A systematic study on nile crocodile (crocodylusniloticus) skins for the preparation of leather products

Leathers made from crocodile skins have very good market value. The beauty, durability, texture, and extraordinary properties of these leathers have fascinated more people. As a result of increased popularity and use, there is a critical need for baseline information so that the industry can effectively market exotic leather products. In Ethiopia, crocodiles are available in good numbers in the rivers, lakes,and inthe ranch. Ethiopia is considerably exporting the raw crocodile skins to other countries from Arba Minch Crocodile farm. This is due to lack of awareness and technology among the Ethiopian tanners to convert the unique skin into high-value leather products. Exporting crocodile leather products will add manifold foreign exchange earnings compared to raw skins. Hence, in this research, an attempt was made to investigatethe processing technology to convert the Nile crocodile skins into finished leather and leather products by developing suitable process technology. Tanning studies werecarried out on raw skins to standardize the process technology for the conversion of the unique skin into the leather using chrome, mimosa, and combination type procedures. The physic-chemical properties of the resulting leathers were analyzed using standard procedures.The combination tanning method shows better shrinkage temperature (108.83+0.73oC), tensile strength (34.42+0.26N/mm2), % elongation (56.71+0.17), and tear strength (82.39+0.12N/mm) compared to other tanning methods. This study reveals that chrome, mimosa, and combination (Veg-Al, Al-Veg) tanned leather are all exhibit satisfactory quality and performance. Vegetable and combination tanning methods are environmentally friendly and promising options.So, among the exotic skins, crocodile skins are considered as promising raw materials for making leather on large scale in the Ethiopian scenario.