Search Results (80)

The accumulation of discarded denim waste in landfills is causing environmental pollution, creating an urgent need for sustainable solutions. This study demonstrates the recycling of denim by extracting the indigo dye and fabricating the treated fabric into a composite to develop eco-friendly and high-performance materials. The waste denim was treated with sodium borohydride under controlled conditions without damaging the fibers. To utilize the denim waste, the decolorized fabric was shredded into fibers and incorporated into two polymer matrices i.e., ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and vinyl acetate, (VA) to fabricate a fiber-reinforced composite. The prepared recycled denim composites were compared with composites based on raw cotton fibers. The surface morphology of the composites was studied through optical microscopy and SEM analysis to examine the structural properties. Mechanical tests including tensile, charpy impact, flexural bending and drop-weight tests were performed to evaluate performance. The results showed that the raw composite had a higher impact strength of 11.5 kJ/m², while the recycled composite had 9.89 kJ/m², showing a slight reduction but maintaining good mechanical strength and lightweight properties suitable for applications such as table tennis rackets, a sustainable sports product, thereby supporting a closed-loop denim recycling approach within a circular economy framework. Full article

This research examines the dyeing of cotton fabric using a natural dye, extracted from Bombax ceiba flowers, aiming primarily to carry out the entire dyeing process without conventional inorganic mordants. The dye was extracted in an alkaline medium, while three agricultural waste-derived bio-mordants, eucalyptus bark, onion peel, and aloe vera peel, were used to enhance the functional textile properties. These natural tannin-based mordants and phenolic mordants enabled the uptake of dye in an efficient way without releasing toxic chemicals, unlike the conventional metallic mordants. Various concentrations of each mordant were used in the preparation of dyed cotton samples, while NaCl was added in different concentrations to boost the exhaustion process. Among the three types of mordants tested, eucalyptus bark provided the best results, giving samples with a high washing fastness (rating of 4–5) and good rubbing fastness (rating of 3–4 on the gray scale). The progressively darker peach colors were achieved by adding more concentration of the eucalyptus mordant. Onion peel-mordanted samples ranged in color from dark yellow to orange, whereas aloe vera led to a unique peach color. Given the inherent antibacterial and antioxidant properties of Bombax ceiba, the dyed fabrics also possessed functional bioactive characteristics, which were further improved by the addition of bio-mordants. Furthermore, the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of the dyed fabric was approximately threefold higher than that of the undyed fabric, indicating a significant enhancement in UV-shielding performance after dyeing. This study conclusively demonstrates that bio-mordants serve as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical mordants, offering excellent colorfastness, diverse aesthetic possibilities, and functional properties, thereby supporting sustainable textile coloration practices. Full article

The escalating global concern over textile waste highlights the need for effective recycling strategies that can convert discarded fabrics into value-added materials. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are promising bio-based nanomaterials that can be recovered from cellulose-rich textile waste. In this study, CNCs were extracted from cotton, polycotton, and linen wastes via direct acid hydrolysis with sulfuric and phosphoric acids at a relatively low acid concentration of 27 wt%. The hydrolysis was conducted at 50 °C for 1 h with a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:20, followed by washing and freeze-drying. The use of 27 wt% acid is significant because it offers a milder hydrolysis route than conventional high-acid CNC extraction methods, thereby reducing chemical consumption and avoiding intensive pretreatment steps such as bleaching, alkali treatment, or delignification. The results showed that CNC yield was strongly influenced by textile composition and acid type, with the highest yield, 90%, obtained from linen waste treated with H₂SO₄. The products obtained were characterized using FE-SEM, particle-size distribution analysis, BET adsorption–desorption isotherms, and BET pore-size distribution. These findings indicate that mild, direct acid hydrolysis can provide a simplified, low-chemical-input pathway for valorizing diverse textile wastes. The approach offers practical implications for industrial textile recycling by reducing processing steps, minimizing chemical inputs, and supporting the development of composition-specific strategies to convert post-consumer textile waste into high-value cellulose-based materials. Although further crystallinity and nanoscale characterization are required, the results demonstrate the feasibility of mild hydrolysis for textile waste valorization. Full article

