| HS Code | 454459 |
| Productname | Sizing Enzymes |
| Producttype | Amylase-based enzymatic desizing agent |
| Application | Textile desizing of starch-based sizes on fabrics |
| Activeingredient | Bacterial alpha-amylase |
| Appearance | Light brown to amber liquid |
| Enzymeactivity | ≥ 100,000 U/mL |
| Optimumph | 6.0 - 7.0 |
| Optimumtemperature | 50°C - 70°C |
| Dosage | 0.5 - 2.0 g/L depending on fabric and starch content |
| Storagestability | Stable for 12 months at 25°C in sealed container |
| Packaging | 25 kg HDPE drum or 200 kg drum |
| Safetyrequirement | Non-toxic and non-flammable; avoid eye contact |
As an accredited Sizing Enzymes factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Sizing enzymes are packaged in 25 kg sealed fiber drums with moisture-proof inner liners for safe transport and storage. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL: Sizing enzymes in drums/pails, palletized and secured, full container load, protected from moisture and contamination. |
| Shipping | Sizing Enzymes ship in sealed, corrosion-resistant containers, typically drums or IBC totes, labeled for industrial use. Transport by truck or sea freight under dry, temperature-controlled conditions to prevent degradation. Avoid direct sunlight and moisture. Standard hazardous cargo documentation and spill-containment protocols apply during handling and delivery. |
| Storage | Store sizing enzymes in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight and heat sources. Keep containers tightly sealed to prevent moisture absorption, which can degrade activity. Ideal temperature range is typically 5–25°C (41–77°F). Avoid freezing. Under proper conditions, unopened products generally remain stable for 6–12 months. Always follow manufacturer guidelines and use within recommended expiry. |
| Shelf Life | Sizing enzymes typically have a shelf life of 6 months when stored unopened in cool, dry conditions. |
Native corn starch, thin-boiling corn starch, and starch/polyvinyl alcohol blends used as warp sizes create a continuous film that blocks uniform liquor penetration during scouring, bleaching, and dyeing. Alpha-amylase hydrolyses the α-1,4-glycosidic bonds in amylose and amylopectin and converts the size film into water-soluble dextrins. Mesophilic Bacillus subtilis amylase operates at 60–70 °C within a pH range of 6.0–7.0. Thermostable Bacillus licheniformis amylase remains active at 90–110 °C and requires calcium ion concentrations between 0.2 g/L and 1.0 g/L as a stabiliser. The enzyme does not attack α-1,6 branch points or synthetic size polymers such as PVA, acrylics, and carboxymethyl cellulose. On a continuous pad-steam range, desizing liquor is padded at 70–90 % wet pickup and steamed for 60–120 s at 100–102 °C. Mill recipes commonly use 1.0–3.0 g/L of a thermostable liquid amylase. The fabric then passes through a hot wash section at 85–95 °C to remove dextrins and degraded starch residues. A cold pad-batch configuration pads at 20–35 °C, wraps the fabric in polyethylene film, and stores the batch for 4–12 h. Exhaustion processes on jiggers run at a liquor ratio of 5:1–10:1 with 0.5–1.5 g/L enzyme for 30–60 min. Iodine spot testing with 0.1 N iodine solution indicates residual starch by blue-black colour formation. A fully desized cotton surface should show no colour after hot water rinsing.
Liquid amylase preparations contain stabilisers such as sorbitol or glycerol and antimicrobial agents. Hard water with calcium above 150 mg/L supports thermostable amylase but may precipitate with anionic surfactants. Chlorinated process water above 0.5 mg/L free chlorine inhibits enzyme activity and must be treated with a reducing agent before dosing. Batch-to-batch variance in greige fabric is frequently caused by differences in size add-on from the weaving section. A fabric with 8–14 % size add-on requires longer dwell than a fabric with 4–6 % size add-on. Process control therefore monitors the iodine test at the exit of the desizing wash box and adjusts enzyme dosing by estimated size add-on, not by fabric weight alone.
| Parameter | Jigger/exhaustion | Cold pad-batch | Pad-steam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enzyme dose | 0.5–1.5 g/L | 1.0–3.0 g/L | 1.0–3.0 g/L |
| Temperature | 60–70 °C | 20–35 °C | 100–102 °C steam |
| Dwell time | 30–60 min | 4–12 h | 60–120 s |
| Liquor ratio / pickup | 5:1–10:1 | 70–90 % wet pickup | 70–90 % wet pickup |
| Calcium stabiliser | 0.2–0.5 g/L CaCl₂ | not required | 0.2–1.0 g/L CaCl₂ |
| Exit iodine test | no blue-black | no blue-black | no blue-black |
In denim laundries, amylase desizing precedes stone washing or cellulase abrasion. The process is run in an industrial rotary drum washer with a liquor ratio of 8:1–12:1. Liquid amylase is dosed at 0.5–1.0 g/L, pH is held at 6.0–7.0, and bath temperature is maintained at 55–65 °C for 10–20 min. Mechanical action from the drum contributes to film removal. Residual starch on denim can redeposit on the garment surface and interfere with subsequent enzyme washes. The control point is a starch test on the bath rather than only on the fabric. Iodine solution added to a clear bath sample should remain yellow to light amber. If the bath turns blue-black, the enzyme dose or dwell time is insufficient. Overdosing amylase does not remove indigo; it reduces only starch viscosity and may increase foaming if the product contains stabilising surfactants.
