A system and method for a chromium recovery process for recovering chromium from byproducts resulting from a tannery process. A system and process for solubilizing chromium contained in the oil byproduct into the remaining water content within the oil and extracting the water from the oil with the chromium sufficiently solubilized in the water such that the chromium content in the oil is sufficiently reduced below hazardous levels.

An apparatus includes a process chamber, a controllable compressor for pressurizing a fluid, a pressure reducing member, an inlet for a processing agent and a controller. The process chamber is a pressure chamber. The controllable compressor pressurizes a fluid and introduces the pressurized fluid into the process chamber from a source. Further the controllable compressor controls a predefined pressure in the process chamber to reach a supercritical state of the fluid. An inlet for a processing agent facilitates introduction of the processing agent into the process chamber prior to, during, or subsequent to pressurization of the fluid. The pressure reducing member reduces the pressure of the fluid at least to reach a gaseous state subsequent to processing the leather object such that the time for reduction of pressure exceeds a predefined reduction period or the reduction of pressure does not exceed a predefined leather pressure reduction gradient.