Microfibers Released into the Air from a Household Tumble Dryer

Zhang, Kai

doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00911

Cited by 49 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…However, these were focused on fiber collection by the lint filter, and it was not clear whether they used a vented or condenser dryer as the specific dryer model number was not given, only that it was from the Bosch Series 4 range of appliances which includes both types of dryer. A very recent report [ 26 ] concluded that tumble dryers release 433,128–561,810 microfibers to air during 15 minutes of use corresponding to an annual release of between 9 x 10 7 to 12 x 10 7 microfibers from an average Canadian household. This was reported to be greater than the quantity of fibers released by washing machines, although no actual comparison is made with the same fabric load.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of fabric conditioning products and lint filter pore size on airborne microfiber pollution arising from tumble drying

et al. 2022

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Vented tumble dryers release moist warm air from the drying process to the external environment, usually through pipework linking the appliance to a vent in an exterior wall. Although such dryers contain a lint filter to remove fibers from this air stream, recent reports suggest that this process is incomplete, leading to microfibers being released in the ducted warm air and subsequently polluting the external environment. Microfiber release from wash loads comprising 10 100% cotton and 10 100% polyester T-shirts (total load mass ratio 48% cotton, 52% polyester) was measured at different stages of the washing and drying process to compare the quantities of fibers released ‘down the drain’, collected in the dryer lint filter, and released to air from the tumble dryer. Testing under both European and North American washing conditions found that the quantities of microfibers released to air during tumble drying were significant and comparable to levels released ‘down the drain’ during washing. Use of conventional rinse-added liquid fabric conditioner increased microfiber accumulation on the dryer lint filter, with reduced release from the dryer exhaust observed at the highest fabric conditioner dose tested (21.6% and 14.2% reduction under North American and European conditions, respectively). Conventional liquid fabric conditioner did not significantly impact microfiber release from the washing machine, in line with previous studies. A fabric conditioner specially designed for anti-wrinkle performance reduced microfiber release from the dryer exhaust at all levels tested (by 17.6–35.6%, depending on dose), apparently by increasing the efficiency of microfiber accumulation in the lint filter. Tumble dryer sheets were also found to cause a reduction in microfiber release from the dryer exhaust (by 14.1–34.9%, depending on the dose/product), likely driven by collection of liberated fibers on the sheet during the drying process. The use of both antiwrinkle liquid fabric conditioner and dryer sheet enabled a 44.9% reduction in microfiber emissions from the dryer exhaust. In all studies, the fiber mass collected on the lint filter or emitted from the dryer exhaust was richer in cotton fibers (range 83.4–96.3% on the lint filter, 93.0–99.8% from the dryer exhaust) than the wash load composition (48% cotton). Moreover, fibers collected by the lint filter contained a higher proportion of polyester than emissions from the dryer exhaust (range 3.7–16.6% on the lint filter, 0.2–7.0% from the dryer exhaust). There is significant variation in the porosity of lint filters among installed vented tumble dryers. Single-variable testing of the impact of lint filter design concluded that reducing screen pore size significantly reduces airborne microfiber release during tumble drying; a reduction in lint filter pore size from 0.2 mm2 to 0.04 mm2 reduced release by 34.8%. As some lint filters have pore sizes of around 1 mm2, there is enormous scope to reduce microfiber release from dryers though improved lint filter design. However, it is suggested that a step-change in appliance design away from vented dryers to only fully-sealed condenser dryers might be necessary to eliminate the contribution of tumble drying to airborne microfiber pollution.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of fabric conditioning products and lint filter pore size on airborne microfiber pollution arising from tumble drying

et al. 2022

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“…From an analytical point of view, Hidalgo-Ruz et al [99] suggested differentiating MPs of 500 μm-5 mm and < 500 μm since the first fraction is suitable for visual sorting and spectroscopic techniques are required to differentiate the second category. Numerous studies have demonstrated the ubiquitous presence of the two size fractions of microplastics in the environment, including water [100], soil [60] and air [101]. The measurement of MPs with different size ranges has also been summarized by a series of review articles [102].…”

