Studies on enzymatic pretreatment of linen

Linen fabric has been treated with xylanase and cellulase in the same bath as an alternative to conventional alkaline scouring at varying enzyme concentration and treatment time. The effect of the treatment has been evaluated in terms of improvement in whiteness, absorbency, residual lignin content, weight loss and change in fibre surface. The results obtained are found to be quite comparable with that of the conventional process. The enzyme treatment gives the required absorbency while the improvement in whiteness and residual lignin are satisfactory. A relatively lower weight loss indicates a rather benign effect of the enzymes.