Paper surface sizing with converted starch is controlled by a narrow viscosity window at the metering size press. Native starch is slurried at 20–35 % solids, jet-cooked at 95–105 °C, and held for 15–30 min to complete gelatinisation. Alpha-amylase is added after gelatinisation and cooling to the active range, typically 70–80 °C for standard products. The conversion is monitored with a Brookfield LV viscometer using spindle 2 at 100 rpm and 60 °C. Typical converted starch viscosity falls between 25 mPa·s and 100 mPa·s at 60 °C for rod-metered size presses. Enzyme activity must be terminated after the target viscosity is reached by denaturation at 95–100 °C for 10–15 min or by pH adjustment below 4.0. If the enzyme is not inactivated, viscosity drift continues in the storage tank and size press pickup changes during the run. The resulting dry starch film affects Cobb values measured by ISO 535:2023 and surface strength measured by IGT pick testing. High-viscosity starch above the window causes rod splitting and orange peel film patterns. Low-viscosity starch below the window produces low pickup and weak surface sizing.
Enzymatic conversion is compared with oxidative starch conversion in mill trials. Oxidative conversion produces carboxyl groups and is more stable at low temperature, but enzyme conversion permits high-solids starch slurries without strong oxidant handling. The enzyme preparation must be free of cellulase side activity when paper strength is critical. Cellulase side activity is specified in supplier certificates of analysis and must remain below the agreed limit for the furnish. The size press starch solution must be kept above 60 °C after conversion to prevent microbial growth but below the temperature at which the base sheet surface weakens. For filled fine paper, starch pickup is set between 0.8 g/m² and 1.5 g/m² per side. The viscosity set point is adjusted for rod pressure and base paper absorption. A highly absorbent base sheet may require viscosity at the upper end of the window to maintain film thickness. A closed surface sheet may require lower viscosity to avoid misting and skip coating. For food-contact paper and board, the enzyme preparation must be cleared under FDA 21 CFR 176.170 or 176.180 and listed in the applicable national regulation.
Corrugator adhesive systems using the Stein Hall or Minocar process carry a secondary starch fraction that is gelatinised before combination with primary starch in the mixer. Amylase is used to reduce secondary starch viscosity when the cooked portion exceeds the target Stein Hall cup value. The enzyme is dosed into the secondary cooker at 0.01–0.05 % of dry starch weight. Reaction time is short because the secondary starch is then combined with primary starch and caustic. Viscosity at the starch metering station is measured with a Stein Hall cup or a Brookfield RVT viscometer. If the enzyme over-converts the adhesive, viscosity below the application window reduces starch pickup on flute tips and lowers pin adhesion. TAPPI T 821 is used to measure dry pin adhesion of the combined board. A drop below the specified minimum for the flute type indicates that the adhesive film has been over-thinned or that the enzyme was not fully deactivated. The operational limit is therefore not maximum temperature but enzyme residence time before mixing. Borax is added after the secondary starch is combined and must not be present during enzyme conversion because borate crosslinking obscures viscosity readings and reduces enzyme activity.
Starch adhesive solids in corrugators typically range from 20 % to 30 %. Temperature in the secondary cooker is held between 60 °C and 70 °C for enzyme conversion. The enzyme must be denatured before borax is added. If caustic is added before enzyme denaturation, pH shifts above 9.5 and enzyme activity drops sharply. Some thermostable amylases tolerate pH 8.5, but standard products do not. The viscosity target at the glue station is measured as 25–60 s in a Stein Hall cup at 38–42 °C. Bond strength is validated by TAPPI T 821 pin adhesion and edge crush testing under TAPPI T 811. The main failure mode is not low dry strength but variable glue film thickness caused by viscosity drift during the shift.
