MITICO

Project co-financed under Tuscany

POR FESR 2014-2020

Modelling and development of smart technological plants for new tannery chemicals synthesis

International and EU eco-toxicological standards as well as technical specifications from the biggest fashion groups are in continuous evolution, containing requirements to limit the use of hazardous products in favor of highly safe and sustainable counterparts.

The development of safer and eco-sustainable products is not heading to the same direction, in fact nowadays the most used system to tan leather is with chrome salts, making large use of strong acids to prepare hide for tanning. The environmental impact associated with chrome-tanning process is not negligible, because of the high concentration of sulphates, chlorides and unreacted Chrome III, which presence in the wastewater sludge complicates its reuse or disposal. Furthermore, the chrome-tanning process raise the concern about the formation of Cr VI in the tanned leather, in specific extreme environmental conditions during processing and storage of tanned leather.

INNOVATION

In this context, MITICO project is highly innovative, as it aims at developing the manufacturing process of a new ecological & highly biodegradable tannery chemical from specific biomasses, for the production of metal-free tanned leather. MITICO aims at developing such process with a high degree of automation, according to the type of feedstock used. MITICO project’s objectives are the following:

• Select specific waste from sugar industry to guarantee constant quality of the feedstock to the production;

• Develop & implement the manufacturing process of the new tannery chemical by in silico modelling of the chemical reaction involved in the synthesis, in relation to the process parameters and feedstock specs;

• Develop a new sensor for the real-time monitoring of the new tannery chemical;

• Develop & implement an ultrasound-assisted synthesis process of the new tannery chemical, up to the pilot scale;

• Develop a process control system having a high degree of automation and productive efficiency and a web-app for the management and traceability of the production chain.

• Validate the new tannery chemical on pre-industrial scale, for the manufacturing of metal-free leather articles.

 PARTNERSHIP

RAFT srl (Coordinator): Engineering company working in industrial and environmental sectors, in MITICO deals with the design and production of the pilot equipment for the production of the new tannery chemical

DERMOCHIMICA SpA: Tannery chemical manufacturer, in MITICO deals with the scale-up production of the new tannery chemical and the development of the new tanning process

EVERYWAVE srl: R&D start-up company in the field of ultrasound devices for industrial applications, deals with the synthesis modelling by FEA and the development of the ultrasound devices used in the pilot plant

VALERI ENGINEERING srl: Engineering company expert in industrial automation, deals with the development of the real-time sensing system and the design of process control automation

TESECOM Srl: Software house expert in web app development, deals with the design and manufacturing of the interface between the process control system and company management software for the traceability of the production chain

CONCERIA SETTEBELLO SpA: Tannery company manufacturer of chrome-tanned leather articles for leather goods and footwear, deals with the development and the optimization on semi-industrial scale of the of the new tanning process

Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa: Expert in the development of chemical synthesis from biomass feedstock, deals with the lab-scale development of the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of the new tannery chemical

PO.TE.CO.: R&D center expert in the development of new tanning processes, deals with the development and the optimization on lab& pilot scale of the of the new tanning process

Laboratori ARCHA srl (subcontractor): R&D and analysis laboratory, deals with the characterization of the feedstock and the tannery chemical for development of the real-time sensing system, the QSAR modelling and the development of specific algorithms for the process control automation.