Influence of Proteases in Acidic Media on Properties and Dyeability of Woolen Fabric

The purpose of this research was to examine the influences of proteases treatment on wool fabric in acidic media. To this ends, woolen fabric samples were treated with proteases (EC 3.4.21.62) at 50-60ºC, pH=5 for 60 min.. Different properties of the treated fabric samples such as: weight loss, tensile strength, felting, alkali solubility, water absorption time, madder dye absorption, pilling, abrasion and bending length were investigated and reported. The results showed that treatment of wool fabric in acidic media has no or little influence on the tensile strength of the wool fabric while the same treatment in alkali media has significant influence on tensile strength. The wool sample treated with 10% protease in acidic media indicated the similar tensile strength as untreated fabric. However, higher protease concentrations reduce the tensile strength and fabric weight. The results also showed that the wool fabric samples treated with proteases in mild acidic media have higher water absorption, higher dye madder absorption, less pilling, less wet shrinkage, improvement of water absorption time and higher whiteness. J. Color Sci. Tech. 3(2009), 73-80.© Institute for Color Science and Technology.