Impact of conventional and modified ring-spun yarn structures on the generation and release of fragmented fibers (microfibers) during abrasive wear and laundering

Abstract

The abrasive wear of textiles during ordinary use and laundering results in fiber damage, which leads to the generation and release of fragmented fibers (FFs). Ring-spun yarn has a dominant share of about 70% of global spun yarn production. The effect of conventional and modified ring yarn structures (compact, SIRO and SIRO-compact) on FF release from cotton textiles during repeated abrasion and laundering was studied. All prepared cotton yarns and textiles are industrially and commercially relevant. The FFs formed during each abrasion and washing cycle were collected from textiles and quantified. The yarn tensile properties and fabric frictional characteristics were employed to explain the release of FFs. For the first time, the morphology of collected FF ends was associated with the fiber damage nature (granulated and fibrillated) induced by different types of stresses and experimental exposure conditions. The results demonstrated that modified ring yarn structures released a significantly lower FF mass as compared to conventional ring yarn structures. The tensile strength was decreased, and breaking elongation increased after repeated abrasion and washing. The fabric surface properties were also affected by abrasion and laundering. The yarn structure choices impact the amount of released FFs, which are dispersed into the environment as a pollutant or a carrier of pollutants with potential hazards to the health of the environment and living organisms.

Investigation of ring, airjet and rotor spun yarn structures on the fragmented fibers (microplastics) released from polyester textiles during laundering

“…A higher release of FF mass is noted during the pre-wash for each type of fabric despite adding no steel balls, as compared to the first wash cycle, which continues to decrease in subsequent cycles. It has been reported in multiple research studies that the release of FFs is decreased with the increasing number of washing cycles, reaching a plateau at the fifth cycle 3 , 7 , 10 , 28 , 29 ; therefore, the data from the pre-wash and every alternate wash cycle until the fifth wash cycle were considered in this study. As per Figure 2 , ring spun fabric generally releases a higher mass of FFs as compared to airjet and rotor fabrics during each washing cycle; however, this difference among the extracted mass of samples was found to be reduced from the third wash cycle onwards.…”

“…The structure not only affects the properties but also is likely to be an important parameter influencing the generation and release of FFs from textiles. 10 Most of the previous washing studies have very limited control over the textile materials and manufacturing processes. However, in the current study, bespoke textiles were developed by employing PET fibers of the same specifications in a controlled pilot-scale textile manufacturing process to undertake a realistic comparison of the yarn structure on the release of FFs from textiles.…”

“… 8 Synthetic fibers account for approximately 60% of the global consumption of textiles fibers. 9 The share of polyester (PET) fiber alone accounts for more than 54% in the global textile industry, 10 which is expected to grow in the coming years. 11 Therefore, PET is considered an important textile fiber, and most of the previous laundering studies primarily focus on PET fabrics.…”

“…the way constituent fibers are geometrically arranged and bound in the yarn body) not only affects its properties but also the generation and release of FFs from textiles, as disclosed in a recent study. 10 Staple spun yarns are dominantly used in the manufacturing of apparels and home textiles, accounting for 45% of global yarn production. 19 The geometrical arrangement of fibers in the yarn depends on the spun yarn manufacturing system.…”

Investigating the effect of different filaments and yarn structures on mechanical and physical properties of dual-core elastane composite yarns

“…Siro-spun yarns are reported to exhibit improved mechanical and physical properties compared with simple ring-spun non-siro yarns [ 20 , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] ]. Siro yarn structures have been found to release relatively fewer fibers during washing and abrasive wear [ 26 ]. The surface characteristics of fibers and filaments can also influence fiber cohesion.…”