Effect of enzyme treatment and dyeing on the mechanical properties of linen

In this paper, different concentrations of cellulase enzyme were used for treating linen fabrics. The pretreated linen fabrics were dyed using a bifunctional reactive dye at various concentrations. The effect of enzyme treatment, together with the dyeing process on the low-stress mechanical properties of the linen fabric, was then investigated. The low-stress mechanical properties were assessed quantitatively, including the tensile, shearing, bending, compression and surface properties of the enzyme-treated and dyed linen fabrics. The results revealed that the enzyme treatment with subsequent dyeing could alter these properties to a greater extent, depending predominantly on the concentration of enzyme used.