subject of the
presentation concerns a research effort seeking to achieve this ideal at a small tannery using traditional processes for the production of fine leather from raw hides (Howes Leather Company,
Curwensville, PA).
The primary source of the information presented is after Liu.2 The results indicate preliminary
findings for an ongoing effort.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
As a general requirement of Pennsylvania's environmental legislation, each industry has had to
characterize solid wastes for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PaDER,
module one) and implement procedures for the alternative handling of solid wastes presently being
disposed by sanitary landfilling. In 1989 Pennsylvania Act 55 provided industries with an approval
mechanism for the beneficial recovery and reuse of industrial solid materials. The Howes Leather Co.
has identified three major types of their solid waste to be considered as candidates for by-product
recovery and new products; namely, fleshings, leather dust, and wastewater sludge. The approximate
composition of solid wastes from Howes Leather Co. is given in Table I.
Table I.    Approximate Composition of Process By-Products from Howes Leather Co.
Solid Wastes tons/week percent
Leather dust (94.1% solids) 0.4 0.32
Tannery sludge (36.6% solids) 115 91.7
Fleshings (17.9% solids) 10.0 8.0
Total 125.4 100
Note: Fleshings are the sum of lime fleshings, short summer hair, lime trimmings, and leather
fleshings.
47th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1992 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
Printed in U.S.A.
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