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Detergent enzymes are
biological enzymes that are used with
detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more ...
s. They
catalyze
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
the reaction between stains and the water solution, thus aiding stain removal and improving efficiency.
Laundry detergent
Laundry detergent is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder (washing powder) and liquid form.
While powdered and liquid detergents hold roughly equal share o ...
enzymes are the largest application of
industrial enzymes Industrial enzymes are enzymes that are commercially used in a variety of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemical production, biofuels, food & beverage, and consumer products. Due to advancements in recent years, biocatalysis through isolat ...
.
They can be a part of both liquid and powder detergents.
History
Otto Röhm
Otto Karl Julius Röhm (; 14 March 1876, Öhringen, Germany – 17 September 1939, Berlin) was one of the founders and a longtime president of the ''Röhm und Haas'' chemical company which became later in the USA the Rohm and Haas (today '' Dow ...
introduced the use of enzymes in detergent by using
trypsin
Trypsin is an enzyme in the first section of the small intestine that starts the digestion of protein molecules by cutting these long chains of amino acids into smaller pieces. It is a serine protease from the PA clan superfamily, found in the dig ...
extracted from the tissues of slaughtered animals. Röhm's formula, though more successful than German household cleaning methods, was considered unstable when used with alkali and bleach. In 1959, yields were improved by microbial synthesis of
protease
A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the ...
s.
Properties
Laundry enzymes must be able to function normally in a wide array of conditions: water temperatures ranging from 0 to 60 °C; alkaline and acidic environments; solutions with high
ionic strength
The ionic strength of a solution is a measure of the concentration of ions in that solution. Ionic compounds, when dissolved in water, dissociate into ions. The total electrolyte concentration in solution will affect important properties such as ...
; and the presence of
surfactant
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...
s or
oxidizing agent
An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or "Electron acceptor, accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In ot ...
s.
Types
The five classes of enzymes found in laundry detergent include
protease
A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the ...
s,
amylase
An amylase () is an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of starch (Latin ') into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins the chemical process of digestion. Foods that contain large amounts of ...
s,
lipase
Lipase ( ) is a family of enzymes that catalyzes the hydrolysis of fats. Some lipases display broad substrate scope including esters of cholesterol, phospholipids, and of lipid-soluble vitamins and sphingomyelinases; however, these are usually tr ...
s,
cellulase
Cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4; systematic name 4-β-D-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase) is any of several enzymes produced chiefly by fungi, bacteria, and protozoans that catalyze cellulolysis, the decomposition of cellulose and of some related polysaccharide ...
s, and
mannanases. They break down proteins (e.g. in blood and egg stains), starch, fats,
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
(e.g. in vegetable puree), and
mannans
Mannans are polymers containing the sugar mannose as a principal component.
They are a type of polysaccharide comprise hemicellulose, a major source of biomass found in higher plants such as softwoods. These polymers also typically contain two ot ...
(e.g. in bean gum stains) respectively.
Merits
Household energy savings
For stain removal, conventional household
washing machine
A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...
s use heated water, as this increases the
solubility
In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution.
The extent of the solubil ...
of stains. However, heating the water to the required temperature uses a considerable amount of energy; energy usage can be reduced by using detergent enzymes which perform well in cold water, allowing low-temperature washes and removing the need for heated water.
Delicate materials
Clothes made of delicate materials such as
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
and
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
can be damaged in high-temperature washes, and
jeans
Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...
and
denim
Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been pr ...
can fade due to their dark dyes. Low-temperature washes with detergent enzymes can prevent this damage, meaning that consumers can buy clothes from a wider range of materials without worrying about damaging them during washing.
Leather manufacturing
The leather industry was historically considered noxious due to the leather-making process. The
traditional procedure involved soaking animal hides in a mixture of urine and
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
to remove unwanted hairs, flesh and fat, then kneading them in dog or pigeon feces with bare feet. The subsequent discharge and refuse disposal was severely hazardous to both human health and the environment because of the high amounts of concentrated sulfide and chromium in the effluence.
This method was eventually discarded by the industry in the early 20th century following Röhm's discovery, replaced by a more eco-friendly process involving detergent enzymes.
Consequently, hazardous
sodium sulfide
Sodium sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula Na2 S, or more commonly its hydrate Na2S·9 H2O. Both the anhydrous and the hydrated salts in pure crystalline form are colorless solids, although technical grades of sodium sulfide are gener ...
(used to remove animal hair from hides) usage is lessened by 60%, while water usage for soaking and hair cutting is lowered by 25%. Additionally, toxic pollution and emissions have been reduced by 30%. These enzymes have never completely substituted the industrial chemicals. Nevertheless, the working conditions, wastewater quality, and processing times have been greatly improved.
Replacement for phosphate and synthetic surfactants
Increased legislation has led to a limit on the laundry detergent industry's use of environmentally-unfriendly synthetic
surfactant
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...
s and
phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
salts. In a bid to produce more environmentally-friendly products, several detergent manufacturers have increased their use of enzymes in the production process in combination with lower concentrations of the surfactants and phosphates. These biologically active enzymes include bacteria, yeast, and mushrooms,
which produce less chemical pollution and decompose certain toxicants.
Public concerns
Damage to delicate materials
In contrast to the benefits of low-temperature washing, a study of the effects of detergent enzymes on untreated knit and woolen fabrics showed damage proportional to both soaking time and the enzyme concentration.
Skin allergy and testing
Consumers' responses to detergent enzymes have varied. It is reported that some
Philippine
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
consumers who are used to laundering by hand slightly suffered from powder detergents, which mainly consisted of laundry enzyme formulations. As a result, it was thought that laundry enzymes have the potential to increase the likelihood of getting occupational type 1 allergic responses.
However, a large-scale
skin prick test
Skin allergy testing comprises a range of methods for medical diagnosis of allergies that attempts to provoke a small, controlled, allergic response.
Methods
A microscopic amount of an allergen is introduced to a patient's skin by various mean ...
(SPT) containing 15,765 volunteers with 8 different types of detergent enzymes found that the allergy reaction is extremely rare among the public, with only 0.23% showing a reaction.
The issue in Filipino consumers is believed to be the rushed hand-laundering method.
After various tests with several volunteers worldwide, it is found that exposure to laundry enzymes leads to neither skin allergy (Type I sensitization) nor skin erosion.
References
{{Reflist
Enzymes
Laundry substances