Enzymatic Bio-Scouring for Cotton
Comparing enzyme-based scouring against conventional alkaline scouring on effluent load
Overview
A comparative process study evaluating pectinase-based bio-scouring against conventional alkaline scouring on cotton grey fabric.
Problem
Conventional alkaline scouring generates high-COD effluent, a known contributor to textile wastewater burden in Bangladesh.
Objective
Determine whether pectinase-based enzymatic scouring can match alkaline scouring's weight-loss and absorbency performance at a lower effluent load.
Methodology
Parallel scouring runs on split batches of the same grey fabric lot — one enzymatic, one alkaline — followed by weight-loss, water absorbency, and effluent COD/BOD comparison.
Materials
Cotton grey fabric, pectinase enzyme formulation, NaOH baseline bath, effluent testing kits.
Experimental Design
Matched-pair design controlling for fabric lot, with three replicate runs per method.
Results
Literature review stage — early published data suggests enzymatic scouring can achieve comparable absorbency at 30-40% lower COD load.
Conclusion
Pending own experimental confirmation; literature strongly supports feasibility.
Future Work
Run the matched-pair trial and cost-model the enzyme substitution at production scale.