ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Nowadays, farmers are facing a lot of problems for the disposal of banana pseudostem waste after the harvesting of banana. Banana pseudostem is a rich source of fiber, which is an alternative source of other natural and synthetic fibers. The banana fibers are biodegradable, and they are expected to be in great demand in the international market. For the textile industry, fibers were extracted using chemical and mechanical methods, but it leads to damage and affects the quality of fibers. So, this study mainly focused on biosoftening of banana pseudostem fiber using crude enzyme produced from Aspergillus niger which is one of the most predominant fungus which can synthesize industrially applicable enzymes and which can soften the surface of banana pseudostem fiber. Through this, biosoftened banana pseudostem fiber can be produced, and the disposal problem of banana pseudostem can be rectified in an eco-friendly manner. RESULT: The present study was undertaken for the biosoftening of banana pseudostem fiber using crude enzymes isolated from fungal strain. The fungal isolates were subjected to enzyme screening such as cellulase, pectinase, chitinase, peroxidase, and polygalacturonase. The maximum production of enzyme was observed in F2 strain, and it was subjected to crude enzyme production and purification using dialysis and column chromatography. The collected best enzyme fractions were selected for the biosoftening of banana pseudostem fiber. The banana pseudostem fiber was treated with crude enzymes at the time duration of 2, 4, 24, and 48 h. After the treatment, the treated and untreated fibers were evaluated for the mechanical properties and chemical constituent's analysis. The results revealed that the chemical contents were high during 2- and 4-h-treated fibers. After that, chemical constituents were reduced due to the removal of debris by the action of enzymes. The mechanical properties such as breaking load, breaking extension, tenacity, and diameter of fiber were best in the fibers treated for 2 and 4 h. After 4 h due to the removal of chemical constituents the breaking load and tenacity, diameter will be reduced. SEM results proved that the fiber treated at 4th h showed smooth and softened fiber. CONCLUSION: This study proved that the crude enzymes isolated from the Aspergillus niger can be effectively soften and increase the quality of banana pseudostem fiber.
