Biological color stripping: A novel technology for removal of dye from cellulose fibers

This research work was carried out to compare the color stripping efficiency of optimized biological method with the chemical stripping, commonly employed in the textile industries. Knitted fabric dyed with Reactive black B dye in 2, 4 and 6% shades strengths was subjected to chemical and biological stripping processes individually. Biological stripping process was found many fold superior to chemical one. It was noted that shade strength does not showed any pronounced effect on the bursting strength of fabric but biological and chemical treatment affect the quality of fabrics in terms of bursting strength/durability of fabric. White rot fungus Ganoderma lucidum IBL-05 showed good potential for decolorization/color stripping of cotton fabric dyed with Reactive black B under optimized set of conditions. The chemical stripping technology is inferior to biological stripping process regarding the quality of fabric and percent color removal from cotton fabric dyed with Reactive black B dye.