Enzymatic biopolishing of cotton fabric with free/immobilized cellulase

Cotton fabric was biopolished using free and immobilized cellulase. The immobilized cellulase treatment results lower weight loss and minimum reduction in tensile strength of the fabric at the minimum of 67% and a maximum of 98.35% and better whiteness index when compared with free cellulase treatment. Regression analysis was carried out for all properties, regression coefficients and summary of fit have been discussed. Both free and immobilized cellulase treated fabrics showed improved crystallinity index and it was analyzed by XRD. FTIR spectra were obtained to measure the hydrogen bonding intensity, which showed that the intensity values were decreased after treatment. The study confirms that the treatment with immobilized cellulase improves the surface properties without affecting the strength of fabric than the fabric treated with free cellulase.