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Article

Lyocell-Based Nonwovens: Mechanical Performance and Biodegradation Analysis

by
Lúcia Rodrigues
*,
João Medeiros
,
Rita Marques
and
Carla J. Silva
CITEVE—Technological Centre for Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Textiles 2025, 5(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles5020020
Submission received: 7 April 2025 / Revised: 23 May 2025 / Accepted: 30 May 2025 / Published: 4 June 2025
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

The nonwoven industry is undergoing significant changes, driven by rapid growth and sustainability concerns, with a growing need to shift from fossil-based polymers like polyester (PES) and polypropylene (PP) fibres to biodegradable, fossil-free materials. Compared to other cellulose-based fibres, lyocell (LY) is a promising solution due to its good mechanical performance and lower environmental impact. Additionally, cellulose acetate (CA) fibres, known for their thermoplastic and biodegradable properties, can act as a binder, offering another promising alternative to fossil-based fibres. This study explores the use of 100% LY fibres, alone and in blends with CA and recycled polyester (rPES) fibres, in the development of needle-punched nonwovens and assesses the mechanical benefits of adding a thermal bonding step. Among the blends, rPES-based nonwovens with thermal bonding showed the best results. 100% LY exhibited the best mechanical performance among needle-punched nonwovens, while rPES-based blends outperformed the others. Biodegradability and toxicity studies were also performed. 100% LY nonwovens fully biodegraded within 55 days, and 100% CA and 100% rPES showed no biodegradation. The findings revealed that the thermal process did not affect the disintegration level and, the germination of Brassica oleracea was not affected by soils in which the samples were buried for 75 days.

1. Introduction

Nonwovens represent one of the textile industry segments with the greatest growth potential, projected to achieve an annual growth rate of 7.5% by 2032 [1,2]. Currently, the predominant raw materials utilized in nonwovens are fossil-based synthetic polymers. In 2018, the nonwoven industry consumed staple fibres (35% growth compared to 2013), with polyester (PES) fibres being the most used (36%) [3].
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of nonwoven disposable products has been increasing, especially in the medical and hygiene sector (47.1% of the market share in 2023) [4]. Many of these products are polyester-based [5]. As these fibres are not biodegradable and raise environmental concerns, alternatives to PES, with similar physical properties but capable of biodegradation without affecting their surroundings, are needed. In this context, cellulose-based fibres, known for their sustainability, excellent moisture absorption, skin compatibility, and pleasant texture, represent viable alternatives for use in various applications, including wipes and compresses, feminine hygiene products, diapers, medical products (absorbents), automobiles, filters, mattresses, footwear, and interlinings, among others [6,7,8].
The growing demand for nonwovens and the need for renewable material alternatives to fossil-derived fibres has increased interest in LY, a cellulose-based fibre. These fibres are produced through CS2-free processes, where cellulose is dissolved in N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO), allowing for high concentrations of cellulose to be processed while maintaining the polymer’s chemical integrity, with solvent recovery rates reaching up to 99.7%. Moreover, these LY fibres offer good mechanical strength properties that are similar to those of PES, further supporting their increased use in nonwoven applications. Therefore, LY has emerged as a suitable alternative to PES due to its similar mechanical resistance under both dry and wet conditions, which surpasses that of viscose, cottonfibres [9,10].
Cellulose acetate (CA) fibres, derived from chemically modified cellulose, are also considered an environmentally friendly material. Due to their thermoplastic properties, these fibres can effectively serve as binder fibres in nonwoven materials [11]. Although CA takes longer to degrade than other cellulose fibres, the current literature confirms its biodegradability [9]. The level of acetyl substitution (DS) determines the degree of biodegradation of CA. Studies show it has a degradation rate of 45–60% in 20 days when exposed to Neisseria sicca bacteria. In addition, there are various methods of reducing acetate’s degradation time, including adding chemical additives to accelerate the degradation process [10].
Within this context of a growing interest in sustainable nonwovens, processes like carding, needling, and thermal bonding are particularly relevant in the production of cellulose-based nonwovens, such as those made from LY [12]. These techniques are essential to creating nonwoven fabrics that address the needs of diverse industries [13,14,15].
This study aims to investigate the use of LY fibres, alone and blended with CA and recycled polyester (rPES) fibres, in the development of needle-punched nonwovens, and the influence of the combination of needle-punching and thermal consolidation techniques on the structural integrity of the nonwoven fabrics. Additionally, the performance of the LY/CA blends and LY/rPES blends was compared to assess differences in consolidation effectiveness and mechanical performance.
Using the developed nonwovens, biodegradability and soil toxicity studies were also carried out to compare the behaviour of the different structures.
The findings from this research are expected to provide valuable insights into the development of nonwoven fabrics based on LY fibres that are suitable for a wide range of applications in various industrial sectors, including agrotextiles, geotextiles, filtration, flooring, furniture, bedding, shoes, and accessories.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Fibres Characterization

