Open and closed-loop recycling of textile and apparel products

Textile waste is a significant contributor to landfill yet the majority of textiles can be recycled, allowing for the energy and fibre to be reclaimed. This chapter examines the open-loop and closed loop recycling of textile products with particular reference to the fashion and apparel context. It describes the fibres used within apparel, the current mechanical and chemical methods for textile recycling, LCA findings for each method, and applications within apparel for each. Barriers for more effective recycling include ease of integration into existing textile and apparel design methods as well as coordinated collection of post-consumer waste. The chapter concludes with a discussion of innovations that point to future trends in both open-loop and closed-loop recycling within the apparel industry.

Harvest: A biotextile future

- Description of the work Harvest: A biotextile future consists of four bags constructed from kombucha, each utilizing a different approach to this material. The kombucha material is a byproduct of the fermented green tea, kombucha, and is comprised of a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) that forms a fast growing curd or pellicle on the surface of the tea. This pellicle is harvested, washed, and dried to make a material with characteristics that can range between leather and paper in handle. The pellicle is one hundred per cent cellulose, with the individual fibres growing together to produce a durable and strong non-woven textile. Techniques explored with the dry kombucha material include folding, stitching, and laser etching. The final bags were designed with reference to classic tropes of fashion accessories: the briefcase, the clutch, the valise and the handbag. The valise included three jars in which the kombucha was displayed as ‘growing’ within the bag. - Research Background This work sits within an emerging field of practice in which fashion design intersects with biotechnology. Designers such as Suzanne Lee have explored constructing garments from bacteria byproducts, and bio-artists Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr have created ‘victimless leather’ grown from cultured cells. Although still speculative, these collaborations between science and design point to new material applications for fashion. Our work contributes to this area through testing both the growing of the textile and its application to construct durable fashion artefacts. - Research Contribution Harvest: A biotextile future makes two contributions to new knowledge in the area of design for sustainability within fashion. The first contribution lies in extending the technical experimentation required to grow and manipulate the textile. For the briefcase, the pattern shape was ‘grown’ into the required shape, using a shaped container. Other techniques used in the bags included weaving, folding and laser etching the material to extend its functional and decorative properties. Experimentation with the growing and drying of the material led to the production of a wide range of physical properties, in which the material was more brittle or flexible as required. The second research contribution lies in the proposal of this material for use in durable fashion accessories. The material is still speculative and small-scale in production, however the four bags illustrate the potential for kombucha as a biodegradable alternative to leather or synthetic materials. - Research Significance This interplay of science and design research opens up an exploration for a speculative future of sustainable, biodegradable textiles using live bacteria to enable ‘homegrown’ vegan apparel. The collaborators on this project include scientist Peter Musk and fashion designers Alice Payne and Dean Brough. Harvest: A biotextile future was exhibited at the State Library of Queensland’s Asia Pacific Design Library, 1-5 November 2015, as part of The International Association of Societies of Design Research’s (IASDR) biannual design conference. The work was chosen for display by a panel of experts, based on the criteria of design innovation and contribution to new knowledge in design.

Development and evaluation of a novel integrated anti-icing/de-icing technology for carbon fibre composite aerostructures using an electro-conductive textile

The preliminary evaluation is described of a new electro-thermal anti-icing/de-icing device for carbon fibre composite aerostructures. The heating element is an electro-conductive carbon-based textile (ECT) by Gorix. Electrical shorting between the structural carbon fibres and the ECT was mitigated by incorporating an insulating layer formed of glass fibre plies or a polymer film. A laboratory-based anti-icing and de-icing test program demonstrated that the film-insulated devices yielded better performance than the glssass fibre insulated ones. The heating capability after impact damage was maintained as long as the ECT fabric was not breached to the extent of causing electrical shorting. A modified structural scarf repair was shown to restore the heating capacity of a damaged specimen.

Marine Bacteria As Source Of Pigment For Application As Dye In Textile Industry

The textile industry is one amongst the rapidly growing industries world wide, which utilizes enormous amounts of synthetic dyes. Consequently, the effluent from these textile industries poses serious threat to the environment which is often very difficult to treat and dispose. This has become a very grave problem in environment conservation and hence natural pigments have drawn the attention of industry as safe alternative. In this context, in the present study an attempt was made to bioprospect marine bacteria towards isolation of a suitable and ideal pigment that could be used as a natural dye. A marine Serratia sp. BTWJ8 was recognized to synthesize enormous amounts of a prodigiosin-like pigment. The pigment was isolated and characterized for various properties. The pigment was evaluated for application as a dye in the textile industry. Results of the studies indicated that this pigment could be used as a natural dye for imparting red-yellow colour to various grades of textile materials. The colour was observed to be stable after wash performance studies