Functionalized wet-laid nonwovens were developed from recycled cotton fibres, including spinning process residues (SPRs) and cotton fabric scraps (CFSs), blended with refined bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp (BEKP), demonstrating the valorisation of textile waste into high-performance materials. A two-step surface functionalisation strategy was applied, combining spray deposition of a polyamide-amine wet-strength resin with padding using carnauba wax, polyurethane dispersion and their combination. SEM and ATR-FTIR analyses confirmed successful functionalization of the cellulosic nonwovens without affecting their structure. The surface modification induced a hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic transition, with SPR-based nonwovens showing higher contact angles (>130°), lower water uptake and slower liquid penetration. The applied functionalization strategies suppressed liquid strike-through (STT) across both nonwovens’ formulations. Mechanical performance was also enhanced. SPR-based nonwovens modified with the combined agents showed increases of 59% and 90% to 30/70% SPR/BEKP and 70/30% SPR/BEKP, respectively, while CFS-based nonwovens exhibited increases of 148% and 207% for the same formulations. Wet strength was noticeably improved, exceeding instrumental limits in SPR systems functionalized with polyurethane dispersion alone as well as with the combined agents. Therefore, this functionalization strategy effectively overcomes the intrinsic hydrophilicity and wet weakness of cellulosic nonwovens, enabling to be applied in packaging, household and other technical applications, while promoting the circular economy. Full article

High-value recycling of waste cotton-containing fabrics is crucial for the sustainable development of the textile industry. In this study, cotton pulps with different degrees of polymerization (DP = 512–789) from waste polyester/cotton fabrics are systematically evaluated for viscose fiber production. The insolubles in the spinning solution and the effects of DP on its rheological behavior are examined. Based on the mechanical properties of the prepared viscose fibers, the spinning parameters (draw ratio, coagulation bath temperature, and H₂SO₄ concentration) are optimized. The results show that recycled pulps can produce spinning solutions without insolubles, indicating good spinnability and viscoelastic behavior similar to commercial wood pulp. Higher DP increases apparent viscosity and high-frequency elasticity. Under the optimal spinning conditions (draw ratio 1:1.13, coagulation bath temperature 40 °C, and H₂SO₄ concentration 8%), the viscose fibers prepared from recycled cotton pulp with DP = 789 achieve a dry tenacity of 2.31 cN/dtex, which is 37.5% higher than that of wood pulp-based viscose fibers, and exhibit higher elongation at break. This study provides a basis for quality control and process improvement in producing high-tenacity viscose fibers from recycled cotton pulp, paving the way for high-value recycling of waste cotton-containing fabrics. Full article

The water-resistant properties of a chitosan/OCL wax composite were evaluated on cotton fabrics using a dip-coating method. The plant-based wax was extracted from discarded outer cabbage leaves. The influence of the chitosan-to-OCL wax weight ratio on textile properties—including wettability, air permeability, mechanical performance, and stiffness—was systematically investigated. In addition, laundering tests were conducted to assess the durability of the coating. The results demonstrated that the cotton fabric coated with a chitosan/OCL wax composite at a 70/30 weight ratio exhibited the highest hydrophobicity, achieving a water contact angle of 157.87°. The coated cotton fabrics also showed good washing stability. Measurements of bending length and flexural rigidity revealed that cotton fabrics coated with the chitosan/OCL wax composite exhibited greater stiffness than the untreated samples. The combined use of chitosan and OCL wax provided a synergistic enhancement in water-resistant performance. These findings highlight the potential of the chitosan/OCL wax composite as a non-toxic and environmentally friendly finishing agent for cotton fabrics. Full article

