BIOSCOURING

PRESENTED BY- SHUBHAM SONI (15EMBTC039)

INTRODUCTION

 Scouring is the process by which oils, fats and waxes are removed
from cotton by treating with sodium hydroxide at a high
temperature.
 Bio-scouring is a process by which alkaline stable mixture of enzymes
is used to remove pectin and waxes selectively from the cotton
fibre. The absorbency is increased by the action of enzymes.
Problems in traditional scouring
 Less fibre strength- Scouring with caustic attacks the secondary cell wall being
almost pure cellulose which causes to damage the fiber and its strength as well
 Excessive Weight loss-The recommended weight loss for caustic scouring is 3-8%,
but in practice it is around 8-12% for caustic scouring
 Dye loss- Caustic scouring swells the fibre and also damages the secondary cell
wall, hence damages the actual structure of cotton fiber which inspires the dye
molecules not to fix according to our requirements and it causes a significant
amount of dye loss
 Energy and time concern- 90°C is required, which takes time to obtain hence
energy used is high
 Rinsing and neutralization: In caustic scouring several rinsing steps
are practiced which increases the demand of amount of water
volume as this process is carried out at a high pH range
 Effluent concern: A lot of harsh chemicals are used in traditional
scouring process which are very much responsible to increase the
amount of BOD, COD and TDS in the effluent water and increases
the unwanted pressure on environment. Caustic scouring is
responsible for large parts of the total effluent of a factory. It
produces —–
54% of the total BOD
49% of the total COD
10-20% of the total pollution load generated during entire
textile processing operation.
Enzymes used in the bio-scouring
enzyme
 Pectinases- Pectinases are used for the removal of
pectic substances from cotton
 Lipases- They are used for the removal of natural fatty
substances from cotton
 Proteases- Proteases are the enzymes that catalyse the
hydrolyzation of proteins
Mechanism involved in Bio-
Scouring
 Stage 1- Removal of wax ( a major part being fatty acids, alcohols
and esters) is the critical factor for improved wettability. Pectin
functions as a ‘glue’ which binds wax to the fiber. Pectinase enzyme
removes the pectin, thus loosening the wax from fiber so that wax
can be removed easily at high temperatures.
 Presence of Ca++ slows down the removal pectin and fatty acid,
so a sequestrate should, if compatible, be applied with the enzyme

 Stage 2- 2/3 or more of the pectin must be dissolved in order to be

able to emulsify enough wax for a good wettability for dyeing.
Emulsification is strongly enhanced at temperatures above the wax
melting point, i.e. >70°C
IMPORTANT PROCESS PARAMETERS

 pH and Temperature
 Wetting Agents
 Emulsifiers
 Bio-scouring enzyme
General Recipe

Wetting agent : 0.5-1.0 g/l

Buffer : pH (7.5-8.5)
Scouring Enzyme : 0.4-0.6% (owf)
Emulsifier : 0.5-1.0 g/l
Temperature : 55-60°C
Time : 30 min.
Bio-scouring process curve

Here, at position
1- Fabric, water,
wetting agent, pH
buffer is added to bath
2- enzyme is added
3- emulsifier is added
Comparison between caustic
scouring and bio-scouring
S.no. Parameter Caustic Scouring Bio-scouring
1. pH 12-13 7-8
2. Temperature 95-100 °C 55-60°C
3. Residual Pectin 10-15% 22-25%
4. Weight Loss 10-12% 3-5%
5. Wettability <1 second <1 second
6. Total time 4 hrs 1 hr 20 min
7. BOD 215 58
8. COD 283 179
9. TDS 1361 1317
10. Rinsing 4 times 2 times
Advantages of Bio-Scouring over
Traditional scouring:
 Adequate Absorbency
 Whiteness is adequate for medium to dark shades
 Soft feeling as compared to harsh feeling of caustic scoured fabric
 No strength loss
 Energy saving
 Time saving
 Less water consumption
 Less weight loss
 Less effluent treatment cost
 Environment friendly
Disadvantages

 Inability of removing cotton fibre waxes

 Enzymes act at a specific pH and temperature, hence
higher temperatures and pH will destroy enzyme activity.
The conditions are to be closely monitored.
 The degree of whiteness is less for light to medium
shades.
CONCLUSION

Scouring of cotton fabric, being a very essential

process in the wet pre-treatment of cotton, is
generally carried out by the caustic soda method
but it renders very harmful effects on the
environment, hence the bio-scouring process
which uses a mixture of enzymes holds potential
for eco-friendly scouring. It has a significant role in
minimising the consumption of chemicals, energy,
water and time.
Bibliography

 www.researchgate.net- Process optimisation for bio-scouring of

100% cotton textiles by Mangesh D. Teli
 www.textiletoday.com