PROCESS FOR TANNING ANIMAL HIDE

Abstract

There is provided a process for tanning animal hide comprising treating an animal hide with at least one tanning agent and exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the ionising radiation is in the form of a charged particle beam.

Claims

1. A process for tanning animal hide comprising: treating an animal hide with at least one tanning agent to form a treated hide; and exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the dose of ionising radiation comprises charged particles.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ionising radiation consists essentially of charged particles.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ionising radiation has an associated energy of 1 eV to 100 MeV.

4. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ionising radiation is in the form of an electron beam or an ion beam having an associated energy of 1 to 10 MeV.

5. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the dose of ionising radiation is from 1 to less than 100 kJ/kg.

6. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the dose of ionising radiation is from 150 to 500 kJ/kg.

7. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ionising radiation is emitted from a source and the hides and the source are moved relative to each other at a linear speed of from 1 to 50 cm/sec.

8. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hide is provided on a surface inclined from the horizontal by 10 to 30 degrees, and/or on a non-planar surface.

9. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hide is treated with a formulation comprising at least one tanning agent for a time sufficient to achieve a substantially uniform concentration of tanning agent(s) throughout the hide; and the hide is exposed to the dose of ionising radiation within 30 minutes of removal from the formulation.

10. The process as claimed in claim 9 wherein the formulation is used to treat numerous batches of hide.

11. The process as claimed in claim 1 having a duration of 0.5 to 10 minutes.

12. The process as claimed in claim 1 having an associated power usage of 0.2-140 kWh/kg hides treated.

13. The process as claimed in claim 1 comprising: treating an animal hide with at least one tanning agent; exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg, wherein the ionising radiation comprises charged particles; treating the animal hide with at least one re-tanning agent; and exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the ionising radiation comprises charged particles.

14. The process as claimed in claim 13 wherein the dose of ionising radiation is from 1 to less than 100 kJ/kg, and the ionising radiation is in the form of a charged particle beam having an associated energy of 1 to 10 MeV.

15. The process as claimed in claim 1 comprising: treating an animal hide with at least one tanning agent; exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the ionising radiation comprises charged particles; treating an animal hide with at least one dye; exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the ionising radiation comprises charged particles; optionally treating the animal hide with at least one re-tanning agent; and optionally exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the ionising radiation comprises charged particles.

16. The process as claimed in claim 15 wherein the dose of ionising radiation is from 1 to less than 100 kJ/kg, and the ionising radiation is in the form of an electron beam having an associated energy of 1 to 10 MeV.

17. A process for re-tanning tanned animal hide comprising: treating a tanned animal hide with at least one re-tanning agent; exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the ionising radiation comprises charged particles.

18. A process for tanning and/or retanning animal hide comprising: treating an animal hide with at least one tanning agent; contacting the treated hide with dye; and exposing the treated hide to a dose of ionising radiation of from 1 to 500 kJ/kg wherein the ionising radiation comprises charged particles.

19. A system for tanning animal hide including a container for housing a formulation including at least one tanning agent and an ionising radiation source.

20. The system as claimed in claim 19 including more than one ionising radiation source to allow the hide to be exposed to ionising radiation from more than one direction wherein the sources are arranged to allow exposure from two directions separated by at least 90 degrees.

21. The system of claim 19 including more than one electron accelerator.

22. The system as claimed in claim 21 including a beam transport line comprised of electromagnetic focusing magnets.

Description

[0147] The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0148] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of a particle delivery system used to irradiate hides for tanning according to the present invention;

[0149] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of a particle delivery system used to irradiate hides for tanning according to the present invention;

[0150] FIG. 3 is a schematic left side view of the particle delivery system used of FIG. 2.

[0151] A particle delivery system to irradiate hides for tanning according to a first embodiment of the present invention, generally designated 10, is shown schematically in FIG. 1, referred to herein as the system for tanning animal hide. The system for tanning animal hide 10 comprises a container for housing a formulation including at least one tanning agent (not shown) and an ionising radiation source 12, provided in FIG. 1 as a beam delivery system. The system 10 includes a beam horn 14 to minimise the distance the ionising radiation travels through the air before irradiating the hides 16. The hides are passed through the ionising radiation on a conveyor system 18.

[0152] A second embodiment of a system for tanning animal hide according to the invention, generally designated 100, is shown in a schematic perspective and left side view in FIGS. 2 and 3. The second embodiment of the beam tanning system 100 is substantially the same as the first embodiment of the beam tanning system 10, and differs only in the replacement of the beam delivery system 12 with a linear particle accelerator 20; and a beam transport line comprised of electromagnetic focusing magnets 22; a beam raster magnet 24 to sweep the beam across the width of the hide 16; and a dipole magnet 26 to direct the beam toward the hide 16.

[0153] Various modifications and variations of the described aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes of carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the relevant fields are intended to be within the scope of the following Claims.