Enzymatic scouring and bleaching of cotton terry fabrics – opportunity of the improvement on some physicochemical and mechanical properties of the fabrics

In the present study, an attempt was made to treat cotton terry fabrics with alkaline pectinase enzyme and observe the effects on the properties including the degree of whiteness, water absorbency, pill formation, weight loss after abrasion, tenacity at maximum load, degree of polymerization (DP), and hand feeling of the fabric. The enzymatic treatment of cotton terry fabrics had a positive influence on some of their properties. The degree of damage of cotton terry fabrics after 20 washings in a domestic washing machine was determined by analyzing the tenacity at maximum load, weight loss after abrasion, fabric hand feeling, and the DP. Enzymatic-scoured fabrics had a higher resistance to abrasion, a lower decrease in the DP, and a higher rating of the fabric hand feeling compared with alkaline-scoured fabrics. Enzymatic processing was accompanied by a significant lower demand of energy and water. Consequently, at these processes arises the lowest amount of effluents and the produced wastewater is biodegradable. This study attempted to introduce enzymatic scouring (ES) and bleaching with peracetic acid (PAA) of the cotton terry fabrics.