BIOSCOURING OF WOOL USING PROTEASE FROM BACILLUS SUBTILIS ISOLATED FROM ABATTOIR WASTE

Bioscouring refers to the enzymatic removal of impurities from fibres/fabrics, which endows it with improved hydrophilicity for further wet processes. Enzymatic scouring preserves the fibre’s structure and strength, avoids high energy consumption and severe pollution problems that are associated with conventional alkaline treatments. In the present study, protease enzyme was extracted from Bacillus subtilis which was isolated from abattoir (slaughter house) waste. Different medium parameters were optimized for maximal enzyme production. The enzyme was partially purified using ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by dialysis bag method. Partially purified protease enzyme was used in the bioscouring of wool fibres. Different parameters such as pH, temperature, time, enzyme concentration were optimized to achieve an efficient scouring. Comparison of enzymatic process for wool fibre with conventional alkaline soap process in terms of weight loss, whiteness index, tensile strength and FTIR studies confirmed that bioscouring could be as effective as the conventional process.