Recent developments in sustainable finishing of cellulosic textiles employing biotechnology

Abstract

The conventional chemical processing of cellulose-based textiles comprises the following sequential steps: pretreatment, coloration, and chemical finishing processes to impart the desired final properties. Traditional textile wet processing presents a great challenge to the achievement of environmentally sound and sustainable textile processes and products because of its negative impacts on human health and the environment. Recently, there have been dramatic increases in awareness about hygienic lifestyle, carbon and water-footprint, and the desire to satisfy the ever-growing consumer demands, and to comply with various sustainable issues. The implementation of principles of green chemistry as well as other aspects of cleaner productions will significantly achieve ecological, economic, and social improvement. One of the most important applications of emerging/sustainable technologies in textile wet processing is the utilization of biotechnology as an ecofriendly green technology. The utilization of enzymatic treatment in the pretreatment and finishing of cellulosic textiles, as part of biotechnology, is considered a sustainable, ecofriendly process since it complies with the principles of green chemistry: less harsh chemical consumption, ecofriendly processes and products, energy and water conservations, as well as no waste generation. Therefore, a number of enzymes are already commercially available for textile industries and R&D activities are still on-going to explore more enzymes and processes to optimize the benefit of enzymatic treatment in upgrading the final textile product. Furthermore, biomaterials such as biopolymers, plant extracts, and natural colorants, which can be derived from plant and animal origins are sustainable ecofriendly and renewable materials with vast applications in textile functional finishing, such as antibacterial activity, UV-protection, flame-proof, insect repellency. On the other hand, biosynthesis utilizing plant extracts or microbes, as a new route for preparation of metal (M) and metal oxide (MO) nanoparticles (NPs) (MNPs and MONPs) and their potential applications in the functional finishing of textiles gained enormous interest from researchers since these methods are cost-effective, consume less chemical, easy to apply, and environmentally benign.Therefore, the purpose of this review article is to summarize and discuss the most promising trends and potential applications of biotechnology categories namely applications of enzymes in textile processing, applications of biomaterials in textile finishing, and applications of nanobiotechnology in the green finishing of cellulosic substrates to render both textile processing and products more sustainable with minimal adverse impacts on the user and environment.