Modificació de fibres de jute per l'elaboració de plàstics reforçats reciclables

El treball que s'ha dut a terme es centra en la recerca d'agents modificants per a fibres cel·lulòsiques capaços de reduir la polaritat de les funcions alcohol de la seva estructura per formació de funcions ester. Les fibres de jute se sotmeten a reacció en un sistema tancat provist d'atmòsfera de nitrogen a fi d'evitar reaccions laterals que no són del nostre interés.L'obtenció dels resultats perseguits està lligat a les condicions experimentals aplicades durant les reaccions. La influència de les diferents variables escollides facilitarà en major o menor grau la reacció entre les molècules d'agent d'acoblament i cel·lulosa vinculades. Una gran part de l'atenció es centrarà en l'estudi de l'etapa de modificació, sobretot en l'efectivitat dels reactius addicionats per la reacció amb els grups hidroxil. Un cop comparats els experiments realitzats tant amb clorur d'oleïl com amb anhídrid metacrílic, es conclou que la majoria de condicions provades permeten assolir valors de modificació prou significatius. L'excepció ve donada quan la temperatura utilitzada és de 20ºC, llavors les mateixes condicions que a una temperatura de 60ºC condueixen cap a resultats poc satisfactoris. La reactivitat per part dels dos agents d'acoblament utilitzats no ha estat la mateixa. Els resultats per condicions experimentals del mateix tipus han conduït cap a valors força diferents. Pel que fa a la determinació dels paràmetres òptims es conclou que les variables amb les que el grau de modificació millora considerablement són: una temperatura de 60ºC, 10% de catalitzador respecte la quantitat de clorur d'oleïl o anhídrid addicionada, relació OH reactiu estequiomètrica 1:1 i 40mL de solvent. Un cop modificada la fibra, se sotmet a reacció amb el monòmer estirè. Es comprova que el grau de polimerització segueix el valor de modificació prèviament obtingut, a menor quantitat de funcions alcohol lliures major interacció amb el monòmer estirè. Les propietats inicials de la fibra no es corresponen amb les obtingudes després del tractament, l'increment de la resistència a l'atac de microorganismes i a l'absorció d'humitat s'explica per una reducció de la presència de funcions alcohol polars i per la capa d'estirè polimeritzat per unió amb els dobles enllaços introduïts amb els agents d'acoblament. Pel que fa referència a les dues tècniques de caracterització més utilitzades, l'anàlisis elemental permet quantificar d'una manera precisa la reacció de la fibra amb els agents d'acoblament i la posterior reacció de la fibra modificada amb el monòmer estirè. La caracterització per espectroscopia d'infraroig permet comprovar qualitativament la reactivitat del clorur d'oleïl i qualitativament-quantitativament la de l'anhídrid metacrílic amb les funcions alcohol de la cel·lulosa present en les fibres de jute. Els pics més característics apareguts seran utilitzats per avaluar la reactivitat de la funció carbonílica del reactiu modificant amb l'estructura cel·lulòsica i del doble enllaç de la cel·lulosa modificada amb la matriu polimèrica.

Characterization of conducting polymer coated synthetic fabrics for heat generation

Heat generation in fabrics coated with the conductive polymer polypyrrole was investigated. The PET fabrics were coated by chemical synthesis using four different oxidizing agent–dopant combinations. The samples from the four different dopant systems all show an increase in temperature when a fixed voltage is applied to the fabric. The antraquinone-2-sulfonic acid (AQSA) sodium salt doped polypyrrole coating was the most effective in heat generation whereas the sodium perchlorate dopant system was the least effective. The power density per unit area achieved in polypyrrole coated polyester–Lycra® fabric with 0.027 mol/l of AQSA acting as dopant was 430 W/m². The power density per unit area achieved for the sodium perchlorate system, using the same synthesis conditions, was 55 W/m².

Determining residual gum content of bast fibres

The measurement of fibre quality in bast fibres is related to the amount of gum (lignin, hemicellulose, wax and pectin) left in the fibre after the retting process. Large amounts of gums present represent poor separation of fibre. Efficiency of retting can be monitored by measuring the residual gum content of the retted fibre.

This paper investigated the use of ultrasonic vibration combined with chemical retting as a pre-treatment to improve accuracy of traditional residual gum content test. Work was conducted on chemically retted hemp fibre. Pre-treatment conditions were analysed by determining the best chemical combination, chemical concentration and treatment time. Fibres were examined for successful separation using optical microscopy and optical fibre diameter analysis (OFDA). The work proposed a new method for determining the residual gum content of hemp fibre.

