Nowadays cellulase enzymes are commonly used for finishing of cellulosic fabrics. If application of the enzymes isn’t suitable for textile materials, chemical damage on the fabrics will be an important problem. Sometimes we encounter mechanical and/or chemical damage problem, when the samples from industry are tested in our laboratory. Although deactivation step is necessary, sometimes it can be eliminated in some mills. The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of cellulase waste on the cellulosic fabrics. Viscose and cotton fabrics were used for trials. After biopolishing, viscose and cotton fabrics stayed with cellulase enzyme for 30-60-120-240 min, a day and a week. The effects of enzyme were defined by pilling degree, weight loss, yarn strength, silver nitrate and fehling tests.
The obtained results indicated that cellulose enzymes were more effective for cotton fabrics (After biopolishing, pilling degree is 5) than viscose ones (After biopolishing, pilling degree is 2,5). But chemical damage on viscose fabrics occurred. So deactivation stage was very important for two types of fabrics. If there is active cellulase on the cellulosic fabrics, very important strength losses and chemical damage will occur. Strength losses are % 13 for cotton fabric and %23 for viscose fabric.
Key Words: Cellulase, Biopolishing, Cellulose, Viscose, Enzyme