Detergent enzymes
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| Sub-class of enzyme in the field of |
| Biochemistry |
|---|
 |
| Main compounds |
| History and topics |
| Portals: Biology, MCB |
Laundry enzyme is one type of biological enzymes that are frequently used in the laundry industry, and also it is still the largest industrial enzyme application[1] and thus the laundry enzyme plays a significant role in helping both household laundry and the relative industrial business. Laundry enzymes are sub-class of enzymes, and thus they are also biological catalysts with poly-molecular structure[2]. They usually exist as little blue particles or flecks in both liquid and powder detergents, and once contacting with water they dissolve rapidly, by acting as a catalyst, the laundry enzymes boost the rate of the reaction between stains and aqueous solution[3]. Therefore, laundry enzymes are good at stain removal. The addition of laundry enzymes in detergent products improves laundry efficiency and also makes the process more environmentally friendly, and thus detergent manufacturers are willing to update the products with laundry enzyme formula added[2]. With the consumers' high interest in new bio-technique gradually growing, laundry enzyme detergents are becoming more and more popular in the globe, which reveals the success of laundry enzyme's application in the industry. However, there are still several concerns from consumers brought by laundry enzymes such as the potential allergies and cloth damages, but the experimental result shows the concerns are unnecessary[4].
History
The evolution of laundry can be dated from ancient times. After a few generations' experience and wisdom, soaps were brought to the world as the original form of detergent. With the updated formula in detergent industry, a new technique was initially introduced in 1913[5]. It was Otto Röhm who introduced the use of enzyme in the laundry industry[5]. Otto extracted the Trypsin enzyme from slaughtered animals[5], and then decomposed the protein and finally put it into detergent. Otto's new technique was successful compared to the traditional ones from Germany households. While Otto's formula was considered unstable when dealing with alkali and bleaching problems[5]. It was in 1959 that laundry enzyme formula was improved with the discovery in microbial proteases field, and then the first commercial bacterial protease enzyme entered the market in 1959 and commenced the laundry enzyme times[5]. By 2005, the value created by enzyme industry was US $2 billion dollars, and 37% of it came from laundry enzyme, that is US $740 million[5].
Main compounds
There are currently five types of laundry enzyme used in the detergent industry: protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase and mannanase enzymes[1]. According to their distinguished uses, the five types are classified into two main groups. The first group involves proteases, amylase, lipase and cellulase enzyme. They mainly show their properties in protein, starch, and fat or grease, and color deposition stains removal[1]. There are many commercial laundry enzyme formulation patents owned by some famous biochemical companies, and one of the most successful is a renewable and biodegradable type of protease enzyme and the model name of it is PREFERENZ P 300[6]. The P 300 is featured in robustness and enables highly efficient cleaning performance[6] as P300 offers a superior ability to remove tough stains for consumers with a more complicated laundering tasks in the real life. It is also worthy mentioning that most of the current laundry enzymes are free to update[1][6], which means it is possible to develop and engineer new versions of the ‘traditional’ detergent enzymes, such as proteases, amylases[1] so that they are still functioning well and handling with current modern laundry although they are previous generations of laundry enzyme. Therefore, the PREFERENZ P 300 is designed to be sustainable and it maintains its outstanding performance and that is why the PREFERENZ P 300 is both renewable and biodegradable[6]. Other laundry enzymes from the company involving the the PREFERENZ S 210 and L 100 are formulated to focus on the effectiveness in the removal of starch-based food stains as well as animal fat stains[6]. In additional to the first group, there is another group that only includes the mannanase enzyme, known as the most recent enzyme type used in the detergent industry[7]. Mannanase enzyme removes food stains with guar gum, a popularly used food additive[1]. Remarkably, these types are introduced into the market as ordered. . Therefore it makes sense that the revolution of these enzyme components reflects consumers’ desire for new laundry enzyme formula has been generally aroused to handle more complicated laundry cases[1].
Properties
As enzymes, they must ensure themselves to be able to function normally in adverse conditions. The leading reason why laundry enzymes are needed to formulate the detergents is the strengthened ability to remove stubborn stains without doing extra work. Properties of laundry enzymes are diverse according to sophisticated laundry cases. To take examples, some laundry enzymes must be tolerant enough to bear high temperature around 60 °C as required for dishware cleaning[8]. Thus there are thermo-stable laundry enzymes still surviving in the extreme condition. Besides, there are also some kinds of laundry enzyme that are effective in tap water 0-15 ℃, and this shows their characteristic of high activity even in surroundings with much lower temperature[8]. In addition, many the activity and stability of many types of laundry enzyme, like amylase, still keep at a high level in alkaline or acidic surroundings[1]. The given extreme pH range for the laundry enzyme to still maintain active is 10-12 in alkali, and 3-4 in acid. In addition to temperature and extreme pH, properties such as the abilities to handle ionic strength, surfactants, and oxidizing agents are also considered as requested properties in the laundry enzyme industry[8]. Therefore, the high performance of laundry enzymes guarantees most of the laundry cases in consumers' daily life.
