The efficiency of pectinase scouring with agitation to improve cotton fabric wettability

Earlier work demonstrated the effectiveness of an Aspergillus niger pectinase treatment following a 100C water pretreatment to improve cotton fabric wettability equal to alkaline scouring. No significant shrinkage, color change, or strength loss were detected following treatment. The efficiency of this enzyme process was increased by incorporating agitation into the treatment procedure to reduce the duration of the treatment period and reduce the quantity of enzyme used. Agitation was introduced to the reaction procedure by shaking with either one or two fabrics per reaction vessel. Shaking agitation increased wettability by more than 50%, and fabric-to-fabric agitation increased wettability by 70%. Fabric wettability increased further when the rate of agitation was doubled. Adding agitation to the treatment process also reduced the treatment time and enzyme amount required for high wettability.