Sustainable Textile Processing by Enzyme Applications

*Shekh Md. Mamun Kabir and Joonseok Koh*

### **Abstract**

Enzymatic treatments have gained popularity in the textile industry because of environmental friendly and energy conserving alternatives. Advancement in biotechnology and modification of enzymes has been focused based on various textile process applications. All the manufacturing steps of textile chemical processing, enzymes are using for implementations of the green technology to meet up the challenge of fourth industrial revolution. In this category, amylases, peroxidase used for desizing and bleaching, cellulase activates for bio polishing and denim finishing. This chapter summarizes the current developments of enzyme technology and highlights the environment-friendly and sustainable enzymatic textile processing in the textile industry.

**Keywords:** enzyme, microorganisms, textile fibre, bio-processing, finishing

#### **1. Introduction**

Enzymes are biocatalysts obtained from living cells through biochemical reactions specifically metabolic process of the cells [1]. Enzymes obtained from the natural source since ancient times in the production of food products, such as cheese, sourdough, beer, wine, vinegar and indigo formation [2]. The development of fermentation processes has grown during the last century, specifically for the production of purified enzymes in a large scale [3]. The use of recombinant gene technology has improved enzyme-manufacturing processes. Most industrial enzymes occurred hydrolysis for degrading the natural substances [4]. Enzymes are used in not only food production but also pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather processing [5–7]. There are prominent enzyme manufacturer for textile processing are listed in **Table 1**.

#### **2. Enzyme structure and its mechanism**

Enzymes are amino acid based globular proteins that range in size from less than 100 to more than 2000 amino acid residues. One or more polypeptide chains can be arranged and folded to form a specific three-dimensional structure, called active site incorporate with substrate. The active site may involve a small number (less than 10) of the constituent amino acids [9] (**Figure 1**).

The hypothesis of an enzyme-substrate complex was first proposed by the German chemist Emil Fischer in 1894. The lock and key theory explained, as a key is


#### **Table 1.**

*Industrial enzyme for textile applications [8].*

**Figure 1.** *Mechanism of enzyme-substrate complex [9].*

the substrate and lock is an enzyme. Enzyme are not shown rigid structures in a crystallographic x-ray but quite flexible in shape. In 1958, Daniel Koshland presented the 'induced-fit model' of substrate and enzyme binding, which is also known as 'hand-in-glove model' [10].
