Simultaneous cellulose removal and bleaching with enzymes

4 Simultaneous cellulose removal and bleaching with enzymes 

During spinning and weaving of textiles (cotton, wool, bast fibres, etc.) breakdown of the textile yarn is frequently observed17. This has an influence not only on the quality of the textile product but also on the production cost, since the machines have to be stopped every time that the yarn is broken. To avoid or reduce the incidence of these harmful consequences, the textile yarn is strengthened with a layer of cellulose. Less than 5% of the breakages that occur with an untreated yarn still occur when the yarn is treated with cellulose. 

The hydrogen peroxide formed in situ can be used for bleaching22 of the textile fabric (wool, cotton), and its concentration is an important parameter concerning the quality of the bleached product. Cotton is mostly 

Dyeing on a cellulose layer is totally different to dyeing directly on the textile, because the structure of the textile is different from the structure of cellulose. Depending on the type of dye used, there is either a chemical, an electrochemical18, an ionic18, an electrostatic19 or an adsorptive20 interaction with the textile structure. It is clear that this interaction would be totally different if the dye were to be used directly on the cellulose layer. The interaction could be weaker, or even zero, or could be based on a different mechanism. 

In this chapter, a method is described to remove simultaneously cellulose and bleach fibre products in the same bath with an acidic medium. An account is also given of a sensor system for measuring and controlling the hydrogen peroxide concentration. For the first purpose, enzymes are used that catalyse the oxidation of the cellulose-structure. In this cellulose-removal process oxygen, dissolved in the process liquid, is consumed and hydrogen peroxide is formed (Equation3.7)  

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