Enzymatic dehairing of sheep skin: Recovery and characterization of commercially important wool hydrolysate and fats

Conventional dehairing methods in the traditional leather-making processes, consume large amounts of toxic chemicals and produce a sludge/effluent, posing disposal challenges consequently environmental pollution. The by-products leather processing such as hair fat, contain chemicals. In this study, crude alkaline protease from <i>bacillus cereus strain 1-p, </i>was used to dehair sheepskin with up 99.00% recovery valuable wool fat. optimum temperature pH for removal were found be 30 <sup>°</sup>C 11, respectively. recovered was enzymatically hydrolyzed obtain hydrolysate powder (48.1% yield). FTIR spectra showed presence amide A, I, II absorption bands. Further, amino acid analysis, revealed 15 acids, glutamic (19.65 mole %), glycine (12.72 leucine (9.42 %) being most abundant. Fat trans-esterified using methanol, tert-butanol, resultant fatty methyl esters characterization done gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. GC/MS analysis 60 corresponding acids. abundant 9-octadecenoic (oleic) (41.64%), followed by hexa-decanoic (palmitic) (22.50%), tetra-decanoic (myristic) (4.21%). Thermo-gravimetric that it had good thermal stability. It is shown extracted 1-p</i> can completely eliminate use sodium sulfide lime skins/hide tanneries, eliminating Furthermore, fat an eco-friendly enzymatic process significantly reduce pollution load effluent. fats applied production hydrolysate, which high protein content, acids biodiesel.