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New technologies can help leather industry in its makeover

Published

7 years ago

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New technologies can help leather industry in its makeover

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]File photo of a leathery tannery in Jalandhar, Punjab. Photo credit: Bloomberg

By Dr T V Venkateswaran and Jyoti Singh

Central Leather Research Institute develops new Waterless Chrome Tanning Technology to ensure cleaner effluents and better leather quality

New Delhi: Leather industry is on the threshold of a new path. Long vilified as one of the most polluting, it may soon see an image makeover with adoption of new technologies and processes developed by the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) at Chennai.

In conventional tanning processes, only about 60 percent of the material used is absorbed by leather and the balance drains away as effluent causing serious damage to environment. With the new technologies and processes, scientists claim, effluent discharges would be reduced substantially.

Speaking to India Science Wire, CLRI Director Dr B. Chandrasekaran said new technologies and processes would help strike a balance between the need to promote tanning industry and at the same time protect the environment. The new system would be practically waterless in the sense that water needed for tanning would be derived from moisture within the hide itself instead of an external source. Further, the new process requires only about 20 per cent of acids and salts that was needed in the traditional process. Patented additives are mixed instead of lime and water in the conventional drum-tanning method.

Chrome is used extensively in the process of tanning and it had been one of the major causes of environmental concern for the industry. The new ‘Waterless Chrome Tanning Technology’ (WLCT) developed by CLRI requires much less quantity of water as well as chrome. “With much reduced chrome and total dissolved solid load the effluent are much cleaner than the conventional process and the quality of leather thus produced is also found to be better than leather produced using conventional system,” said Dr Chandrasekaran.

Leather industry, he noted, was a job creating sector. “About 3.5 million people are engaged in leather and leather products sector and in the next four to five years, we have an opportunity to enhance this by another 2.5 million. So, soon about 6 million people would be directly and indirectly involved in this industry.”

India contributes seven percent of total hide and skin production to the global market. “In terms of animal population availability, we are at number one in buffalo, number two in goat, number four in sheep. In overall cattle population, India is at the top position,” Dr Chandrasekaran pointed out. India is the second largest footwear and leather garments producer in the world.

A by-product of the meat industry, leather has been in use from ancient times mainly for producing apparels. Today, its use has been diversified into footwear, accessories, handbags, belts and saddle also.

When an animal dies naturally or is slaughtered, its skin is removed and preserved using common salt. It is then sent to tanneries, where the salt is washed off and the hair removed with the help of sodium sulphate and lime. The skins and hides are then subjected to treatment with a wide variety of chemicals. Various pollutants such as chlorides, sulphates and other mineral salts end up in the effluent. “Animal hide is susceptible to decay like any natural organic material. Humans discovered a way to preserve the leather. We may use various chemicals or biological products like fish oil to remove the water from the skin but preserve its texture and integrity,” explained Dr Chandrasekaran who is one of the pioneers in the field of leather research in India.

The conventional process use profuse quantities of water either from fresh surface water source like river or lake or ground water. It requires about fifty litres of water per kilo of skin or hide. As a result, most tanneries were set up on the banks of fresh water that not only led to pollution but also left lesser quantity of water for agriculture and domestic use.

Dr Chandrasekaran obtained his B Tech and M tech from AC College of technology and later PhD in leather technology from Anna University. He specializes in cleaner production technologies, leather education leather product design and development, CAD techniques for leather product design, organizational development consultancy in R &D and organizational excellence.

CLRI is one of the largest training centres for leather-related technologies in the world with total student and training strength of over 300 per year. Dr Chandrasekaran has designed a mechanism for taking additional 250 project interns from various academic institutions in the country. Dr Chandrasekaran has 15 patents to his credit and has been awarded with many national and international awards.

(This article has not been edited by the APNLive staff. It is from an auto-generated syndicated feed provided by the India Science News)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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WhatsApp to introduce Native File Sharing feature similar to Apple’s AirDrop

Users can choose to be visible to others without disclosing their phone numbers to people who are not their contacts.

Published

10 months ago

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January 24, 2024

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A Meta-owned messaging platform, WhatsApp is all set to introduce a new feature that allows Android users to share files with another user nearby. According to reports, the feature will be developed similar to Apple’s AirDrop.

The file sharing feature nearby is not currently available for beta testers. However, according to a report from WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo, it seems that the feature will soon be introduced. The report reveals a screenshot that shows an option within the app stating, to share files with people nearby, along with a list of nearby users.

It is interesting to note that users can choose to be visible to others without disclosing their phone numbers to people who are not their contacts. In order to share files with other users, one needs to wait for nearby users to accept their request. The process involves a unique interaction, where nearby users can shake their device to receive incoming share requests. It is important to note that this feature is designed with end-to-end encryption to ensure user privacy.

In the upcoming update, WhatsApp is expected to introduce a nearby file-sharing feature. However, the current beta version for Android, which is 2.24.2.20, has addressed a camera issue. Some Android beta testers have reported difficulties in launching the camera within the app after the 2.24.2.13 update. Upon launching, users were presented with an error message that said, can’t start camera, please restart your device. This issue persisted even after restarting the device or relaunching the app.