Changes in fibre curvature during the processing of wool and alpaca fibres and their blends

This paper studied the wool and alpaca fibre curvature and its variation during the fibre processing. It revealed the effect of wool fibre crimp on the cohesion properties of alpaca and wool blended slivers. Different wool and alpaca tops were blended via a number of gillings, and the role of wool fibre curvature in alpaca/wool blend processing has also been investigated. During the wool fibre processing, fibre curvature tended to diminish gradually from scoured fibre to top. Blending wool with alpaca fibres improved the cohesion properties of the blended sliver, compared with pure alpaca slivers. For a high ratio of alpaca component in the blend, a high-crimp wool should be used to achieve good sliver cohesion.

Bamboo fibres and their unique properties

This paper collates the different properties of bamboo fibres as claimed by bamboo fibre and product manufacturers. The available information suggests that bamboo fibres have unique properties such as excellent appearance and feel, natural antibacterial, UV-shielding and moisture-controlling characteristics. Hence bamboo fibres provide a very promising alternative to other natural fibres by virtue of their novel properties. However, those properties may largely depend on the manufacturing process, which is not widely disclosed. Moreover, common manufacturing process may require the use of a large amount of chemicals and hence further process development may be required in order to make the product truly eco-friendly. It is identified that the data of those unique properties rarely appear in scientific journals and the validity of those claims can be speculative. Therefore, there is a strong need for non-biased scientific research and evaluation on the unique properties of bamboo fibres.

Tensile behaviour of non-uniform fibres and fibrous composites

This work investigates the tensile behaviour of non-uniform fibres and fibrous composites. Wool fibres are used as an example of non-uniform fibres because they're physical, morphological and geometrical properties vary greatly not only between fibres but also within a fibre. The focus of this work is on the effect of both between-fibre and within-fibre diameter variations on fibre tensile behaviour. In addition, fit to the Weibull distribution by the non-brittle and non-uniform visco-elastic wool fibres is examined, and the Weibull model is developed further for non-uniform fibres with diameter variation along the fibre length. A novel model fibre composite is introduced to facilitate the investigation into the tensile behaviour of fibre-reinforced composites. This work first confirms that for processed wool, its coefficient of variation in break force can be predicted from that of minimum fibre diameters, and the prediction is better for longer fibres. This implies that even for processed wool, fibre breakage is closely associated with the occurrence of thin sections along a fibre, and damage to fibres during processing is not the main cause of fibre breakage. The effect of along-fibre diameter variation on fibre tensile behaviour of scoured wool and mohair is examined next. Only wet wool samples were examined in the past. The extensions of individual segments of single non-uniform fibres are measured at different strain levels. An important finding is the maximum extension (%) (Normally at the thinnest section) equals the average fibre extension (%) plus the diameter variation (CV %) among the fibre segments. This relationship has not been reported before. During a tensile test, it is only the average fibre extension that is measured. The third part of this work is on the applicability of Weibull distribution to the strength of non-uniform visco-elastic wool fibres. Little work has been done for wool fibres in this area, even though the Weibull model has been widely applied to many brittle fibres. An improved Weibull model incorporating within-fibre diameter variations has been developed for non-uniform fibres. This model predicts the gauge length effect more accurately than the conventional Weibull model. In studies of fibre-reinforced composites, ideal composite specimens are usually prepared and used in the experiments. Sample preparation has been a tedious process. A novel fibre reinforced composite is developed and used in this work to investigate the tensile behaviour of fibre-reinforced composites. The results obtained from the novel composite specimen are consistent with that obtained from the normal specimens.

Nano related research in fibres and textiles

With the increasing hype surrounding what nanotechnology can actually deliver, research emphasis in this area needs to be placed on how nanotechnology can bring tangible benefits to existing industries and ordinary consumers. This paper gives selected examples of real world applications of nano-structured materials, including nano fibrous and particulate materials. It reviews recent research into nano-structured surface coating of textile substrates for enhanced functionalities, and the development of fine and uniform nanofibres for advanced applications. Emphasis has been placed on relevant research activities in the Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation at Deakin University, Australia. In the nano-structured surface coating area, several examples of enhancing fabric performance and functionality are provided, including silica coating for photochromic textiles, superhydrophobic surface coating and transparent ZnO coating to reduce colour fading of textiles exposed to UV radiation. In the nanofibre area, these activities include: elimination of beaded fibres without increasing the average diameter of the electrospun nanofibres, electrospinning of side-by-side bi-component nanofibres, new insight into the evolution of fibre morphology in electrospinning and the electrospinning technology itself.

Study on dehairing of Australian cashmere fibres

Dehairing is the process that removes coarse hair and other impurities from a cashmere fleece in order to obtain luxury fine cashmere fibres. This study has examined and optimised the machine settings on a locally produced cashmere dehairing unit which has led to improvement in the quality of dehaired cashmere fibres. The improved dehairing unit is now in commercial use, adding significant value to the local cashmere industry.