A Glance at Novel Materials, from the Textile World to Environmental Remediation

Abstract

In the current state of the art, textile products and materials generate a significant environmental impact since they are not managed under a circular economy paradigm. It is urgent to define new sustainable paths in the textiles industry by setting up materials, technologies, processes, and business models to reuse and recycle textiles production waste and End-of-Life textiles. In this direction, taking advantage of textile-related materials, especially from renewable and waste resources, for depollution purposes appears very promising since it enables re-use, but it also supports secondary applications with a high sustainability impact. This review collects and describes possible adsorption, filtration and purification capabilities of (i) various functionalized textiles, (ii) biopolymers constituting the natural fibers (cellulose, keratin, fibroin) and (iii) textile-derived active carbons and biochar, in order to provide a structured framework for the systemic exploitation of the depollution potential of waste textiles. The correlations among the type of textile materials, the physical-chemical treatments, and the characteristics influencing the performances of such materials as decontaminating tools will be underlined.

Cellulose-based waste in a close loop: adsorbent for dyes removal from textile industry wastewater

“…These synthetic fibers can be the source of plastic microfibers, representing a significant and unique group of microplastics that have a dramatic environmental impact [1,2]. The way to decrease the negative impact of textile waste on the environment is the transition of textile production from a linear to a circular economy [3] by implementing different mechanisms, such as reuse, redesign, and recycling [4][5][6][7]. 2 In that manner, the solid textile waste can be used as adsorbents for purification of wastewater discharged from textile production, and loaded by various chemicals used for finishing, dying, increasing fineness, or improving the properties of fibers.…”

Behavior of polypyrrole-coated cotton fabric undergoing biodegradation in compost-enriched soil

“…On the contrary, natural fibers, which come from plants or animals, are renewable thanks to their biological origin and exhibit biodegradability in their natural forms, taking weeks to years to disintegrate in a landfill [4,15]. In particular, cotton, the most widely used natural fiber available, is composed of cellulose, a biodegradable polymer that consists of glucose monomers linked together by β-glycosidic linkages [16,17].…”