Title
Improvement of cotton dyeing by simultaneous treatment with cellulases
Authors
MAGDALENA FOGORASI, MIHAELA DOCHIA and MICHAELA DINA STANESCU

Received In memoriam Acad. Bogdan C. Simionescu (1948-2024)
Published Volume 59 Issue 7-8 July-August
Keywords bio-finishing, cotton knitted fabric, reactive dye, commercial cellulases, color measurement, color fastness to washing

Abstract
The textile industry generates pollution due to the chemicals necessary in the different steps of textile processing. The dyeing step produces polluted wastewaters containing dyes, as well as other chemicals. Thus, solutions for remediation of these wastewaters have been searched. However, a better approach is to increase dye fixation on textile materials. Reactive dyes provide a strong bond to the textile material. This work studies the dyeing of knitted cotton fabric with a reactive dye. To improve the dye fixation, the process was performed in the presence of two commercial cellulases. Enzymatic processes are ecological and “green”. Due to their hydrolytic effects, cellulases break down internal fiber bonds, enhancing the access of the dye to the reaction sites, thus improving dye fixation, as well as the color fastness to washing. The properties of the dyed cotton, i.e. weight loss and the color attributes, were also determined.