Cellulase Treatment of Durable Press Finished Cotton Fabric: Effects on Fabric Strength, Abrasion Resistance, and Handle

Abstract

Enzyme washing is commonly used as a wet process technique to improve textile handle, appearance, and other surface characteristics of cottons in the industry. In this research, we have studied the effects of cellulase treatment on tensile strength, flex abrasion resistance, and handle of cotton fabric crosslinked by a polycarboxylic acid. The fabric is first treated with cellulase (pre-curing treatment), then crosslinked by 1,2,3,4- butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA). The fabric is also crosslinked by BTCA first then treated with cellulase (post-curing treatment). We compare the performance of the durable press (DP) finished cottons treated with cellulase using these two different procedures, and we find that the pre-curing cellulase treatment has a more positive influence on fabric handle than the post-curing treatment, but it also causes significantly higher fabric strength loss than the post-curing treatment. We also find that the difference in wrinkle resistance of the DP finished cotton fabrics with the two treatments is not significant. Considering the fact that a DP finishing process reduces fabric strength, the pre-curing cellulase treatment method should be used only for heavy cotton fabrics with high original strength.