In this study, LY fibres, CA fibres, and recycled polyester fibres (rPES), obtained from PET bottles, were supplied by Portuguese companies for nonwoven production. The rPES fibres were used because they have an economically positive impact, providing motivation to minimize PET waste [16].

2.1.1. Linear Density Test

The linear density of the fibres, expressed in deci-tex, was determined according to EN ISO 1973:2021 [17] using the Favigraph (Textechno, Moenchengladbach, Germany) equipment. A total of 50 fibres were analyzed under conditions of 20 ± 2 °C and a reltive humidity of 65 ± 4%.

2.1.2. Breaking Force and Elongation at Break

The breaking force and the elongation at break of 50 fibres were analyzed by EN ISO 5079:2020 [18] using the Favigraph (Textechno, Moenchengladbach, Germany) equipment. During the analysis, conditions of 20 ± 2 °C and 65 ± 4% relative humidity were applied.

2.1.3. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

Heat-flow DSC was used to analyze the samples’ dynamic thermal behaviour. A DSC600, thermoanalyzer (Hitachi, High-Tech Science Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) was used for the measurements. The temperature range of the samples was 25–300 °C and a nitrogen atmosphere was used. The samples were heated at a rate of 20 °C/min during the measurements, and synthetic air was used as a purging gas at a flow rate of 50 mL/min.

2.2. Nonwoven Production

2.2.1. Carded and Needle-Punched Nonwovens

A pilot carding machine (Mesdan, Puegnago del Garda, Italy) and a pilot needle-punching machine (Technoplants, Pistoia, Italy) were used to produce nonwovens. Before the carding process, the fibres were opened and blended using air jets to enhance their interactions, leading to a homogeneous web.
For this purpose, 100 g of fibre was fed to the pilot carding machine, resulting in a web, with fibres orientated in the machine direction (MD), of 200 g/m2. The fibres were passed twice into the carding machine to guarantee the homogeneity of the fibre distribution in the web [12]. The thermoplastic fibre (CA or rPES) contents used in the blending trials were 30%, 50%, and 70%. In addition, nonwovens made entirely of these thermoplastic fibres were used for comparison.
The addition of thermoplastic fibres to the nonwoven blends aimed to improve structural consolidation through thermal bonding. Two different consolidation methods were used: mechanical consolidation alone and mechanical consolidation followed by thermal consolidation.
After web formation, the mechanical consolidation of the nonwovens was performed by needle-punching based on the optimal parameters established in a previous internal study. A density of 50 punches/cm2 with a needle penetration depth of 15 mm in both nonwoven faces was applied in all samples (Figure 1).

2.2.2. Carded Needle-Punched and Thermal-Bonded Nonwovens

To further investigate the impact of adding a thermal consolidation step, additional samples incorporating thermoplastic fibres, such as CA and PES fibres, were produced. These nonwovens underwent a three-step process: an initial carding and needle-punching, as described in the previous section, followed by thermal bonding (Figure 1). Different temperatures were applied during the thermal process according to each fibre’s thermal behaviour, which was observed in the DSC analysis.

