Anaerobic Microbial Cultures in Cotton Desizang: Efficient Combination of Fabric and Wastewater Treatment

The aim of our proposed microbial desizing process is to combine production (cotton desizing) and wastewater treatment in one process and to replace auxiliary chemicals with a mixed microbial culture. Cotton fabric desizing is integrated in the acidic phase bioreactor of a wastewater treatment system. The mixed culture removes the size from tht fabric and converts it into volatile fatty acids, which are eliminated in a second (biogas) reactor. The effluent of this reactor is recycled to the desizing reactor to close the water cycle. A starch-based product is selected as a model compound for polysaccharide sizing agents. Experiments demonstrate the high potential of this biotechnology to replace problematic auxiliaries. High activities of important enzymes (α-amylase) during fabric treatment are detected. Data on the efficiency of microbial desizing at different temperatures and a mass balance for size degradation are presented, as well as details on intermediates accumulation.