The textile and clothing industry exerts a significant environmental impact in the EU, contributing heavily to water, land, and resource depletion, with waste generation expected to rise sharply due to fast fashion trends. Accelerating circularity and closed-loop production is critical to reduce the sector’s ecological footprint. This study investigates newer approaches for the removal of indigo prints from cotton (CO) and polyester (PES) textiles using aqueous-based solutions and/or ozone treatment. Aqueous alkaline solutions containing reducing agents and surfactants were evaluated, as well as dry and wet ozone treatments. The efficacy of colour removal was assessed via spectrophotometric analysis [colour strength (K/S) and colour difference (ΔE)] and the fabrics were tested for dimensional stability and tensile strength before and after treatment. Results reveal that surfactant-assisted aqueous treatments enable effective pigment removal and maintain textile properties, supporting subsequent reprinting for textile upcycling. Wet ozone treatment also promoted substantial decolourisation, particularly in cellulosic substrates. Although PES samples exhibited better mechanical resistance, they revealed limited pigment extraction upon ozone treatment. These findings demonstrate the potential of chemical treatments using aqueous-based solutions and surfactants for circular textile applications, facilitating pigment removal without compromising substrate integrity, and boosting the upcycling. Full article

Conductive thread is an integral aspect of smart textiles in the domain of electronic textiles (e-textiles). This study unveils the development of twelve distinct variants of conductive threads using the twisting method: the fusion of copper filament with cotton and polyester threads. The threads are coated with a carbon paste solution enriched with dissolved sea salt. The carbon paste is obtained from non-functional dry cell batteries, conventionally categorized as hazardous electronic waste (e-waste), which underscores an economically viable and environmentally sustainable approach. Experiments proved that each variant demonstrates minimal electrical resistance. The lowest resistance, 0.0164 ± 0.0001 Ω/cm, was achieved by Carbon-Coated Cotton Twisted Copper Thread-II. Comparative evaluation with commercially available conductive threads, including Bekaert Bekinox^® VN type (12/1x275/100z), indicated comparable or moderately lower resistance values for the developed copper-based threads. Mechanical–electrical stability under bending, twisting, and wash–dry cycles confirmed consistent conductive performance with minimal resistance variation. Practical demonstrations further validated the integration of the threads into fabric-based flexible circuits and wearable electronic systems. These findings demonstrate that twisted copper-based conductive threads derived from sustainable coating materials provide a promising alternative for smart textile and wearable electronic applications. Future research should focus on scalable fabrication, enhanced coating fixation, and long-term durability assessment. Full article

Textile-to-textile recycling is increasingly recognised as essential to reduce the environmental footprint of the textile sector, yet fibre-to-fibre routes remain constrained by complex composition of fibre blends, chemical finishes and the degradation of fibre quality during repeated processing. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recycling strategies for major textile fibres, cotton, polyester, viscose, polyamide, and wool, from a fibre-level perspective, highlighting the relationships between fibre chemistry, structure, and recyclability. Mechanical, chemical, and biological recycling routes are analysed with a particular focus on fibre integrity, yarn and fabric performance, and their suitability for industrial textile applications rather than solely on waste management aspects. The review also examines industrial initiatives and emerging technologies driving the transition towards circular textile systems, critically identifying key barriers such as feedstock heterogeneity, fibre blending, and downcycling. Building on existing review articles on textile recycling, this work synthesises current knowledge on fibre-to-fibre routes, compares different process options in terms of recycled-fibre quality and scalability, and highlights remaining technological and implementation gaps. To advance textile circularity, integrated recycling frameworks are proposed that align material design, process optimisation, and policy instruments. This work contributes a cross-disciplinary understanding of how fibre-level innovation can enable resource-efficient, closed-loop textile production, offering a roadmap for future sustainable materials engineering in industrial textile systems. Full article