2.3. Nonwoven Characterization

2.3.1. Mechanical Properties

The tensile strength and elongation at the break of the nonwovens were measured using a dynamometer (Tinius Olsen HT400, Horsham, United States) instrument following ISO 9073-3:2023 [19]. Samples were prepared using the cut-strip method, with dimensions of 50 mm in width and 300 mm in length, and conditioned at 20 ± 2 °C and 65 ± 4% relative humidity for 24 h before testing. The test was conducted in both the machine direction (MD) and the cross direction (CD) of the nonwoven fabric to assess performance in each orientation.

2.3.2. Biodegradability and Soil’s Toxicity

With no standardized test methods being currently available to assess textiles’ biodegradation and soil’s toxicity [20], the biodegradability and toxicity of each nonwoven material were evaluated using an internal method based on ISO 20200:2023 [21] and EN 13432:2000 [22] standards. Biodegradability tests were conducted with three burial durations—35, 55, and 75 days in the soil—in aerobic conditions at 58 ± 5 °C. For this purpose, three samples of 20 cm × 10 cm were buried in a commercial substrate for each solution.
A comparative visual analysis of the tested samples was carried out and the disintegration content was measured via the loss of mass of the nonwovens before and after the burial period.
Toxicity was assessed by studying the germination of Brassica oleracea in the soil in which the nonwovens degraded. For this analysis, substrates from 100% nonwoven (100% LY, 100% CA, and 100% PES) were collected after 75 days of burial. In this method, the germination was measured, taking into account the number of seeds that germinated in the soil. The germination content measures the number of germinated seeds in the soil compared to the control group. This method was applied for 14 days after 50% emergence of the seedling in the control group according to OECD 208 [23]. A temperature of 22 ± 10 °C, a humidity of 70 ± 25, and a luminosity intensity of 131 mol/m2/s were used. The plant biomass was assessed by measuring the mass produced by the selected species in the experimental tests compared to the control test. For the validation of the test, at least 70% of seedling emergence and at least 90% survival of the emerged seedlings in the control test were required.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Characterization of the Fibres

3.1.1. Linear Density and Mechanical Properties

The fibres’ linear density, expressed in deci-tex, the breaking force, and the elongation obtained are shown in Table 1.
An analysis of the results showed that the LY, CA and rPES fibres exhibited comparable values in terms of linear density and fibre length. rPES presented the highest breaking force, whereas CA fibres exhibited the lowest breaking force. Furthermore, CA fibres showed the highest elongation, indicating that they stretch more before breaking than the other two fibres.

3.1.2. Analysis of Fibres’ Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

To determine the optimum temperature for the thermal bonding process, a DSC analysis was carried out on the CA and rPES fibres to determine the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the melting temperature (Tm), as shown in Table 2.
The CA single-fibre nonwovens were thermally bonded at 180 °C because this temperature is the starting point of glass transition and, at 200 °C, a slight deacetylation on the surface of the 100% acetate nonwoven was detectable. This effect was only observed on the 100% acetate nonwovens. For all CA and LY blends, the same thermal bonding conditions were applied at an increment of 20 degrees to ensure the same degree of bonding due to the presence of LY fibres.
Regarding rPES fibres, as the glass transition temperature was not sufficient to obtain any consolidation, the applied temperature was raised to as close to the melting point as possible without degrading the LY fibres present in the blends of LY/rPES. At temperatures over 210 °C, LY fibres started to become yellow, indicating the oxidation of hydroxyl groups and degradation of cellulose, leading to a decrease in tensile strength [24]. For this purpose, the thermal processing conditions for the LY/rPES blends were set to 210 °C, 3 bar, and 30 s, maintaining the same pressure and time applied to the LY/CA blends.

3.2. Characterization of the Nonwovens

Table 3 presents the development of the nonwovens and their physical properties, including their basis weight and thickness.
The target basis weight for the structures was set at 200 g per square metre; however, weight variations were observed across the nonwoven samples, influenced by both fibre type and bonding method. Significant differences in thickness were observed among the nonwoven samples. For the carded and needle-punched nonwovens, these thickness variations were primarily due to differences in fibre density. After the thermal bonding process, as expected, a higher percentage of thermoplastic fibre led to a lower thickness of the nonwovens.

