Study of the effect of enzymatic washing parameters on the bagging properties of denim fabric with Taguchi method

This study aims to evaluate the effect of neutral enzyme washing on the bagging behavior of denim garments and optimize the conditions of this treatment using the Taguchi design. Six types of fabrics were selected with the same weaves and different characteristics. These samples were washed with a neutral cellulase enzyme under different conditions such as enzyme concentration (0.3%, 2%, and 4%), temperature (30, 45, and 65 degrees C), time (15, 45, 75 min), and material to liquor ratio (1:5, 1:8, and 1:10). To evaluate the effect of enzymatic washing on the bagging behavior, we investigated the residual bagging height, the bagging fatigue percentage, the bagging resistance, and the bagging recovery percentage. Thanks to the main effects plots the influencing factors were obtained and using the signal-to-noise ratio diagram, the optimum conditions were determined. The obtained results showed that these bagging properties were affected by the washing conditions and that the most important factors are the characteristics of the samples such as the percentage of elastane and polyester fibers, weight and weft density, and enzyme concentration. The process parameters were optimized and the optimized washing conditions for the best value were 0.3% enzyme concentration at 45 degrees C for 75 min, in material to liquor ratio of 1:8. Concerning the factor of the sample, the results show that the increase of the percentage of elastane or polyester fibers in the composition of denim fabric decreases the problem of deformation and bagging. Therefore it is recommended to add a percentage of these fibers in the construction of the denim to improve the bagging recovery. Thus, the increase in the weft density minimizes that bagging phenomen appears.