The enzymes are large protein molecules made up of long chain amino acids , whic h are produced by living

cells in plants , animals and microorganisms , such as bacteria and fungi. Advantages of enzymes over conventional chemicals Enzyme technology is fast growing and emerging field of science , which has foun d innumerable applications in the textile wet processing. Since enzymes are natu ral products , they are easily biodegradable , non polluting , cleaner, gentle , non aggressive with minimum damage to substrate and environment. Enzymes promis ed a cleaner and environment friendly future by having the capacity and potentia l to enable us to live harmoniously with the nature. ENZYMES IN TEXTILES PROCESSING The processing of textiles is being done chemically, whether it is pretreatment dyeing , after treatment or finishing . The chemicals and conditions used often harsh and harmful to the substrate and some times degrade it also. These chemica ls increase the pollution load in air and water, thus creating problems in the t reatment and disposal of effluents as well as sludgedisposal. Enzymes in textile industry are used due to following reasons, a. They accelerate the reaction rates Enzymes acts as catalysts and speed up a particular chemical reaction by loweri ng activation energy for a reaction. The reaction rates are very fast when takes place in the presence of suitable enzymes. b. They are specific one particular enzyme will only catalyze a specific reaction under standard cond itions such as time ,temperature, and pH and on only one or few substrates. c. They operate under milder conditions most enzymes have a maximum activity at an optimum temperature and pH conditions and most of the enzyme assisted reaction takes place under milder reaction cond itions such as temperature ,pH and pressure. d. They are safe and easy to control enzymes perform well in the normal pH and temperature conditions , that too in t he milder conditions such as concentration. When no longer required these are de activated by changing the conditions such as pH and temperature. Most of the enz ymes , being natural products are biodegradable and converted into natural produ cts after disposal. e. They replace harsher chemicals when used , enzymes catalyze the reaction rates at milder conditions , they repl ace the excessively used harsher , toxic and non biodegradable chemicals. The re action conditions are also milder instead of extreme concentrations, temperature and pressure. f. They are eco friendly and biodegradable Since enzymes are protein molecules , they are degraded by other proteolyses enz ymes secreted by micro organisms to amino acids , which are natural products and re enter the food chain. Types of enzymes

All the enzymes used in textile industry can be classified into 6 basic enzyme c lasses, based on the type of chemical reaction they catalyze, these are 1.Hydrolases These are the enzymes that catalyse a hydrolysis reaction .Examples of hydrolase s are cellulase ,proteases, amylases and lipases. They target substrate and phys ically modify the fiber itself, and degrade textile auxiliary and impurities. 2.Lyases These are enzymes that catalyse the separation of two parts of molecules with th e formation of double bond with one or the other. Lysase make additional textile impurities susceptible to enzyme attack. 3.Oxidoreductases These are the enzymes which catalyze the oxidation of the one compound with the reduction of the other. Examples are dehydrogenases, oxidases,laccases ,peroxida ses and catalases. 4.Transferases These enzymes catalyse the transfer of a functional group from one (donor) molec ule to another (acceptor) molecule. 5.Isomerases Isomerases are enzymes that catalyse the structural rearrangements of isomers . 6.Ligases These are the enzymes that catalyse the reactions which make bonds to join toget her smaller molecules into bigger molecules. New classes of enzymes that under research , for the application into textile pr ocessing are Polyesterases For the application on polyester to improve the undesirable properties of polyes ter textiles under mild conditions, such as pilling, hydrophilicity, cationic dy e absorption and binding, removal of polyester size , delusturing and improving oil stain resistance. Nitralase,nytrile hydratase and amidase These are the nitrile degrading enzymes for the degradation of nitrile groups fo r modification of acrylic fiber, to improve its undesirable properties .

Use of enzymes in different textile processing applications 1. Bio singeing 2. Desizing. 3.enzymatic back stain clean up.

4.denim washing 5.non denim fabric finishing 6. biopolishing 7.bio scouring 8.bio bleaching. 9.peroxide killing. 10.degumming of silk 11.modification of wool fiber. 12.print washing 13.after treatment ( washing off ) of dyed goods. 14.waste water and effluent decolrisation and treatment. 15.wool and silk scouring. 16.wool bio carbonizing 17.shrink resist treatment of wool fiber. 18.to improve undesirable properties of polyester. 19.to improve undesirable properties of acrylic.