3.2.1. Mechanical Characterization of Carded and Needle-Punched Nonwovens

Regarding the samples obtained through the carding and needle-punching process, the tensile strength and elongation of the different compositions are presented in Figure 2.
Analyzing Figure 2a, it is possible to observe that the tensile strength results obtained in all samples indicate a superior performance in the MD compared to the CD. This difference is mainly due to the parallel distribution of fibres in the MD, when a carding machine is used, which leads to better mechanical resistance in this direction [12,25]. Similar behaviour was achieved in a research study that developed carded, needle-punched nonwovens using mechanically recycled fibres [12].
Nonwovens made with 100% LY fibres presented the highest tensile strength. The increase in LY fibre content within the LY/CA blends and LY/rPES blends led to an increase in tensile strength, indicating a positive correlation between LY fibre proportion and the mechanical performance of the nonwoven structures.
When comparing different thermoplastic fibre types, rPES-based nonwovens presented better results than CA-based nonwovens, mainly due to their higher rPES tenacity compared with CA. This result is expected, as rPES fibres are well known for their strength [26]. Indeed, CA is known for its softness and drape but generally has low mechanical strength [27].
Regarding elongation (Figure 2b), the values across different nonwoven samples were similar, mainly influenced by the process effect. As expected, elongation values were higher in the CD due to the mechanical behaviour of the fibres when pulled in a less structured direction [12]. This increased elongation suggests that, with lower strength in this direction, the material can stretch and deform more before breaking. The needle-punching process not only enhances the tensile strength but also maintains the flexibility of the nonwovens, ensuring that they can withstand elongation without compromising structural integrity.

3.2.2. Mechanical Characterization of Carded Needle-Punched and Thermal-Bonded Nonwovens

Nonwovens produced combining needle-punched and thermal bonding techniques exhibited a superior mechanical performance comparable to those developed solely through needle-punching; this was mainly observed in rPES-based nonwovens. The mechanical performance obtained by both consolidation techniques is shown in Figure 3. This behaviour has been previously discussed in several studies, such as those by Subhash Chand et al., which emphasize that adding a thermal bonding step enhances the consolidation of the fibres. This is because thermal bonding forms stronger inter-fibre connections, thereby increasing cohesion and overall nonwoven strength [28].
Analyzing Figure 3, among the structures evaluated, rPES-based nonwovens exhibited the best performance of the tested structures (Figure 3a). By incorporating the thermal step into CA-based nonwovens, an improvement in the tensile strength values of LY/CA blends was observed for the samples with an LY content above 50%. Moreover, the elongation of all samples was slightly reduced, except for the 100% CA nonwoven, which experienced a strong decrease.
Regarding LY/rPES nonwovens, adding LY fibres led to a slight decrease in tensile strength for nonwovens. The elongation values (Figure 3b) were significantly decreased across all the different samples using PES fibres, primarily due to the effective consolidation provided by the thermal bonding process, which positively impacts the breaking strength and reduces elongation of the nonwoven fabrics.

3.3. Impacts of Using Two Consolidation Methods

Despite efforts to maintain a consistent basis weight across the different nonwovens, as shown in the results in Table 3, variations in the obtained values were observed. Therefore, to assess the impact of applying thermal consolidation after mechanical consolidation (needle-punching), the MD tensile strength values were normalized by dividing each value by the basis weight of the respective nonwoven. The results are presented in Figure 4.
As can be observed in Figure 4, after normalizing the MD tensile strength values, rPES-based nonwovens maintained a higher tensile strength than CA-based nonwovens and slightly outperformed LY nonwovens.
The results confirmed that combining needle-punching with thermal bonding enhanced the mechanical properties of the LY/rPES and LY/CA nonwovens compared to using the needle-punching process alone.
The analysis of the results also showed that increasing the amount of LY fibres in CA blended nonwovens led to a higher mechanical performance of the structures, and the replacement of rPES by LY fibres in rPES blended nonwovens led to higher tensile strength in needle-punched structures, with a similar performance being obtained after the thermal treatment step.