The latest beta update of WhatsApp, located at 2.24.2.20, has fixed the camera bug. This allows users to launch the camera within the app and share photos and videos with their contacts without any interruptions. As WhatsApp continues its efforts to improve its features and address bugs, users can expect a better messaging experience on the platform.

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Gadgets

Meesho mega blockbuster sale: E-commerce platform to offer 80 percent discount on electronics

The e-commerce platform’s first mega blockbuster sale will sell more than 400 brands directly with the help of authorised partners on its digital store called Meesho Mall.

Published

1 year ago

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October 6, 2023

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Meesho online shopping app

Ahead of the festive season, e-commerce platform Meesho’s mega blockbuster sale is starting on Friday, October 6, 2023. The platform will provide a massive discount of up to 80 percent on different categories such as essentials, accessories, electronics, footwear, etc.

The blockbuster sale is scheduled to conclude on October 13, 2023. Notably, the Softbank backed e-commerce platform is starting its festive sale a day before Flipkart or Amazon’s festive sale goes live.  The e-commerce platform’s first mega blockbuster sale will sell more than 400 brands directly with the help of authorised partners on its digital store called Meesho Mall.

Reportedly, the platform also added over 50 lakh new customers during these sales. More than 75 percent of the demand was received from Tier-II cities, including Amravati, Aurangabad, Dehradun, Nellore, Solapur, and Warangal. The platform further claimed that they have added more than 2 lakh sellers in the past two years.

Recently, Meesho affirmed that  they have received over 10 million (approx) from its pre-festive sales during Onam, Raksha Bandhan, and Ganesh Chaturthi. The platform has more than 14 lakh sellers, selling approx 12 crore products in 30 different categories. 

In an effort to increase the seller base, the company announced the onboarding of non-GST sellers on the platform earlier this week. The GST council announced to permit the e-commerce platform to onboard sellers with turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh.

Prior to Meesho’s Mega Blockbuster Sale, the company introduced a loyalty programme during which eligible users will earn Smart Coins, which the user can redeem every time they make the purchase of any products on the platform. 

As per Redseer, over 140 million shoppers are likely to make purchases during the festive season. This will enhance the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of the Indian e-commerce sector by 18 to 20 per cent and may touch Rs 90,000 crore as compared to Rs 76,000 crore last year.

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Phones & gadgets

Apple launches iPhone 15 series, India price, features, availability  

The iPhone 15 series will be available in India from September 22 but iPhone lovers can also pre-order, starting from September 15 onwards.

Published

1 year ago

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September 13, 2023

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Apple launched its most anticipated iPhone 15 series, including the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max during the Wonderlust event globally on September 12 night.

The iPhone 15 series will be available in India from September 22 but iPhone lovers can also pre-order, starting from September 15 onwards.

People can buy a new iPhone 15 or upgrade it to the old one. There are five colours available for the people.  

According to reports, Apple has been manufacturing the iPhone 15 series in India and China. Apple has moved 7% of its iPhone production to India. Previously, India was not making the newest models. The Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones played a part in Apple moving its production to India.

The new iPhone 15 has been launched with the same starting price as its prototype, the iPhone 14. The 128GB variant is priced at Rs 79,900, while the 256GB variant costs Rs 89,900. For people who need more storage, the 512GB variant is available for Rs 1,09,900.

This latest iPhone series puffs a 6.1-inch display and comes in five different colours which are pink, yellow, green, blue, and black. While the design remains the same as the previous models, the iPhone 15 features a dynamic island notch instead of the usual notch, which was highly popular among the iPhone 14 Pro phones.

The camera part of the iPhone series has undergone significant upgrades, the new iPhone 15, with an enhanced 48-megapixel primary sensor replaces the 12-megapixel dual camera system which was available in the previous iPhone 14. This significant improvement promises better low-light photography and portrait shots.

The tech giant announced that the iPhone 15 has an all-day battery life, making it more convenient for users to go about their daily activities without worrying about their phone’s battery.

The iPhone 15 Pro models feature a lighter body and thinner bezels. The new AirPods Pro with USB-C charging case will support Lossless Audio with Apple Vision Pro.

Additionally, the iPhone 15 is powered by Apple’s A16 bionic processor, an upgrade from the A15 bionic chipset used in the previous iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models. The Pro models had the faster and better A16 chip, but now this feature is available in all iPhone 15 models.

The USB-C port on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus remain limited to lightning speeds up to 480 Mbps. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support USB 3 speeds up to 10 Gbps. People will need to buy a separate 1-meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable for Rs 5,724 or Rs 10,701 for the 1.8-meter cable to support faster speeds.

The dynamic island notch feature, which can adjust its size according to notifications, was widely discussed before the launch of the iPhone 15. This unique feature can now be available in all models of the phone.

Another important feature of the iPhone 15 is the shift to the USB Type C charging port. Apple has abandoned the lightning port in favour of the more commonly used USB Type C charging port. This means, there is no longer a need for a special iPhone charging cable to be carried around everywhere you go.

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