Emerging pharmaceutical pollutants such as acetaminophen (ACE) pose health and environmental risks. Solar photocatalysis provides a sustainable and efficient treatment option. In this study, UiO-66-NH₂ metal–organic framework was immobilized on cotton fabrics to enable their application in both batch and continuous flow systems. Cotton, a biodegradable and low-cost support, was first functionalized by two strategies: hydroxylation (-OH) and carboxylation (-COOH), to promote MOF anchoring. Cotton fabric functionalization and MOF growth were confirmed by ATR and X-ray diffraction, while SEM and EDX analyses revealed that carboxylated fibers achieved higher MOF loading. Photocatalytic experiments under simulated solar irradiation demonstrated significantly higher degradation of acetaminophen when the carboxylated cotton fabric-based catalyst (F-COOH-UiO-66-NH₂) was used. Mott–Schottky analysis and band alignment revealed that, under the applied reaction conditions, hydroxyl radical generation was not favored due to the position of the valence band. Studies with scavengers identified the superoxide radical as the dominant oxidative agent responsible for the photodegradation process. In particular, the F-COOH-UiO-66-NH₂ system demonstrated its suitability for application in continuous flow systems, achieving acetaminophen conversion of up to 50% under simulated solar irradiation. This confirms its potential for scalable application in practical water treatment technologies. These results reinforce the feasibility of immobilizing MOF-based photocatalysts on functionalized textile waste, offering a dual-purpose solution that combines the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants with the valorization of waste materials. The synergistic integration of high photocatalytic efficiency, sunlight harvesting and recyclability of the materials underlines the eco-friendly and cost-effective nature of the proposed strategy. Full article

The textile industry is seeking alternative coloration methods to comply with the global demands for eco-friendly and non-hazardous dyes, as synthetic colorants are costly and substantially toxic in nature, having deleterious effects on the environment as well as ecosystems. This research aimed to develop a printed functional cotton fabric using a new bio-based pigment from acacia wood waste (Acacia nilotica) charcoal. Acacia charcoal was ground into fine powder and added into pigment paste with polyacrylic binder and screen printed on cotton fabric, followed by drying and curing. The printed fabric was tested for color strength (K/S), colorfastness, flame resistance, contact angle (for checking the hydrophobicity), thermal insulation, and tensile strength following standard testing protocols. Using different charcoal concentrations (in the range of 0.5–5%), the samples presented light to dark gray color and the K/S value gradually increased from 1.85 (0.5%) to 12.31 (5%), demonstrating stronger color depth. The printed fabrics revealed good results in terms of color fastness ratings (washing 3–5, dry rubbing 3–5, wet rubbing 3–5), satisfactory flame resistance, good thermal insulation, and excellent hydrophobicity. The obtained results contribute to sustainable and durable textile development for achieving better performance. Full article

The construction sector faces increasing pressure to reduce the embodied energy of building materials while valorizing industrial waste streams. This study evaluates the direct incorporation of post-industrial textile waste (100% cotton and cotton–polyester blends) in its native form to develop high-performance cementitious ceiling sheets. Composites were fabricated under a controlled hydraulic compaction pressure of 2.0 MPa, optimized to achieve matrix densification while preserving the integrity of the fibrous network. Viscoelastic recovery of the compressed fibers induced a hierarchical double-porosity architecture characterized by macro-voids and hollow fiber lumens. This microstructural evolution reduced thermal conductivity to 0.091 W/m·K, approximately 50% lower than commercial cement–fiber benchmarks—without compromising mechanical compliance. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed a mechanistic decoupling between water absorption and dimensional stability. Although the CP15 formulation (15 wt.% cotton–polyester) exhibited high moisture uptake (~21%), thickness swelling remained limited to 1.35%. This dimensional stability is attributed to the hydrophobic polyester framework, which bridges microcracks and constrains hygroscopic expansion within the cellulosic phase. The optimized CP15 composite achieved a Modulus of Rupture (MOR) of 8.75 MPa, exceeding ISO 8336 Category C, Class 2 requirements. Despite increased thickness, the areal density (10.84 kg/m²) remains compatible with standard gypsum-grade suspension systems, eliminating the need for structural modification. These findings establish a scalable, direct-valorization strategy for circular construction materials delivering enhanced thermal insulation and robust performance under tropical climatic conditions. Full article

