Environmental impact assessment of an eco-efficient production for coloured textiles

The textile and clothing industry is one of the world most global industries and constitutes an important source of income and employment for several EU countries. The textile manufacturing process is characterized by high consumption of resources such as water, fuel and a variety of chemicals in a long process sequence generating a significant load on the environment. Therefore, in order to meet the consumers demand of eco-friendly products, more sustainable production processes are under investigation in order to reduce the environmental burdens. The feasibility of these alternative solutions has been demonstrated during the EU BISCOL project proposing a new dyeing process as a global alternative for the conversion of raw materials into competitive eco-viable final products. This has been achieved through the integration of enzymatic synthesis of dyes at semi-industrial scale, textile pre-treatment based on plasma technology and synthesis of new auxiliaries at lower environmental impact. A life cycle assessment has been performed to evaluate the environmental impact associated with the development of new strategies for textile industry in comparison to classical dyeing processes. Results based on primary data from the consortium partners involved in the project show that relevant benefits are achievable with an innovative protocol in terms of reducing energy, water and raw materials consumption

Free radical generation upon plasma treatment of cotton fibers and their initiation efficiency in surface-graft polymerization

Low-temperature plasma was used to activate mercerized cotton fabrics, to be followed by grafting with various methacrylates. Careful analysis of the experimental electron spin resonance (ESR) lineshapes of cotton samples treated at different RF powers made it possible to recognize and quantify four different species of free radicals still persistent 30 h after irradiation in the samples maintained under inert atmosphere. The decay rate of these species at room temperature was also evaluated with the analysis of the time evolution of the ESR spectra. The nature of the free radical species actually involved in the monomer grafting reaction has been discussed for cotton fabrics prepared under different plasma treatment conditions by analyzing the ESR lineshapes

Isolation and characterization of a novel tyrosinase produced by Sahara soil actinobacteria and immobilization on nylon nanofiber membranes

In the present study different actinomycete strains were collected and isolated from Algerian Sahara soil with the aim to select novel enzymes with promising features for biotechnological applications. The Ms1 strain was selected, amongst the others, for its capability to produce melanin in different solid media. Ms1 chromosomal DNA was sequenced and the strain assigned to Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus sp. A tyrosinase (MW ∼ 30 kD) encoding sequence was identified and the corresponding enzyme was isolated and biochemically characterized. The tyrosinase showed the highest activity and stability at neutral and alkaline pH and it was able to oxidize L-DOPA at T = 55 °C and pH 7. The enzyme showed variable stability in presence of various water-miscible organic solvents, while it was inactivated by reducing agents. The tyrosinase activity was unaffected by NaCl and enhanced by different cations. Furthermore, the enzyme showed a higher specificity for diphenols than monophenols showing a higher diphenolase than monophenolase activity. Finally, tyrosinase was stabilized by immobilization on nylon nanofiber membranes with a payload of 82% when 1% glutaraldeyde was used. Taken all together, these results show that the enzyme displays interesting properties for biotechnological purposes