A “wave-riding” biocatalysis: all-enzyme system toward genuine-green and flexible manufacture of machine-washable dyed wool fabrics

Abstract

The well-known phenomenon of felt shrinkage that occurs during home laundry of wool textiles has long bothered consumers. Currently, to address this issue, factories have no choice but to employ the chlorination-Hercosett process, which predominates in the production of machine-washable wool fabrics. However, this method often results in color alternations in dyed fabrics and generates absorbable organic halides (AOX), thereby significantly exacerbating environmental challenges. Enzymatic processing has been consistently recognized as a promising alternative, while most necessitate the assistance of chemical reagents. To accomplish fully green manufacturing of machine-washable wool fabrics, this study has innovatively developed a compound-protease system based on a "wave-riding" enzymatic mechanism, reaching localized surface modification of wool fibers. The results demonstrated that dyed wool fabrics treated exclusively with proteases exhibited excellent dimensional stability (3.90% ± 0.12%) and controllable strength loss (11.39% ± 0.61%). Additionally, the wearability of the fabrics, which was quantified through assessing factors such as air and moisture permeability, the hand feeling, and the wettability, was improved. The original color properties of dyed wool fabrics were also preserved; specifically, there was no adverse effect on color fastness and minimal color difference (∆ECMC < 1.00). This approach further fills the technical gap in the field of genuinely green anti-felting solutions for dyed wool fabrics, offering a new pathway toward sustainable textile manufacturing.