Merits
Household energy saving
Conventionally, the household laundering machine would heat up the tap water to provide a better laundry condition for the dirty stain on the cloth to dissolve[9]. This is because most stubborn stain have better solubility in the hot solvent. However, the energy used in this process is not negligible and thus it is a cost-worthy way to do traditional household laundering. After laundry enzymes were introduced into the market, the situation has been improved significantly. For energy saving, there are no longer extra usage of high temperature in household or dishwashers because the temperature used has been lessened recently[1]. It is mentioned that laundry enzymes are still in highest performance even in cold tap water, and thus for most of the household laundry, there is no need to heat up for a household washing machine to heat up the tap water. From this perspective, laundry enzymes are considered indispensable in helping save household bills[9].
A wider variety of clothes at one time
As a consequential benefit, consumers can freely choose a larger range of clothes with diverse materials. Lower temperature laundry condition allows more delicate materials like wool and silk that are easily affected when placed into a high-temperature environment. Moreover, lower temperature also avoids fading jeans and denim which are usually dyed with dark colors. Thus there will be less color transfer[9].
Better laundry process for leather manufacture
There is another evidence that emphasizes the merits of using laundry enzyme in the leather industry. The traditional procedure was complex. First, animal hides with a mixture of urine and lime were soaked altogether to get rid of unwanted hairs, flesh, and fat[10]. Then, the skins were softened by kneading them in dogs or pigeons' feces, which was usually done with bare feet[10]. What really made the leather industry infamous was the discharges and refuges disposed. They caused severe hazards and problem both on human health and environmental eco-system because of the enormous amount of effluents with highly concentrated sulfide and chromium[11]. Therefore, leather making was considered a noxious and redundant trade without any doubt[10]. After laundry enzymes were introduced into the leather pre-treating procedure, the leather industry discarded the foul method[10] to pre-process the leather and also the situation has changed apparently better[9]. The use of sodium sulfide, a hazardous iconic compound to remove hair from animal hides, is lessened by 60%[10], water usage for soaking and hair cut is lowered by 25%[10], the most remarkable one is toxic pollution and emission has been greatly reduced by 30%[10]. These laundry enzymes have never completely substituted the industrial chemical compounds, nevertheless the working conditions, wastewater and the processing time have been greatly improved.
Phosphate and synthetic surfactants' replacement
With the more completed legislative files and contexts coming towards the laundry industry. The environmentally unfriendly synthetic surfactants and phosphate salts are no longer allowed to use without any usage limit. Consequently, synthetic surfactants are then used with lower concentration in combination with enzymes[12]. Currently, laundry industry manufacturers have recognized the importance of producing environmentally friendly detergents, and to fulfill the achievement, laundry enzymes have been added to reformulate the detergent and replace the previous chemical surfactants and phosphate[12]. Laundry enzymes are biological active factors such as bacteria, yeast or even mushrooms[13] that are biologically sourced, and hence there will be less chemical pollution from the enzymes and they decompose some toxicants[12].
Public concerns
Damage on clothes
Indeed, it is found that the laundry enzyme has a side effect on the cloth made from delicate materials. According to the test, untreated knit and woolen fabrics were soaked in a solution with household laundry enzyme formulation[14]. Other variables, time and temperature up to 10 days and 40℃ respectively, were kept constant[14]. As a result, it was found that the loss in strength was proportional to both soaking time and the laundry enzyme concentration[14] and these materials were weakened also to some extent[14]. The loss was also accompanying with reduced mass and the relationship between the loss and soaking time was linearly logarithmic, suggesting laundry enzymes would damage the fragile textile if soaking in a long time[14].
