Development of new eco-friendly options for cotton wet processing

A new approach was used to search for the optimal conditions for enzymatic scouring with an alkaline pectinase and to investigate the feasibility of performed combined bioscouring and H2O2 bleaching and combined bioscouring and reactive dyeing of unscoured cotton fabrics. The possibility of conducting enzymatic desizing, bioscouring, and H2O2 bleaching of starch‐sized cotton fabrics in a single bath was also examined. The results indicated that changes in the parameters of the bioscouring process, the types and concentrations of the treating bath components, and the sequence of the treatment and addition had pronounced effects on certain properties of the treated cotton substrates (e.g., the residual size, weight loss, wettability, yellowness and whiteness, and dyeability with reactive dyes). The optimal conditions for efficient bioscouring alone and in combination with H2O2 bleaching, reactive dyeing, and enzymatic desizing and H2O2 bleaching were determined. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 1825–1836, 2004