What is bio polishing in textile? Simply bio polishing is a type of chemical process that uses enzymes to remove hairiness from a textile material or substrate.
There are two ways to get rid of hairiness or phages of textile material
1. Singeing
2. Enzyme wash
Usually oven cloth, yarn sizing are done in singeing process. Enzymes are used on knit fabrics, garments, denim.
Bio polishing:
Using biochemicals like enzymes, the process of removing hairiness is completed as it is called the biopolishing process and the enzyme is called a biopolishing enzyme.
A type of enzyme called cellulases is used in polishes.
Singeing the knit fabric through mechanical treatment changes the dimension for tension. So the hairiness of the fabric is removed through bio polish.
The tension in the knit fabric causes its dimensional deformation which results in its shrinkage and spirality. In the case of wovens, sizing is done after soaking in water so that the flame is not inside the fabric but since the knit fabric is not sorted there is a chance of burning the fabric from the flame even though we use steam. Knit fabric is bio polished by the exhaust method.
What is bio polishing in textile? This process can be done in two stages. Either before or after dyeing. However, in both cases pH, Temperature of the enzyme needs to be right or optimum. Because these enzymes are protein molecules, their effectiveness is lost when the temperature rises. Typically, the process is done at 45-55 Celcius. But when the temperature is 60C + this enzyme is no longer effective.
This enzyme is found in the body of various bacteria. They break down the cellulose of the protruding fiber from the top of the fabric in an acidic medium and turn it into water-soluble glucose. Thus hairiness is removed. However, in the case of enzyme washes, time is a big factor because if the enzymes are washed for a long time, the protruding fibers may end and damage the yarn.
Warning:
When the enzyme washes over, the fabric can be damaged, so you need to quickly release the enzyme liqueur from the fabric bath and take freshwater or increase the rapid temperature.
If the machine is turned off while running, you have to drain the bath, wash the clothes with fresh water and then give the enzyme again.
However, care must be taken that this enzyme does not damage the main fabric. So after a certain period, the process is stopped by raising the temperature or changing the pH. This is how bio-polishing is done
Normally we used two types of enzymes,
Acidic (pH 4-5),
Acidic to neutral (pH 5-8) is also called dyebath enzyme.
Standard Recipe for Bio-polishing:
Concentration of Enzyme = 3%
M: L = 1:10
Temperature = 55 Celcius
Time = 55 minutes
pH = 4 – 5
Some information:
1. The main reason for not singeing is that it costs a lot of gas.
2. Usually CVC, PC has staple polyester yarn which cannot be removed by an enzyme so it has to be singeing. Later the cotton part is enzymes.
3. Singeing is used for all fabrics made from air vortex yarn.
4. The fiber of the enzyme remains prone to damage which makes it more prone to peeling, which is less prone to singeing.
5. Enzymes are used to wash denim garments, a biopolishing enzyme that gives the fabric an antique look and a soft hand feel.
