Investigation of Cotton Component Destruction in Cotton/Polyester Blended Textile Waste Materials

Abstract

The recycling technologies of textile industry waste usually are adjusted for materials manufactured of uniform fibers. Unfortunately, usually materials are manufactured of blended chemical and natural fibers to achieve better wearing properties, i. e. abrasion resistance, durability and etc. This paper presents investigation about the destruction of cotton component and easy separation from non-biodegradable polyester. The pre-treatment (soaking in aqueous solutions of reagents) was carried out at different temperatures for blended knitting yarn (50 % cotton / 50 % polyester) waste. The waste was pre-treated by aqueous solutions of reagents: MgCl 2 ; Al 2 (SO 4) 3 , MgCl 2 and Al 2 (SO 4) 3 mixture, MgCl 2 and citric acid mixture at 20, 50, 90 and 130 °C. After the pre-treatment all samples were dried at 102 °C and heat-treated at different temperatures: 150, 160 and 180 °C. The investigation results showed that the highest degradation rate (95.47 %) of cotton component from 50 % cotton / 50 % polyester blended knitting yarn waste was achieved by using the pre-treatment at 20 °C temperature by aqueous solution of 20 g/l MgCl 2 and 4 g/l Al 2 (SO 4) 3 mixture and heattreatment of dry samples at 180 °C temperature.

Cellulose Regeneration and Chemical Recycling: Closing the “Cellulose Gap” Using Environmentally Benign Solvents

“…Pretreatment with MgCl 2 /citric acid at 130 °C followed by heating at 180 °C gave cotton depolymerization yield of 91.4%. [202] Rather than depolymerize the cellulose component in polycotton (35/65%, cotton/PET), the biopolymer was "extracted" from the blend via acetylation; leading to cellulose acetate (CA) and PET. Polycotton was cut into stripes, grinded into powder, acetylated with a mixture of acetic anhydride (anhydride/AGU molar ratio = 20/1) and N-methylimidazolium bisulfate catalyst, at 100 °C for 12 h, followed by product (CA plus PET) precipitation in ethanol.…”

“…Pretreatment with MgCl 2 /citric acid at 130 °C followed by heating at 180 °C gave cotton depolymerization yield of 91.4%. [ 202 ]…”

Sustainability of bioplastics: Opportunities and challenges

“…Non-biodegradability of petroleum-based synthetic plastic leads to the gathering of more plastic waste which promotes the major environmental impacts like global warming potential, carcinogenic, ozone depletion, eco-toxicity and eutrophication [22]. Accumulation of huge amount of plastic waste in environment forces many industrial fields to generate biodegradable plastic [23]. Biodegradability of these prepared polymers follows three key steps: biodeterioration, biofragmentation and assimilation [24].…”

Parameters Affecting the Upcycling of Waste Cotton and PES/CO Textiles

“…A study by Vasconcelos and Cavaco suggests that the maximum amount of weight loss in a cotton fabric due to mechanical washing is 45% [35]. Research carried out to study the degradation of cotton from the cotton polyester blended fabrics suggests that 57% of the cotton will degrade in very rigorous and harsh mechanical conditions [36]. The observed mechanical properties of the waste fibers are not sufficient to upcycle them.…”