How important is the fatliquoring in the manufacture of leather?
Fatliquoring is a process of coating the surfaces of fibres and fibrils of the leather with a thin layer of oil. Unless the leather is fatliquored, it becomes hard on drying, the fibres cannot slide over one another and ultimately break when bent. The tensile strength, stitch-tear resistance, abrassive resistance, etc. are highly improved by this fatliquoring operation. Besides these, physical improvements in the strength, many other properties of leather like toughness, water-repellent properties resistance towards chemical actions etc. are also improved by this fatliquoring process. The most common method is fatliquoring in the float. It is a treatment with fatty substances emulsifiable in water which are introduced into the inter-fibrillary spaces in an aqueous float. Fatliquoring can be done in warm or cold float.