Description of common enzymatic treatment in textiles Amylases :Thermo stable amylase 70-1100C pH 6.0-6.8 Conventional amylase Low temperature amylase 50-700C pH 6.0-6.8 30-700C pH 6.0-6.8

To remove starch based sizes , these are specific to starches without affecting the substrate. Cellulases :acid cellulases pH 3.8-5.8 Neutral cellulase 40-550C 30-600C

pH 6.0-7.0 These are used to modify the surface properties of cellulosic fibers and fabrics in order to achieve the desired handle and surface effect.

Hemicellulases and pectinases Mixture of enzymes pH 4.8-5

:45-550C

Pectinases are used to separate fibers and eliminate pectins in jute,ramie and f lax. Pectinases when used with cellulases , remove impurities of raw cotton and vegetable impurities of raw wool. Proteases:There are many protease ,each with different specificity towards different prote in fibers. These are used in leather and wool, for shrink proofing of wool, to give wool a soft and supple hand. Alkaline protease are used in leather industry to remove h air form hides. Catalase for bleach clean-up i.e. removal residual hydrogen peroxide after the bleaching of cotton.

Conclusion Use of enzyme based technology in natural as well as synthetic textiles is alrea dy established. It is technology of future , by which we can replace the harmful and harsher chemicals and processes , with cleaner , biodegradable and mild pro cesses. HAT ARE ENZYMES AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

Enzymes are proteins with highly specialized catalytic functions, produced by al l living organisms. Enzymes are responsible for many essential biochemical react ions in microorganisms, plants, animals, and human beings. Enzymes are essential for all metabolic processes, but are not alive. Although like all other protein s, enzymes are composed of amino acids, they differ in function in that they hav e the unique ability to facilitate biochemical reactions without undergoing chan ge themselves. This catalytic capability is what makes enzymes unique. Enzymes a re natural protein molecules that act as highly efficient catalysts in biochemic al reactions, that is, they help a chemical reaction take place quickly and effi ciently. Enzymes not only work efficiently and rapidly, they are also biodegrada ble. Enzymes are highly efficient in increasing the reaction rate of biochemical processes that otherwise proceed very slowly, or in some cases, not at all.

WHAT TYPES OF ENZYMES ARE THERE?

Enzymes are categorized according to the compounds they act upon. Some of the mo st common include; proteases which break down proteins, cellulases which break d own cellulose, lipases which split fats (lipids) into glycerol and fatty acids, and amylases which break down starch into simple sugars.

HOW ARE ENZYMES USED?

Enzymes play a diversified role in many aspects of everyday life including aidin g in digestion, the production of food and several industrial applications. Enzy mes are natures catalysts. Humankind has used them for thousands of years to car ry out important chemical reactions for making products such as cheese, beer, an d wine. Bread and yogurt also owe their flavor and texture to a range of enzyme producing organisms that were domesticated many years ago.

HOW ARE ENZYME PREPARATIONS MADE?

Commercial sources of enzymes are obtained from three primary sources, i.e., ani mal tissue, plants and microbes. These naturally occurring enzymes are quite oft en not readily available in sufficient quantities for food applications or indus trial use. However, by isolating microbial strains that produce the desired enzy me and optimizing the conditions for growth, commercial quantities can be obtain ed. This technique, well known for more than 3,000 years, is called fermentation . Today, this fermentation process is carried out in a contained vessel. Once fe rmentation is completed, the microorganisms are destroyed; the enzymes are isola ted, and further processed for commercial use. Enzyme manufacturers produce enzy mes in accordance with all applicable governmental regulations, including the ap propriate federal agencies (e.g., Food and Drug Administration, United States De partment of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, etc.). Regardless of t he source, enzymes intended for food use are produced in strict adherence to FDA s current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and meet compositional and purity requirements as defined in the Food Chemicals Codex (a compendium of food ingred ient specifications developed in cooperation with the FDA).

INDUSTRIAL ENZYMES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Enzymes can often replace chemicals or processes that present safety or environm ental issues. For example, enzymes can:

Replace acids in the starch processing industry and alkalis or oxidizing agents in fabric desizing; Reduce the use of sulfide in tanneries;

Replace pumice stones for stonewashing jeans; Allow for more complete digestion of animal feed leading to less animal waste; and Remove stains from fabrics. Clothes can be washed at lower temperatures, thus s aving energy.

Enzymes can be used instead of chlorine bleach for removing stains on cloth. The use of enzymes also allows the level of surfactants to be reduced and permits t he cleaning of clothes in the absence of phosphates. Enzymes also contribute to safer working conditions through elimination of chemical treatments during produ ction processes. For example, in starch, paper and textile processing, less haza rdous chemicals are required when enzymes are used.