Thermoset composites reinforced with recycled cotton textile residues

Abstract

The recycling of textiles is an issue that requires immediate attention in order to address the management of textiles derived from household waste, as well as scraps generated throughout manufacturing textile processes. The present study aimed to produce composites employing three different types of thermoset resins (epoxy, polyester orthophthalic and polyurethane) reinforced with recycled cotton textile residues on which tensile tests were carried out. The incorporation of 30% (v/v) of textile reinforcement in composites made from the specific epoxy resin employed in the present study showed an increase of approximately 2-fold relative to pure resin tenacity and Young's modulus (respectively from 0.09 to 0.16 MPa and from 0.5 to 1.2 MPa). For composites made of orthophthalic polyester resin, an increase was observed of 2-fold relative to pure resin tenacity and 3-fold relative to Young's modulus (respectively from 6.5 to 13.8 MPa and from 193 to 772 MPa). No significant alterations were observed for these parameters in polyurethane resin composites (16 MPa for tenacity and near 700 MPa for Young's modulus) probably because the modulus value supplied by the fraction of cotton fiber is not as significant as that one from the pure polyurethane resin. Two propositions of fashion accessories were made by employing these composite materials. Also, the artworks of renowned Brazilian designers, namely, Campana Brothers and R. Sobral, were analyzed to develop the artwork of such accessories for the present "documentation process". Thus in the present study aesthetic and technical aspects are analyzed together covering all production phases of material, processes, creation and design of final product.

Mechanical properties of all-cellulose composites from end-of-life textiles

“…An overview of the tensile modulus and strength of the ACCs compared to the results of other studies is shown in Fig. 5 [4,10,15,20,[29][30][31]. In brief, the tensile strength for the obtained ACCs in this study ranged from 25 to 29 MPa with an E-modulus from 2.5 to 4.3 GPa which were considerably higher than the values of ACCs reinforced by cotton being reported by Shibata et al [20].…”

“…The linen fabrics were processed to separate the polyester and cotton fibres by a first treatment with 10 N H 2 SO 4 , which was followed by a subsequent mechanical treatment. A detailed description of the process is found elsewhere [11]. The treatment gave a heterogeneous mixture consisting of a cotton suspension and solid polyester fibres.…”

“…A large amount of the textile wastes are fabrics made of cotton [4,5]. To produce 1 kg of cotton which approximately equals a pair of jeans and one T-shirt, more than 20,000 l of water and a lot of pesticides are used to ensure a good harvest.…”

“…Denim jeans are among the most popular clothing textiles in the world consumer's demand and a significant part of global cotton production is be applied for denim fabric production [6]. The potential value of cotton textile waste as a source for textile reinforcements for the production of cost-effective and composites has been investigated [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Structural and mechanically strong composites would an excellent application area for the recycled cotton materials, as composites are durable and light-weight products, with good mechanical properties.…”

Eco-Friendly Design and Realization of a Bioflax Bag (Bfb) by Infusion Technology

“…Therefore, natural fiber composites currently represent one of the emerging areas in polymer science and technology for various end-use applications [7].…”