Enzymatic degradation of residual non-cellulosic polysaccharides present on dew-retted flax fibres

Summary A mixture of Pectional AC and Ultrazym, and enzyme extracted from cultures of Ceraceomyces sublaevis was the most suitable enzyme preparation for depolymerising non-cellulosic materials present on dew-retted fibre at 45°C. All the enzyme treated roves produced high quality yarns compared with the yarns spun from untreated roves. Fludity of all the yarns spun from enzyme treated roves was low, suggesting that the enzymes have not affected the cellulose fibres. The use of polysaccharide-degrading enzymes for the removal of non-cellulosic material present on flax fibre may be more energy efficient than traditional caustic boil treatment (using NaOH) for removing residual non-cellulosic polysaccharides.