Xylano-pectinolytic synergism from a bacterial isolate for ecofriendly processing of jute fabric

The application of xylano-pectinolytic enzymes produced concurrently by a bacterial isolate on raw jute fabrics was investigated in the present study. For efficient removal of non-cellulosic impurities from raw jute fabric, different process conditions were optimized. Bioscoured jute fabrics showed an increase of 19.50% in whiteness, 33.65% in brightness, 21.08% in tensile strength and 14.35% decrease in yellowness as compared to alkaline scoured fabric. Bleaching of bioscoured fabrics further improved whiteness, brightness and tensile strength in comparison to the bleaching of chemically scoured fabrics. Use of these concurrently produced xylano-pectinolytic enzymes completely replaced the conventional alkaline scouring and hence makes the process environment friendly. This is the first report on the use of xylano-pectinolytic enzymes produced simultaneously by a bacterial isolate in the processing of jute.