3.4. Biodegradability Assessment

After the mechanical performance evaluation, monomaterial nonwovens and blended nonwovens composed of 70% LY/30% thermoplastic fibres were subjected to a biodegradability assessment. This composition was selected based on the best mechanical results obtained in this study. This assessment aimed to examine the effect of replacing rPES fibres with CA fibres on biodegradation behaviour following three different burial durations. Table 4 summarizes the appearance of the nonwovens after each burial period.
As shown in Figure 5, the 100% LY nonwoven disintegrated after 35 days and was fully degraded by 55 days. This rapid biodegradation of LY fibres is consistent with the existing literature, highlighting the eco-friendly properties of LY and its capacity to decompose effectively in natural environments [29].
Regarding the blended nonwovens, the degradation observed appears to be primarily due to the LY fibres, as the degradation levels of the CA-based and PES-based nonwovens were comparable. In fact, according to the existing literature, CA is considered potentially biodegradable [29], although it requires a longer time to degrade compared to LY. The findings are in agreement with the research study that reported that CA degrades more slowly than cellulosic fibres, such as linen, rayon and cotton fibres, especially when the average environmental temperature is low, and when the degree of substitution (DS) of acetyl groups on cellulose is greater than 2 [20]. The rate of biodegradation of CA fibres is influenced by the degree of acetyl substitution (DS), the application of chemical treatments to the fibres or structures, and the specific environmental conditions to which the material is exposed [30,31].
Regarding rPET fibres, research studies indicated that PET polymers have high resistance to biological degradation [20].
Additionally, a visual assessment indicated that the introduction of the thermal bonding process did not impact the biodegradation of the nonwovens. The samples consolidated through thermal bonding maintained a similar appearance to those produced solely via mechanical methods throughout the assessment period. The visual analysis of the biodegradability of the developed nonwovens, presented in Table 4, was corroborated by the disintegration percentages of the samples after the different burial times, as shown in Figure 5.
In the case of 100% LY nonwovens, 83% of the sample obtained through needle-punching consolidation disintegrated after 35 days, achieving complete disintegration (100%) after 55 days. In contrast, 100% PES exhibited no sign of disintegration [20], while 100% CA fibres exhibited minimal disintegration, with only 1–2% disintegration after 75 days of burial. Regarding the blended samples, both PES-based and CA-based nonwovens demonstrated similar disintegration behaviour, with the disintegration percentages being proportional to the LY content. After 55 days, the LY component in these blended nonwovens completely degraded, reflecting the same degradation pattern observed in the 100% LY samples. The results revealed that, across the compositions, the consolidation process did not significantly affect the disintegration percentage.
Several research articles report the biodegradability of textile materials; however, they employ diverse testing methods and conditions, leading to inconsistencies and limited comparability among the reported findings and those of the present study [20,29,32,33].
For the soil toxicity analysis, the evaluation involved germinating Brassica oleracea seeds in soil containing 25% and 50% of the burial soil from the biodegradation tests. A control soil was used for comparison during the germination process. The percentage of plant biomass in the two soil compositions was measured to assess the potential impact of the different fibres on plant growth. For this purpose, exclusive monomaterial nonwovens were employed.
The obtained results, presented in Figure 6, suggested that the germination process was similar for all the buried-fibre soils. These findings also suggested that, the use of soils in which the samples had been buried for 75 days, did not affect the germination of Brassica oleracea, as can be observed in Figure 7. Consequently, the plant biomass levels were similar for all fibre types and soil compositions, suggesting that fibre type did not significantly affect the percentage of plant biomass.