At recycled containerboard mills, starch from old corrugated containers and coated broke enters the stock preparation system as dissolved and colloidal material. The resulting viscosity increase raises headbox consistency requirements, reduces wire drainage, and increases steam demand in the dryer section. Alpha-amylase can be applied in the repulper or machine chest to hydrolyse solubilised starch into low-molecular-weight dextrins. Dosing is controlled by the dissolved starch concentration in the white water, not by dry fibre mass. Published data for this specific configuration is limited. The control loop normally compares filtrate viscosity from a rotary vacuum disc filter against a target range. The enzyme must be added before the stock passes through high-temperature thermomechanical dispersion, because denaturation above 95 °C inactivates the enzyme. Residual enzyme in the white water does not affect flocculant performance unless the enzyme formulation contains preservatives that interfere with cationic polymer demand. The economic benefit appears as improved drainage and lower sheet moisture at the size press, but the effect is mill-specific and cannot be predicted from standard laboratory viscosity tests alone.
Blended warp size formulations containing native starch and polyvinyl alcohol do not respond completely to amylase desizing. Alpha-amylase hydrolyses only the starch fraction. The PVA film remains as a continuous residual layer that is invisible to iodine testing. The standard mill observation is a fabric that passes the iodine spot test but still shows hydrophobic streaks after drying. Hot alkaline washing at 80–90 °C with 2–4 g/L caustic soda is required to solubilise PVA. Enzyme overdose does not remove PVA and can carry excess dextrins into the wash train, increasing chemical oxygen demand in the effluent. The desizing programme must therefore distinguish between starch-only sizes and starch/PVA blends before enzyme selection. AATCC Test Method 79 can be used as a supplementary absorbency check after desizing. When the fabric fails the absorbency test despite a negative iodine reaction, the residual material is most likely PVA or a synthetic co-size, not starch.
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In starch-sized woven cotton preparation, the Sizing Enzymes product line comprises liquid bacterial α-amylase preparations for the hydrolysis of α-1,4-glycosidic linkages in amylose and amylopectin size films. The active enzyme class is registered under CAS 9000-90-2. Three representative model designations cover distinct process windows. SE-T90 is a thermostable α-amylase from Bacillus licheniformis with a supplier-declared activity of 120–160 KNU/g, a density of 1.15–1.25 g/cm³ at 20 °C, an optimum pH of 5.8–7.5, and a calcium requirement of 20–50 ppm. SE-L45 is a low-temperature Bacillus subtilis α-amylase with a declared activity of 80–120 KNU/g, density 1.10–1.20 g/cm³, an optimum pH of 6.0–7.2, and a calcium requirement of 5–20 ppm. SE-B120 is a multi-enzyme preparation containing α-amylase and hemicellulase activity for starch-derivative size blends; its declared α-amylase activity is 90–130 KNU/g and its application window is 50–70 °C. All three models are supplied as liquids and are dosed at 0.3–2.5 g/L in pad-bath, jigger, or continuous steamer equipment. Activity units are supplier-defined; direct cross-supplier comparison requires identical assay substrates and temperature conditions.
In cold-pad desizing, fabric is padded with SE-L45 at 0.5–2.0 g/L, a nonionic wetting agent at 0.3–1.0 g/L, and calcium chloride to 5–20 ppm Ca²⁺. The pad mangle is set to 70–85% wet pickup on desized weight. Batches are rotated for 8–16 h at 30–40 °C. The limiting variable is pH drift. If bath pH falls below 5.5, SE-L45 loses more than 40% of its measured activity within 6 h; if pH rises above 7.5, size removal becomes uneven at selvages, with residual starch visible as violet staining on TEGEWA reference swatches at scale 4–5 or lower. The use of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or citrate-based sequestrants above 0.5 g/L chelates calcium and suppresses activity; softened process water with hardness below 3 °dH requires supplemental CaCl₂. Anionic surfactants such as linear alkylbenzene sulfonate above 1.0 g/L reduce pad-bath stability, and amine-based pH adjusters should not be used because they can shift the local pH at the size film beyond the enzyme’s tolerance before bath neutralization. On heavy twill constructions with size add-on above 10%, the upper dosage limit is required, and the batch rotation time is extended to 16 h. On light poplin constructions with size add-on below 6%, the lower dosage range and 8 h rotation are sufficient. This process is not suitable for PVA-sized polyester/cotton blends; α-amylase hydrolyzes only starch and starch-derivative size components.