Section: Sizesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coronas of micro/nano plastics: a key determinant in their risk assessments

et al. 2022

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As an emerging pollutant in the life cycle of plastic products, micro/nanoplastics (M/NPs) are increasingly being released into the natural environment. Substantial concerns have been raised regarding the environmental and health impacts of M/NPs. Although diverse M/NPs have been detected in natural environment, most of them display two similar features, i.e.,high surface area and strong binding affinity, which enable extensive interactions between M/NPs and surrounding substances. This results in the formation of coronas, including eco-coronas and bio-coronas, on the plastic surface in different media. In real exposure scenarios, corona formation on M/NPs is inevitable and often displays variable and complex structures. The surface coronas have been found to impact the transportation, uptake, distribution, biotransformation and toxicity of particulates. Different from conventional toxins, packages on M/NPs rather than bare particles are more dangerous. We, therefore, recommend seriously consideration of the role of surface coronas in safety assessments. This review summarizes recent progress on the eco–coronas and bio-coronas of M/NPs, and further discusses the analytical methods to interpret corona structures, highlights the impacts of the corona on toxicity and provides future perspectives.

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“…The drying process is another important source of MFs release (Kapp and Miller 2020 ). A household tumble dryer could release 433,128 (cotton) and 561,810 (polyester) microfibers in 15 min; the annual release of microfibers by a dryer may be even greater than the number of microfibers released through washing (Tao et al 2022 ). Although many literatures reported the release of MFs to the air, little attention has been paid to the additives on MFs.…”

Section: Release Of Additives From (Micro)plastic Fibersmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Chemical Additives on (Micro)Plastic Fibers: Occurrence, Release, and Health Risks

Chen

Zhang

et al. 2022

Reviews Env.Contamination (formerly:Residue Reviews)

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Plastic fibers are ubiquitous in daily life with additives incorporated to improve their performance. Only a few restrictions exist for a paucity of common additives, while most of the additives used in textile industry have not been clearly regulated with threshold limits. The production of synthetic fibers, which can shed fibrous microplastics easily (< 5 mm) through mechanical abrasion and weathering, is increasing annually. These fibrous microplastics have become the main composition of microplastics in the environment. This review focuses on additives on synthetic fibers; we summarized the detection methods of additives, compared concentrations of different additive types (plasticizers, flame retardants, antioxidants, and surfactants) on (micro)plastic fibers, and analyzed their release and exposure pathways to environment and human beings. Our prediction shows that the amounts of predominant additives (phthalates, organophosphate esters, bisphenols, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and nonylphenol ethoxylates) released from clothing microplastic fibers (MFs) are estimated to reach 35, 10, 553, 0.4, and 568 ton/year to water worldwide, respectively; and 119, 35, 1911, 1.4, and 1965 ton/year to air, respectively. Human exposure to MF additives via inhalation is estimated to be up to 4.5–6440 µg/person annually for the above five additives, and via ingestion 0.1–204 µg/person. Notably, the release of additives from face masks is nonnegligible that annual human exposure to phthalates, organophosphate esters, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from masks via inhalation is approximately 491–1820 µg/person. This review helps understand the environmental fate and potential risks of released additives from (micro)plastic fibers, with a view to providing a basis for future research and policy designation of textile additives. Graphical Abstract

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Microfibers Released into the Air from a Household Tumble Dryer

Cited by 49 publications

References 53 publications

The impact of fabric conditioning products and lint filter pore size on airborne microfiber pollution arising from tumble drying

The impact of fabric conditioning products and lint filter pore size on airborne microfiber pollution arising from tumble drying

Coronas of micro/nano plastics: a key determinant in their risk assessments

An Overview of Chemical Additives on (Micro)Plastic Fibers: Occurrence, Release, and Health Risks

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