4. Conclusions

This study focused on developing and evaluating LY-based nonwovens, which demonstrated a promising mechanical performance, biodegradability, and ecotoxicity.
The findings highlight the critical role of fibre composition and consolidation methods in the mechanical properties of nonwoven fabrics and indicate that LY fibres provide a good mechanical performance for needle-punched nonwovens.
Moreover, applying a thermal bonding process to LY/CA and LY/rPES blend nonwovens enhanced their mechanical performance compared to structures produced solely by needle punching.
The outcomes from biodegradability trials revealed that LY nonwovens present complete degradation after 55 days of burial, highlighting their strong potential as an eco-friendly material. On the other hand, CA nonwovens exhibit very low degradation rates, with only minimal disintegration after 75 days, while PES nonwovens show no signs of biodegradation. Blended nonwovens presented a level of degradation proportional to their LY content, confirming that LY fibres are the primary driver of biodegradability in these structures. In addition, the results suggested that the type of consolidation process did not significantly affect the disintegration percentage of the nonwovens.
Further studies will be conducted to investigate the reasons for the low degradation level of CA nonwovens, including determining the level of acetyl substitution (DS) of the fibres, increasing the testing burial duration, reducing the size of the tested samples, and washing the nonwovens before the biodegradation test to remove the eventual chemicals applied after fibre-spinning.
In terms of soil’s toxicity, the analysis of the results showed that using soils in which the samples were buried for 75 days, the germination and biomass growth of the Brassica oleracea species were not negatively affected. However, additional tests, with a longer burial time, will be performed to assess the influence of this parameter on the germination and plant biomass formation.
Given the current lack of specific standards for testing the biodegradability of textiles and soil’s toxicity, establishing testing standards is essential to prevent inconsistent results arising from varied methodologies being applied to the same material. The development of standardized methods for assessing the biodegradability and ecotoxicity of textile materials is therefore required and crucial.
Overall, this study suggests that LY fibres have a strong potential for use in eco-friendly, biodegradable needle-punched nonwovens, particularly in fields like agrotextiles, geotextiles’ filtration, furniture, bedding, flooring, shoes, and accessories.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, L.R.; methodology, L.R., J.M. and R.M.; investigation, J.M. and R.M.; writing—original draft preparation, J.M. and R.M.; writing—review and editing, L.R. and J.M.; supervision, L.R. and C.J.S.; project administration and funding acquisition, C.J.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support from integrated project be@t—Textile Bioeconomy (TC-C12-i01, Sustainable Bioeconomy No. 02/C12-i01.01/2022), promoted by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), Next Generation EU, for the period 2021–2026.

