enzymes+in+denim


 * R**egardless of whether you are a man or a woman, jeans are an essential part of our wardrobe. Originally designed to be worn by the cowboys of USA, jeans are now worn worldwide, by all ages. Everyday we see people wearing jeans of different brands, //Evisu, True Religion,// //Levis////, Chevignon, Apple, Missy Sixty, Red Monkey, D Squared//, such and such. And every single brand has its own style of jeans, each created by the use of enzymes, and especially cellulase. The most commonly seen “stonewashed” jeans which has a faded and worn look are in fact made by adding in cellulase (The ending "-ase" at the and of a word usually means that the molecule is an enzyme). Enzyme[[image:http://www.truereligionbrandjeans.com/store/productimages/regular/90457278.jpg width="103" height="160" align="right" link="javascript:void(0);"]]s is what made jeans so variegated.


 * E**nzyme, as a factor of the looks of jeans, is a complex protein produced by all living cells. They are the biological catalyst which speeds up rate of chemical reactions without undergoing any alteration themselves. Each enzyme acts on a specific substrate only. In this case Cellulase breaksdown the substrate, cellulose, by catalyzing hydrolysis (adding water), into small fragment, mostly glucose. Cellulase was first produced from the fungus Trichoderma reesei but is mainly produced by symbiotic bacteria.

However, the quality of abrasion can hardly be controlled, jeans could be damaged and ruined with too much abrasion and jeans could not achieve the desried look with too little abrasion. This is harsh treatment for both the jeans and the machines. Everything in the washing machine is asbraded, causing a shorter life-time for the jeans and the machine. Thus, the worn pumice presents a disposal problem.
 * S**tonewashes jeans are seen everywhere. Just by looking at its name, we can tell the way it was made. The traditional way of producing stonewashed jeans is to wash the jeans with pumice stones (volcanic stones), the stones abrades the surface of the jeans like sandpaper, removing some dye particles from the surfaces of the yarn.


 * H**owever, these problems can all be solved by adding enzymes. Biostoning is introduced in Europe in 1989; it is newer, easier and better. Since cotton is pure cellulose, and cellulase breaks down cellulose, the surface of fabric is then weakened like the way it does when stone is added to the washing process. This process occurs when the cellulase binds to the cellulose on the cotton fibers and breaks down the molecular bons between them. The dye particle are also released from the surface of the jeans, creating [[image:http://www.truereligionbrandjeans.com/store/productimages/regular/90480332.jpg width="103" height="200" align="right" link="javascript:void(0);"]]the faded effect. This way, the look of the jeans will remain the same, but the life-time of the jeans is extended much longer.[|See Animation Here!!]


 * T**his techonological advance is definitely beneficial to producers, workers, consumers, and even the environment. Since cellulase is used for the stonwash look in jeans, there is no need for pumice stones anymore. Therefore, there is less waste, no more mining, no more clogging of pipes with stones and stone dust, and fewer worn out machines and pipes attributed to stones and its dust. Also, since there is no more rinsing needed to get rid of the stones, water and energy are greatly saved in the making of jeans, having less pollution and waste.


 * F**or the producers, there is no need for the time-consuming and expensive task for removing stone fragments from the jeans once the wash is done. A small dose of enzymes can replace several dozen pounds of pumice stones, thus can be recycled. So, productivity can be increased by 30% to 50% with a lower cost, satisfying the growing demand from the increasing global population. Quality variability and imperfectoins can all be reduced. And for employees, there is no more pumice dust to endanger their health.For consumers, there are more fashion choices on jeans, the jeans are of [[image:http://www.truereligionbrandjeans.com/store/productimages/regular/90457278.jpg width="104" height="168" align="right"]]longer life-time because of a lower damage of the original fabric and the jeans have a softer and smoother texture as well.

break down the material. Finally, Cellulase is used for commerical food processing in coffee as it breaks down cellulose during the drying of beans.
 * C**ellulose are not just used for “Biostoning” but also in creating other kinds of finishes in as well. With different temperature and pH levels, cellulase may give different effects to the fabric because these factors influence enzymes at work. On the other hand, with their ability to break down plant fibers – cellulose, cellulases also contribute to waste processing, for example, helping the fermentation of biomass into biofuels. Also, Cellulase can be applied in medical treatment for Phytobezoars, too. When one is having a cellulose bezoar (A hard indigestible mass of material) in his or her stomach, cellulase can help to [[image:http://www.u-roast-em.com/support/cup-o-beans.jpg width="104" height="181" align="right"]]

Work Cited: http://134.68.135.1/jitt/sampler/biology/bio_archive/goodfor15.html http://www.enzymetechnicalassoc.org/benefits_paper.pdf http://www.answers.com/topic/cellulase http://www.novozymes.com/en/MainStructure/OurScience/Used+everywhere/How+enzymes+work+for+you/Enzymes+stonewash+your+jeans.htm