Abstract :
Wool has been a precious raw material for people for a long time. Today we are able to select between a huge variety of
fibres with varying properties, but the continuing use of wool – in spite of the competition with other natural fibres and
new synthetic fibres can be attributed to the unique properties of wool such as good thermal regulation, high moisture
absorption, low creasing tendency, low flammability and high wearing comfort. However a big disadvantage, which
emerges during washing, is the felting tendency. Felting is an undesirable feature of woolen clothes which occurs as a
result of the directionally dependent frictional coefficient of the wool fibers. To reduce felting, this directional dependency
must be reduced. Nowadays, this is done by treating the wool in a chlorine-containing solution and due to its various
advantages; the chlorination is the most frequently used process in the industry today. This process, though effective,
results in the production of polluted wastewaters containing large quantities of chloro-organic compounds. Therefore, this
procedure has to be replaced and develop clean technologies such as enzymatic finishing processes. Enzymes are natural
protein molecules that act as highly efficient catalysts in biochemical reactions. Enzymes not only work efficiently and
rapidly, but they are also biodegradable. The present study was undertaken to find the effect of Protease enzyme
treatment on wool fabric and the effect of enzymatic degumming on dye ability of wool fabric. The control, scoured and
enzyme treated samples were tested for various physical and colorfastness properties. Untreated wool fiber showed fair
handle, no absorbency, rough and sharp scales on the surface of fiber, but after enzyme treatment wool fabric showed
improvement in all the physical and colorfastness properties. With the single-step enzymatic treatment process, the scales
of the wool were partially degraded and resulted in smoother surface structure which will facilitate the sliding of wool
fibres in both directions and decrease felting tendency that way.
Keyword :
wool, enzyme treatment, protease, felting, chlorination, waste water