Data Availability Statement

Data are contained within the article.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Inês Grenha’s contribution to the editing.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Figure 1. R&D approach to the development of nonwovens.
Figure 1. R&D approach to the development of nonwovens.
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Figure 2. Tensile strength (a) and elongation (b) of the different nonwovens obtained via the carding and needle-punching processes (average values and standard deviation).
Figure 2. Tensile strength (a) and elongation (b) of the different nonwovens obtained via the carding and needle-punching processes (average values and standard deviation).
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Figure 3. Tensile strength (a) and elongation (b) for the different nonwovens obtained by carding, needle-punching, and thermal bonding process (average values and standard deviation).
Figure 3. Tensile strength (a) and elongation (b) for the different nonwovens obtained by carding, needle-punching, and thermal bonding process (average values and standard deviation).
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Figure 4. Tensile strength of nonwovens obtained by carding and needle-punching versus by the carding, needle-punching, and thermal bonding process.
Figure 4. Tensile strength of nonwovens obtained by carding and needle-punching versus by the carding, needle-punching, and thermal bonding process.
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Figure 5. Percentage of disintegration of the composition of each nonwoven, obtained through different processes, after different burial times.
Figure 5. Percentage of disintegration of the composition of each nonwoven, obtained through different processes, after different burial times.
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Figure 6. Ecotoxicity assessment: values of percentage of germination and plant biomass for the different soil compositions.
Figure 6. Ecotoxicity assessment: values of percentage of germination and plant biomass for the different soil compositions.
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Figure 7. Plant germination using 50% compound soil of (i) lyocell, (ii) cellulose acetate, and (iii) polyester nonwovens.
Figure 7. Plant germination using 50% compound soil of (i) lyocell, (ii) cellulose acetate, and (iii) polyester nonwovens.
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Table 1. Properties of Lyocell, Cellulose Acetate, and recycled polyester fibres.
Table 1. Properties of Lyocell, Cellulose Acetate, and recycled polyester fibres.
FibresLyocell (LY)Cellulose Acetate (CA)Recycled Polyester (rPES)
Linear density (dtex)1.301.491.49
Length (mm)383838
Breaking force (cN)5.73 ± 0.161.99 ± 0.078.05 ± 0.30
Elongation at break (%)16.0 ± 0.0730.0 ± 0.0924 ± 1.7
Tenacity (cN/dtex)4.201.305.4
Table 2. DSC analysis results of CA and rPES samples.
Table 2. DSC analysis results of CA and rPES samples.
FibresGlass Transition (°C)Melting Point (°C)
TonsetTendsetTglassTonsetTendsetTmelting
Cellulose Acetate (CA)181.08190.69185.39220.68235.19227.58
Recycled Polyester (rPES)68.8883.2476.06227.85272.47250.16
Table 3. Characterization of the developed nonwovens produced by different methods.
Table 3. Characterization of the developed nonwovens produced by different methods.
Nonwoven
Composition		Carded and Needle-PunchedCarded, Needle-Punched, and Thermal-Bonded
Basis Weight (gsm)Thickness (mm)Basis Weight (gsm)Thickness (mm)
100% LY2202.85--
100% CA2303.722070.47
70% CA/30% LY2202.912000.54
50% CA/50% LY2203.042280.86
30% CA/70% LY2302.802461.16
100% rPES1973.162320.74
70% rPES/30% LY1983.002311.20
50% rPES/50% LY1932.801851.20
30% rPES/70% LY2002.822051.61
Table 4. Biodegradability over time of the developed nonwovens.
Table 4. Biodegradability over time of the developed nonwovens.
Sample Biodegradability over Time
Day 0Day 35Day 55Day 75
Needle-punched100% LYTextiles 05 00020 i001Textiles 05 00020 i002Textiles 05 00020 i003Textiles 05 00020 i004
100% CATextiles 05 00020 i005Textiles 05 00020 i006Textiles 05 00020 i007Textiles 05 00020 i008
100% rPESTextiles 05 00020 i009Textiles 05 00020 i010Textiles 05 00020 i011Textiles 05 00020 i012
70% LY/30% CATextiles 05 00020 i013Textiles 05 00020 i014Textiles 05 00020 i015Textiles 05 00020 i016
70% LY/30% rPESTextiles 05 00020 i017Textiles 05 00020 i018Textiles 05 00020 i019Textiles 05 00020 i020
Needle-Punched + Thermal bonded100% CATextiles 05 00020 i021Textiles 05 00020 i022Textiles 05 00020 i023Textiles 05 00020 i024
100% rPESTextiles 05 00020 i025Textiles 05 00020 i026Textiles 05 00020 i027Textiles 05 00020 i028
70% LY/30% CATextiles 05 00020 i029Textiles 05 00020 i030Textiles 05 00020 i031Textiles 05 00020 i032
70% LY/30% rPESTextiles 05 00020 i033Textiles 05 00020 i034Textiles 05 00020 i035Textiles 05 00020 i036
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Rodrigues, L.; Medeiros, J.; Marques, R.; Silva, C.J. Lyocell-Based Nonwovens: Mechanical Performance and Biodegradation Analysis. Textiles 2025, 5, 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles5020020

AMA Style

Rodrigues L, Medeiros J, Marques R, Silva CJ. Lyocell-Based Nonwovens: Mechanical Performance and Biodegradation Analysis. Textiles. 2025; 5(2):20. https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles5020020

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rodrigues, Lúcia, João Medeiros, Rita Marques, and Carla J. Silva. 2025. "Lyocell-Based Nonwovens: Mechanical Performance and Biodegradation Analysis" Textiles 5, no. 2: 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles5020020

APA Style

Rodrigues, L., Medeiros, J., Marques, R., & Silva, C. J. (2025). Lyocell-Based Nonwovens: Mechanical Performance and Biodegradation Analysis. Textiles, 5(2), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles5020020

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