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7/30/2019 Biotechnology in Textiles
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Biotechnology in Textiles
The rapid developments in the field of genetic engineering have given a new
impetus to the biotechnology. This introduces the possibility of 'tailoring'organisms in order to optimize the production of established or novel metabolites
of commercial importance and of transferring genetic material (genes) from one
organism to another. Biotechnology also offers the potential for new industrial
processes that require less energy and are based on renewable raw materials. It
is important to note that biotechnology is not just concerned with biology, but it is
a truly interdisciplinary subject involving the integration of natural and
engineering sciences. Defining the scope of biotechnology is not easy because it
overlaps with so many industries such as the chemical industry or food industrybeing the majors, but biotechnology has found many applications in textile
industry also, especially textile processing and effluent management.
Environmental protection is becoming a serious concern for textile wet
processors. Dyes discharged from textile dyeing and finishing processes are a
priority pollutant because of their visibility at low concentrations. Most dyes have
low toxicity but their components and breakdown products can be more toxic.
Physical and chemical treatment techniques are effective for colour removal but
use more energy and chemicals than the biological processes. They alsoconcentrate the pollution into solid or liquid streams requiring additional treatment
or disposal. Biotechnological methods can completely mineralize pollutants and
are usually cheaper.
Biotechnology in Textiles:
Biotechnology has its roots in the dawn of the history. It is not new to textile
industry, it has been used in textile processing for the enzymatic removal of
starch sizes from woven fabrics for most of this century and the fermentation vat
is probably the oldest known dyeing process. The scope of enzymes in textile
industry is very wide. This can be understood by looking at the wide spectrum of
applications in textiles. The major areas of application of biotechnology in textile
industry are Improvement of plant varieties used in the production of textile fibres
and in fibre properties, Improvement of fibres derived from animals and health
http://textileinformation.blogspot.com/2007/10/biotechnology-in-textiles.htmlhttp://textileinformation.blogspot.com/2007/10/biotechnology-in-textiles.htmlhttp://textileinformation.blogspot.com/2007/10/biotechnology-in-textiles.html7/30/2019 Biotechnology in Textiles
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care of the animals, Novel fibres from biopolymers and genetically modified
micro-organisms, Replacement of harsh and energy demanding chemical
treatments by enzymes in textile processing, Environment friendly routes to
textile auxiliaries such as dyestuffs, Waste management.
Textile processing industry is characterized by high consumption of energy and
resources and time consuming processes. Lot of pollutants are generated by
textile industry, especially textile processing sector produces most of the
pollutants, mostly water pollutants. Waste water from textile industry, especially
process houses, is characterized by high COD and BOD, suspended solids and
intense color due to the extensive use of dyes. This type of water must be treated
before discharging it into the environment. The water must be decolorized;
harmful chemicals must be converted into harmless chemicals. . Biological
treatments have been used to reduce the COD of textile effluents. Instead of
using the chemical treatments various biological methods can be used to treat
the waste water from the textile industry. These methods include, Biosorption,
use of Enzymes, Aerobic and anaerobic treatments etc. Only biotechnological
solutions can offer complete destruction of the dyestuff, with a co-reduction in
biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). In
addition, the biotechnological approach makes efficient use of the limited
development space available in many traditional dyehouse sites
Many azo dyes and harmful chemicals, like p-chlorophenol have been banned
from use. The area in which biotechnology is required exactingly is the
treatments on waste water generated during textile processing. The presence of
chemicals, like formaldehyde, salts, phenols, dyes, alkalis and acids, heavy
metals, polyvinyl alcohol in waste water is very harmful to the environment. So
these chemicals must be either removed or converted into harmless chemicals
by treating them chemically or biologically.
Though the industrial Biotechnology is in the early stages of development but its
innovative applications are increasing and spreading rapidly into all areas of
manufacturing. It is already providing useful tools that allow for cleaner, more
sustainable production methods and will continue to do so in the future. Adoption
of biotechnology ensures the cleaner environment; also it cuts the cost of the
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processes. Textile industry, which is responsible for generation of lot of pollutants
in all forms, must adopt the biotechnology, especially in the processing sector, to
reduce the consumption of energy as well as other resources.