Effects of biowashing and liquid ammonia treatment on the physical characteristics and hand of denim fabric

The changes in the physical characteristics and hand of denim fabric through aftertreatments such as biowashing using only neutral cellulase enzyme and liquid ammonia treatment were investigated. The basic physical properties of denim were measured using the Kawabata evaluation system for fabric. The results showed that biowashing increased softness and created a fade-out effect with natural colour; however, it reduced strength and elastic recovery as a result of damage to the cellulose by the enzyme. On the other hand, liquid ammonia treatment gave improved physical properties, which can be attributed to fast and uniform swelling, but resulted in a darker colour. Therefore, a combination of liquid ammonia treatment with biowashing is desirable in order to obtain a good fade-out effect while achieving softness, smoothness, and elastic recovery.