Skin allergy and SPT
After laundry enzymes have been popular for a few decades, consumers’ response also varies personally. It is reported that some Philippine consumers who are used to laundering by hand slightly suffered from powder detergents and the noticeable granular components were found to be mainly with laundry enzyme formulation[4]. Moreover, it is also said laundry enzymes have potential to increase the likelihood of getting occupational type 1 allergic responses[15]. Due to this, an increasing number of consumers are confused about whether laundry enzyme detergents are still safe to use. To test the safety of commercial laundry enzyme, an unbiased experiment called skin prick tests (SPT) has been introduced to test how human skin respond with laundry enzyme and the key is to understand the exposure to laundry enzymes[15]. The main test process was rigorous and under surveillance: More than 15,000 volunteers with diverse genders participated in the test, and 8 different types of laundry enzymes were used to proof their safety[15]. A drop of the sample laundry enzyme solution was placed on the surface of the forearm and the prick test was done at the surface epidermis using sterile needles[15]. Each observation lasted 15 minutes to present any symbol of wheals or rashes[15]. And to guarantee the accuracy, there would be further confirmation for any of the positive observations by repeating the test with another arm[15]. The results reveals that the allergy reaction is extremely rare among the public consumer[15]. Only 0.23% of the 15,765 were diagnosed with the allergy[15]. Also, the cause for the Philippine case is the mighty and rush way of rubbing laundry with hands[4]. After various with abundant volunteers worldwide, it is found that exposure to laundry enzymes leads to neither skin allergy (Type I sensitization) nor skin erosion[4][15]. Therefore, consumers’ concern about laundry enzyme on skin allergy is actually unnecessary.
Reference
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kirk, Ole; Borchert, Torben; Fuglsang, Claus (1 August 2002). "Industrial enzyme applications". Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 13 (4): 345–351.
- ^ a b Berg, Jeremy M. (Jeremy Mark), 1958- (2002). Biochemistry. Tymoczko, John L., 1948-, Stryer, Lubert., Stryer, Lubert. (5th ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman. ISBN 0716730510. OCLC 48055706.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Cosmetics & Toiletries & Household Products Marketing News in Japan". Pacific Research Consulting, Inc. February 25, 2009.
- ^ a b c d SARLO, K; CORMIER, E; MACKENZIE, D; SCOTT, L (January 1996). "749 Lack of type I sensitization to laundry enzymes among consumers in the Philippines". Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 97 (1): 370–370. doi:10.1016/s0091-6749(96)80967-5. ISSN 0091-6749.
- ^ a b c d e f Leisola, Matti; Jokela, Jouni; Pastinen, Ossi; Turunen, Ossi; Schoemaker, Hans. "INDUSTRIAL USE OF ENZYMES" (PDF). PHYSIOLOGY AND MAINTENANCE. II: 2–3.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|separator=(help) - ^ a b c d e "Signing into eresources, The University of Sydney Library". login.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^ MCCOY, MICHAEL (2001-01-15). "SOAPS & DETERGENTS". Chemical & Engineering News Archive. 79 (3): 19–32. doi:10.1021/cen-v079n003.p019. ISSN 0009-2347.
- ^ a b c Yim, Joung Han; Lee, Jun Hyuck; Koo, Bon-Hun; Kim, Jung Eun; Han, Se Jong; Do, Hackwon; Kim, Dockyu; Lee, Chang Woo; Park, Ha Ju (2018-02-21). "Crystal structure of a cold-active protease (Pro21717) from the psychrophilic bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas arctica PAMC 21717, at 1.4 Å resolution: Structural adaptations to cold and functional analysis of a laundry detergent enzyme". PLOS ONE. 13 (2): e0191740. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191740. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5821440. PMID 29466378.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ a b c d "Enzymes in Biological Detergents – The Facts About Laundry Detergents and How They Work". Persil UK. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g says, Novozymes. "From excrement to enzyme: How biotech helped clean up leather production – Rethink Tomorrow". Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ Choudhary, R; Jana, A; Jha, M (September 2004). "Enzyme technology applications in leather processing" (PDF). Indian Journal of Chemical Technology. 11: 659–671.
- ^ a b c Gaubert, Alexandra; Jeudy, Jérémy; Rougemont, Blandine; Bordes, Claire; Lemoine, Jérôme; Casabianca, Hervé; Salvador, Arnaud (2016-07-01). "Identification and absolute quantification of enzymes in laundry detergents by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry". Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 408 (17): 4669–4681. doi:10.1007/s00216-016-9550-8. ISSN 1618-2650.
- ^ Waldhoff, Heinrich; Spilker, Rudiger, eds. (2016-04-19). "Handbook Of Detergents, Part C". doi:10.1201/9781420030334.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d e Friedman, Mendel (April 1971). "Effect of Enzymes and Enzyme-Containing Detergent On Strength of Untreated Woolen Fabrics". Textile Research Journal. 41 (4): 315–318. doi:10.1177/004051757104100405. ISSN 0040-5175.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sarlo, Katherine; Kirchner, Donald B.; Troyano, Esperanza; Smith, Larry A.; Carr, Gregory J.; Rodriguez, Carlos (May 2010). "Assessing the risk of type 1 allergy to enzymes present in laundry and cleaning products: Evidence from the clinical data". Toxicology. 271 (3): 87–93. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2010.03.007. ISSN 0300-483X.