One-Step Process for Enzymatic Desizing and Bioscouring of Cotton Fabrics

Textile wet processing is one of the most polluting industrial processes. It is a complex process, and its complexity depends on the composition of textile material. From this point of view, new efficient strategies for cotton wet processing are needed, which are cost-effective and reduce the impact on the environment. The goal of this work is to accomplish most aspects of preparatory finishing (desizing, scouring) by means of "green chemistry," or, in other words, nontoxic enzymatic treatments. To achieve this goal, a mixture of alpha-amylase (Am) and polygalacturonase (PG) enzymes from Trichoderma harzianum induced with orange peel was successfully produced. Partial purification of these enzymes using dialysis and chromatographic techniques was carried out, and the purified enzymes were characterized. Different effects on the enzyme activity, including temperature, pH, and surfactant, were studied. The treatment of cotton fabric in a single bath for desizing with Am or a single bath for scouring with PG was accomplished. The treatment conditions were optimized by varying the enzyme concentration, pH value, treatment temperature, and duration. Treatment effectiveness on fabric properties was evaluated via weight loss (%), violet scale shades, residual starch in fabric (%), copper number, tensile strength, and water absorbency (wettability). A combined process for desizing and scouring was applied to the raw cotton fabric using a mixture of Am and PG enzymes. The effect of the two enzyme concentrations at different incubation times on the desizing and bioscouring efficiencies was further studied.