Leather treatment

Raw animal hides are tanned and curried to convert them into leather, which is rot-resistant, opaque and flexible. Several tanning agents are available, many having been in use since the early days of civilization, including the bark of oak and hemlock (tanbark or tan), vegetable tannins extracted from plants, chromium salts such as chrome alum (potassium chromium sulphate), fish oil and formaldehyde.

Lowering acidity

BICAR^® TEC is used to lower the degree of acidity produced by the breakdown of chromium salts, keeping the tanning baths at their desired pH value of 3.7 to 3.8. A certain amount of BICAR^® TEC is also used in leather dyeing.