Vol. 10, Special Issue 5 (2021)

Author(s):
Sonu Rani and Alka Goel

Abstract:
Treatment with enzymes is an emerging field of science which has found various applications for the textile wet processing. Enzymes modifies the surface properties of textiles which act favourably for other finishes. The enzymatic treatment of wool fiber improves their physical properties as well as increases their aesthetic values. The present study was carried out to study the effect of various concentrations of the proteolytic enzymes. It was seen that in the presence of enzymes the whiteness of the bleached wool increases. Tibetian wool fibers were selected for the present study. The wool fibers were given simple scouring and enzymatic scouring treatment. Wool fibers were treated with various concentrations (i.e.4%, 8% and 12%) of pepsin, papain and Trypsin enzymes. Afterwards, the untreated and treated wool samples were tested for their physical properties. It was found out that the enzymes and their variable concentrations affected properties of the fibers i.e. weight loss, tenacity, elongation and whiteness index. From the results obtained it can be concluded that enzymatic treatment leads to improvement in properties of the fibers.