Advances in Textile Biotechnology

Artur Cavaco-Paulo, Vincent A. Nierstrasz, Qiang Wang

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9780081027707
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Advances in Textile Biotechnology, Second Edition examines the latest in biotechnology for the fiber and textile industry. This new edition has been fully revised to include the current essential areas of development in the field, covering both natural and synthetic fibers. Chapters cover the latest technology in bioprocessing for bast fiber, PVA, polyester, wool and silk before exploring issues of enzyme stability. Essential areas of application and development are then considered, including biomedical textiles, silk materials for biotechnological applications, bacterial cellulose, the ink jetting of enzymes, and the role of enzymes, wool and silk fibers.Containing groundbreaking research, this book will be essential reading for manufacturers, designers and engineers in the textiles industry, textile and fiber scientists, and academic researchers and postgraduate students working in the area of textile technology.- Provides a thorough overview of current and future focuses of biotechnology in the fiber and textile industry- Presents fully revised content, with a new focus on biosynthesis and bioprocessing for novel textile fibers, both synthetic and natural- Enables readers to understand and utilize the benefits of biotechnology for the manufacture and production of textiles

1

Bioprocessing of bast fibers

Yuanyuan Yu, Qiang Wang, and Ping Wang Key Laboratory of Science and Technology of Eco-Textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China

Abstract

Bast fibers are defined as those obtained from the outer cell layers of the stems of various plants, such as flax, hemp, jute, ramie, and alike plants, which are used in many industries, for instance, clothing textiles, industrial textiles, paper materials, and reinforcements for polymer–matrix composites. The use of enzymes in the bast fiber processing has received increasing attention in recent years because enzyme treatment is highly specific and efficient and works under mild conditions. Moreover, some research shows that enzyme treatment can improve product quality or impart new functionality to the fiber, for example, hand of fabric, antimicrobial property, and hydrophobicity. This chapter presents a review of the applications of biotechnology for bast fiber processes, including retting, scouring, bleaching, and functional modification.

Keywords

Bast fiber; Biotechnology; Enzyme; Functionalization; Pretreatment; Retting

1.1. Introduction

Bast fiber, also called phloem fiber, is a type of plant fiber that can be collected from the phloem or bast surrounding the stem of certain dicotyledonous plants. Bast fibers can be obtained either from cultivated herbs, such as flax, hemp, and ramie, or wild plants, such as linden, wisteria, and mulberry. The strands of bast fibers are usually released from the cellular and woody tissue of the stem by mechanical, biological, or chemical methods. Bast fibers have higher tensile strength than other natural fibers, thereby are usually used in the production of high-quality textiles (Faruk et al., 2012; Summerscales et al., 2010). Bast fibers are processed and utilized in many industries, such as textiles, ropes and nets, carpets and mats, brushes, and mattresses industries, in addition to paper and board materials industries (Paridah et al., 2011). In recent years, bast fibers, such as flax, kenaf, and hemp, have received attention from researchers and industries for their use as reinforcement in polymer–matrix composites because of environmental awareness of consumers and government regulation in some countries (Anuar and Zuraida, 2011; Bos et al., 2002; Saba et al., 2015; Stuart et al., 2006).

Biotechnological process has been used in textile processing of bast fibers, such as microbial retting of bast fibers, which took place during BC periods. During the past decades, textile biotechnology has been an important research area, and thus several enzyme-based processes have now been well-established and are available for use in bast fiber processing, such as retting, scouring, bleaching, and functionalization (Table 1.1) (Kozlowski et al., 2006; Shahid et al., 2016).

1.2. Biotechnology used for retting of bast fiber

1.2.1. Retting of bast fiber

Retting of bast fibers is a process used to extract bast fibers from harvested stems. It involves chemical or biological fermentation treatments that facilitate the separation of fiber bundles located in the phloem from the woody xylem core and epidermis (Akin et al., 2004). Retting is a highly criticalocess for the production of long fiber from bast plants (Paridah et al., 2011).

Table 1.1

Some examples of applications of enzymes in bast fiber processing (Cai, 2009; Shahid et al., 2016).

Fiber	Main composition (%) holocellulose/pectin/lignin	Treatment	Enzyme	Primary function of enzyme	Ref.
Jute	71–77/1–2/10–13	Retting	Pectinases	Degradation of pectic substances	Das et al. (2012)
		Scouring	Xynases	Delignification through polysaccharide degradation	Garg et al. (2013)
Flax	82–95/1.4–5.0/2.5–5	Retting	Pectinases	Degradation of pectic substances	Adamsen et al. (2002) Akin et al. (2001) Akin et al. (2002); Akin et al. (2007); Antonov et al. (2007) Foulk et al. (2001)
		Scouring	Pectinases	Degradation of pectic substances	Ossola and Galante, 2004
		Bleaching	Laccases	Not determined	Abou-Okeil et al. (2010)
Ramie	79–83/4–5/0.8–1	Degumming	Pectinases	Degradation of pectic substances	Basu et al. (2009); Shen et al. (2015)
Hemp	86.3/3.4/9.3	Retting	Pectinases	Degradation of pectic substances	Di Candilo et al. (2010); Tamburini et al. (2004)

The two traditional methods for retting of bast fiber are water retting and dew retting. Both methods require 14–28 days to degrade the pectic materials, hemicellulose, and lignin (Akin et al., 2004; Yadav et al., 2016).

Water retting is performed by submerging bundles of stalks into large water tanks to allow the development of pectinolytic bacteria community (Donaghy et al., 1990; Di Candilo et al., 2010). Water can penetrate into the central stalk portion, causing the inner cells to swell, resulting in bursting of the outermost layer, thus increasing the absorptions of both moisture and decay-producing bacteria. However, water retting is no longer used in the Western countries, since several decades ago, because of its overlong processing time and generation of a large amount of wastewater (Brown, 1984).

Dew retting is carried out by spreading plant stalks in a grass field to allow the dissolve of stem material surrounding fiber bundles by the combined actions of bacteria, sun, air, and dew produces fermentatn (Henriksson et al., 1997; Di Candilo et al., 2010). It is usually used in areas with limited water resources. The climates with heavy nighttime dews and warm daytime temperatures are also highly important for dew retting. Owing to some of its advantages, such as lower labor costs and high fiber yields, dew retting is more acceptable in the European countries. However, it has some unconquerable disadvantages, which include (1) its dependency on particular geog...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• The Textile Institute Book Series
• Copyright
• List of contributors
• Preface
• 1. Bioprocessing of bast fibers
• 2. Poly(vinyl alcohol)–degrading enzyme
• 3. Bioprocessing of polyesters
• 4. Biosynthesis of polyesters and their application on cellulosic fibers
• 5. Enzymatic treatment of wool and silk fibers
• 6. Enzyme stabilization for biotechnological applications
• 7. Enzyme biotechnology for medical textiles
• 8. Biopolyphenolics in textile
• 9. Processing of cotton and man-made cellulosic fibers
• 10. Silk materials for biotechnology
• 11. Bacterial cellulose as promising biomaterial and its application
• 12. Inkjetting of enzymes
• Index