{
  "abstract": "While various methodologies have been used to evaluate leather biodegradability, limited data exist regarding their respective strengths, limitations and complementarity, especially for finished leathers produced using chrome-free tanning systems. Consequently, this work assesses the biodegradation of eight commercial eco-friendly tanned finished leathers (phenolic-, zeolite-, aluminium- and titanium-based treatments) using two standardised laboratory approaches, ISO 14855-1:2012 (controlled composting) and ISO 20136:2020 (liquid-phase biodegradation), together with physicochemical characterisation and phytotoxicity/ecotoxicity endpoints. The results showed that biodegradation generally occurred faster under ISO 20136:2020 conditions, mainly because this assay uses ground leather shavings and an aqueous, well-mixed medium, whereas ISO 14855-1:2012 evaluates mineralisation of larger leather pieces in a compost matrix. Phenolic- and titanium-tanned leathers showed consistently high biodegradation in both assays, whereas the aluminium-tanned leather biodegraded efficiently under ISO 14855-1:2012 but showed limited biodegradation under ISO 20136:2020, highlighting that assay conditions can reveal constraints related to the complete material architecture, collagen stabilisation, effective accessibility and method-specific exposure conditions rather than to a single leaching mechanism. Phytotoxicity and ecotoxicity assessments indicated low environmental impact of the degradation products under the tested conditions. Overall, the combined use of both standards provides a more comprehensive and industrially useful framework for assessing the end-of-life behaviour of finished leathers than either method alone.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Footwear Technological Institute (INESCOP), C/Alemania 102—Polígono Campo Alto, 03600 Elda, Spain",
    "Department of Applied Statistics, Operational Research, and Quality, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain",
    "Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition, and Food Sciences, University of Alicante, Crta\\ San Vicente del Raspeig, s/n, 03080 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alberto Vico",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2085-1211"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "María I. Maestre-López",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3114-2103"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jose Miguel Carot-Sierra",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6524-1639"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Irene Lifante-Martinez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Elena Orgilés-Calpena",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1490-7514"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Guillermo Grindlay",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9840-9784"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Marcelo Bertazzo",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9348-4806"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5gns0fcatsqqr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/polym18192389",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667235/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "5gns0fcatsqqr",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667235",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2304|Environmental Chemistry and Analysis"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214891816",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667235/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13667235",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5gns0fcatsqqr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:35Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13667235",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667235"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/polym18192389",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/19/2389"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2304|Environmental Chemistry and Analysis",
      "subfield": "environmental"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Biodegradability of Chromium-Free Finished Leather Through ISO 14855-1:2012 and ISO 20136:2020: A Multi-Faceted Analytical Approach",
  "title_text": "Biodegradability of Chromium-Free Finished Leather Through ISO 14855-1:2012 and ISO 20136:2020: A Multi-Faceted Analytical Approach",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5gns0fcatsqqr",
  "venue": "Polymers",
  "versions": []
}