Cold active lipase from Pseudomonas sp. VITCLP4 as degreasing agent in leather processing

The potential of cold active lipase from Pseudomonas sp. VITCLP4 in degreasing of greasy skin has been investigated. Degreasing efficacy has been studied at four different stages (liming, deliming, pickling and depickling) of the pre-tanning process. Being alkaline, expectedly the enzyme at 10% concentration on pelt weight performed well at deliming stage, resulting in acceptable residual fat content of 3.5%. The more desired residual fat and free fatty acid content (FFA) of less than 2% and 0.5% has been achieved when the enzyme (10%) is used along with a commercial degreasing formulation (0.5%) at depickling stage, cutting short the concentration of degreasing agent from 3% to 0.5%. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies and physical properties testing reveal that the enzyme treatment imparts desirable properties to finished leather. The results indicate that the enzyme alone or along with a chemical degreasing agent can be used at deliming or depickling stage to produce leathers with acceptable or desirable fat content as per the need of finished leathers.