Starch is added to the fabric surface to secure weaving process. During finishing these sized particles are removed from the fabric and prepared it for printing and dyeing. Chemicals de-sizing agents damage fabric surfaces and reduce the quality of the product. An alternative to these conventional desizing agents is the use of biological molecules i.e. enzymes. The current study compares traditional de-sizing to bio-based de-sizing methods, as well as the optimization of fabric desizing settings using crude amylase. Amylase-producing Bacillus cereus AS2 was isolated from indigenous soil samples. The maximal fermentative de-sizing capability was discovered at 72 h, with no fabric surface degradation. Chemical desizing showed that the fabric lost all sizing agents to TEGEWA scale 9 within 1 h in presence of 5N HCl. Optimal studies for desizing showed that 1000 IU/ml of amylase resulted in maximum de-sizing within 15 h at 60 °C and 0.5% Triton-X. Water absorbance and weight loss, both parameters were used to check the desizing efficacy and it was found that de-sizing to same scale was occurred in the case of enzyme as well as commercially desized fabric. Enzyme desized cloth was found to be free of any starch particles in SEM micrographs, identical to industrially de-sized fabric, ensuring bioprocess efficacy.
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