Ultrasound assisted biobleaching of cotton

Abstract

In this study, the effect of ultrasound on the activity of the glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme for bleaching of the cotton fabrics was investigated. Hydrogen peroxide generation with the GOx enzyme from glucose was carried out under ultrasonic homogenizer (UH) and ultrasonic bath support. The aim of using ultrasonic support was to increase the yield of the enzyme reactions. The enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide was used for bleaching of cotton fabrics. The bleaching process was performed at 90 °C and pH 11 (with NaOH) for 60 min, followed by rinsing at 70 and 50 °C then cold washing. The whiteness degrees of the cotton samples that were bleached by the generated peroxide were compared to the whiteness degrees of the conventionally bleached cotton fabrics. Sufficient whiteness degrees in cotton fabrics could be obtained by enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide by UH support. The initial whiteness degree of the cotton fabric was 59.9 Stensby degrees; the whiteness was increased to 75.6 Stensby degrees by the GOx enzyme under UH support where the conventional bleaching process yielded a whiteness value of 76.7 Stensby degrees. For efficient cotton bleaching by the GOx enzyme, UH support contributed to the concentration of enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide by the GOx enzyme. Bleaching of cotton by the GOx enzyme was approved as a more environmentally friendly process compared to the conventional bleaching method in respect of the results of chemical oxygen demand tests.