Where continuous open-width steamers are operated at 95–100 °C with a liquor-to-fabric ratio of 1:5 to 1:10, SE-T90 is specified because the Bacillus licheniformis α-amylase retains activity in the steam chamber after starch gelatinization. The product is injected into the saturator at 0.5–1.5 g/L with 20–50 ppm Ca²⁺ and a nonionic penetrant at 0.5–1.0 g/L. Steam exposure of 15–60 s reduces the molecular weight of amylose and amylopectin sufficiently to lower size-film viscosity and allow subsequent washing at 80 °C. Dextrose equivalent values in the size film commonly reach 8–12 before the wash section, at which point adhesion of the size film to cotton is lost. On a rotary lobe or piston dosing line, the liquid enzyme is metered through a 50–80 mesh in-line strainer to prevent precipitated gums from blocking the injector nozzles. Residual starch is monitored after the first post-steamer wash box; acceptable desizing is recorded when the iodine spot test shows no blue-black starch-iodine complex and the fabric gives a TEGEWA violet scale rating of 7–9. Published data for this specific configuration is limited, but the process window is bounded by the requirement to avoid pH below 6.0, because ungelatinized starch is hydrolyzed more slowly and residual starch may be fixed during subsequent drying. High-temperature operation above 105 °C is outside the enzyme’s stability boundary and causes rapid thermal inactivation.
Oxidative desizing routes typically use hydrogen peroxide or sodium persulfate at pH 10–12 and 80–95 °C. Those conditions degrade starch through radical oxidation but can reduce fabric tensile strength and increase effluent chemical oxygen demand. The enzyme route operates at pH 5.8–7.5 and 40–105 °C depending on model. Tensile strength retention measured according to ISO 13934-1:2013 after enzymatic desizing is typically within 0–3% of grey fabric control; oxidative desizing can produce 3–8% loss in cotton shirting constructions. Colorfastness to domestic laundering after enzymatic desizing is evaluated under ISO 105-C06:2010 to confirm that residual size does not interfere with dye fixation in subsequent reactive dyeing. The replacement of oxidative desizing also removes a source of peroxide carry-over into the dyebath; residual catalase additions and extended rinsing are therefore unnecessary. The product line differs from conventional α-amylase products by the calcium demand of SE-T90: 20–50 ppm Ca²⁺ is sufficient for thermostability at 95 °C, whereas several mid-temperature Bacillus subtilis preparations require 50–150 ppm Ca²⁺ and lose activity below pH 6.5. SE-L45 differs from standard mesophilic amylases by retaining measurable activity at 40 °C without pre-heating the pad trough. SE-B120 is intended for starch-derivative size blends where carboxymethyl starch or galactomannan thickeners are present; a pure α-amylase product will not hydrolyze the non-starch polysaccharide fraction. For PVA-bound polyester/cotton blends, no α-amylase preparation removes the synthetic polymer size; a separate oxidative or hot-water swell step is required.
| Parameter | SE-T90 | SE-L45 | SE-B120 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declared α-amylase activity | 120–160 KNU/g | 80–120 KNU/g | 90–130 KNU/g |
| Optimum pH | 5.8–7.5 | 6.0–7.2 | 6.0–7.5 |
| Optimum temperature | 80–105 °C | 40–60 °C | 50–70 °C |
| Calcium requirement | 20–50 ppm | 5–20 ppm | 10–30 ppm |
| Recommended pad-bath dosage | 0.3–1.5 g/L | 0.5–2.0 g/L | 0.5–2.5 g/L |
| Density at 20 °C | 1.15–1.25 g/cm³ | 1.10–1.20 g/cm³ | 1.10–1.25 g/cm³ |
Batch-to-batch viscosity at 25 °C is controlled at 10–100 mPa·s for SE-T90 and SE-L45 to permit stable metering through rotary lobe pumps. Total viable count is below 1,000 CFU/g, and absence of Salmonella is confirmed under supplier release procedures aligned with ISO 9001:2015. The activity assay is a reducing-sugar method using soluble starch substrate at pH 6.0 and 60 °C; reported KNU/g values are method-dependent and should not be used for direct cross-product comparison without reference to the assay enzyme standard.
Because liquid bacterial α-amylase preparations are biologically active, storage at 0–10 °C is required to prevent viscosity loss and protease contamination. Freezing below −5 °C can cause phase separation and is not recommended; thawed material must not be re-frozen. In high-shear centrifugal pumps, excessive foaming can alter dose volume, so rotary lobe pumps with 0.5–2.0 bar back-pressure are specified. The product should not be mixed with cationic surfactants or concentrated oxidative agents. Hydrogen peroxide carry-back from bleaching ranges above 50 ppm in the pad trough oxidizes the active-site methionine residues and reduces activity. Process water containing iron or copper above 1 ppm may inhibit amylase; chelating agents should be tested before use because some chelants also remove calcium. A compliance matrix for applicable standards is provided below.
| Standard or regulation | Designation | Relevant property |
|---|---|---|
| REACH | Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 | Registration of enzyme preparation components |
| ZDHC MRSL | Version 3.1 | Restricted substances in textile chemical formulations |
| ISO 105-C06 | 2010 | Colorfastness to domestic laundering after desizing |
| ISO 13934-1 | 2013 | Maximum force and elongation of treated fabric |
| ISO 9001 | 2015 | Quality management for batch release |
