Membranes and Integrated Membrane Operations as Clean Technologies in the Leather Industry

The leather industry is characterized by the production of a huge amount wastewater with high organic/inorganic charge, causing widespread water and soil pollution. Pressure-driven membrane operations bioreactors have long been proven to be valid approach for treatment tanning wastewaters aimed at recovery raw materials as well removal toxic environmentally harmful substances. Such processes, opportunely integrated among themselves and/or conventional physical-chemical biological treatments, also provide useful protocols global significant advantages in terms environmental protection, decrease disposal costs, simplification cleaning-up processes saving chemicals. This paper, state art, attempts revise potential perspectives membrane-based technologies related applications beamhouse, post-tanning wastewaters.