Effect of Sodium Sulfate on Ramie Fabrics Treated with Pectinase

Abstract

This study examines the scouring effect of pectinase on ramie fabric and influence of sodium sulfate as an activator for pectinase. The scouring effects were measured by the weight loss and pectin contents. SEM, weight loss, stiffness, moisture regain and dye ability of ramie fabric teated with pectinase/sodium sulfate were also measured. When ramie fabrics were desized with $\alpha$-amylase, the optimum conditions were pH 6.5 at $60^{\circ}C$ for 80 min with 1%(o.w.f) $\alpha$-amylase concentration. When ramie fabrics were scoured with pectinase, the optimum conditions were pH 8.5 at $55^{\circ}C$ for 30 min with 10%(o.w.f) pectinase concentration. Addition of sodium sulfate improved enzyme activity significantly, which increased proportionally with increasing sodium sulfate concentration. When 50 g/l of sodium sulfate was added, the surface became cleaner compared to the enzyme treatment without salt: weight and tensile loss, moisture regain and dyeability of the treated fabrics increased, while pectin contents and stiffness decreased. Therfore, sodium sulfate was effective activator for the pectinase treatment of flax fiber.