A “wave-riding” biocatalysis: an all-enzyme system for genuinely 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 alterations 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, achieving 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, hand feeling, and 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 was observed (ΔE_CMC < 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.