Despite the enormous amounts of waste textiles produced by the world’s textile industry’s explosive growth, resource utilization rates are still poor. Cotton/polyester blended waste fabrics make up a sizable share, and sorting them precisely is essential to increasing recycling value and promoting the circular economy in the textile industry. Traditional mechanical and human sorting techniques are ineffective and inaccurate; current spectral analysis algorithms mainly concentrate on quantitative composition prediction and are insufficiently capable of differentiating between waste fabrics with comparable content gradients. To address these challenges, this paper proposes an improved 1DCNN model (Dual-1DCNN-Residual-SE) integrated with Near-Infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging technology. This model takes raw spectral data and Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing data as dual-channel inputs, introducing residual connections to capture subtle spectral differences between similar fabric categories, and employs SE attention mechanisms to adaptively enhance key features. Comparative experiments with four traditional algorithms—KNN, RF, SVM, and PLS—demonstrate that the proposed model achieves a classification accuracy of 95.94%, surpassing the best traditional algorithm SVM (88.12%) by 7.82%. Ablation experiments confirm each enhanced module’s efficacy. This study achieves high-precision classification of cotton/polyester blended waste fabrics, providing technical support for intelligent sorting of industrial waste fabrics. Full article

Microbial proteases are fundamental towards the eco-sustainability of proteolysis at the industrial scale. A proteolytic broth was obtained from a bioreactor fermentation of a proteolytic Bacillus strain isolated from an industrial alkaline bath. Broth proteolytic activity was applied to leather tanning and to the removal of protein stains. The hide tanned with the microbial proteolytic fermentation broth showed better physical properties than the one tanned with commercial pancreatic proteases of the same activity (780 LVU). Proteinaceous stains on cotton fabric were removed more efficiently using the Bacillus proteolytic broth than water or a commercial detergent. Blood and egg yolk disappeared in less than 30 min. The removal of soya and English sauce stains was even faster. Broth proteolytic activity was characterised by caseinolytic (5200 LVU), collagenolytic (10.0 U mg⁻¹), elastolytic (3.7 U mg⁻¹), and keratinolytic (0.7 U mg⁻¹) activities, which were compared with those of a commonly used commercial protease. Alkaline protease activity in the broth was demonstrated by a 20% increase in caseinolytic activity from pH 5 to 8. Besides the demonstrated applications in the leather and detergent industries, the produced alkaline microbial proteases can also be used in the treatment of proteinaceous wastes and effluents, offering potential environmental benefits reinforcing and impacting the bioeconomy. Full article

The textile industry generates significant volumes of waste, making the development of reliable methods to evaluate biodegradability a pressing need. While standardised protocols exist for plastics, no specific methodologies have been established for textiles, and the quantification of non-degraded residues is commonly based on mass loss: a measurement that is prone to recovery errors. This study investigated the biodegradation of cotton, polyester, and cotton/polyester blend fabrics in soil under thermophilic conditions using a combined methodological approach. Carbon mineralisation was quantified through a respirometric assay that was specifically adapted for textile substrates, while residual solid fractions were assessed in situ by X-ray microtomography (micro-CT), thus avoiding artefacts associated with sample recovery. Complementary analyses were performed using SEM and FTIR to characterise morphological and chemical changes. Results showed substantial biodegradation of cotton, negligible degradation of polyester, and intermediate behaviour for the cotton/polyester blend. Micro-CT enabled the visualisation of fibre fragmentation and the quantification of the residual. The integration of respirometric, imaging, and spectroscopic techniques provided a comprehensive assessment of textile biodegradability. This study highlights the potential of micro-CT as a non-destructive tool to improve the accuracy and robustness of textile biodegradability assessment by enabling direct quantification of the residual solid fraction that can support future LCA studies and the development of standardised protocols for textile biodegradability. Full article