Bacterial keratinolytic protease, imminent starter for NextGen leather and detergent industries

• Biodiversity of keratinase producing bacterial community.
• Important biochemical characteristics related with applications of keratinase.
• Application of keratinolytic enzyme in leather processing and detergent additives.
• Types of enzyme formulations for detergent application.

Currently research is centered towards replacement of costly toxic chemicals with the bio-products. This review explores application of bacterial keratinolytic protease to the leather and detergent industries. Keratinolytic proteases, are super proteolytic enzymes, that possesses the ability to degrade the insoluble keratinious waste. They display a huge divergence in physico-chemical properties which makes them superior for leather and detergent industries. In the leather processing industry, enzyme-based products are currently being explored in pre-tanning and tanning processes causing almost 80% reduction in the total pollution like noxious gases, such as hydrogen sulfide, as well as solid wastes, such as lime and chrome sludge. The keratinolytic protease as detergent additives makes it more exciting for green biotechnology. The major-bottleneck in protease research is the improvement of enzyme efficiency and protease stability at the time of marketing. Integrated bio-approach will not only solve the disposal of proper biomass and costly effluent treatment, but also more importantly create a goal-win-goal state for profit, people and climate the three builders of sustainability.

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