Improving Mechanical Textile Recycling by Lubricant Pre-Treatment to Mitigate Length Loss of Fibers

Katarina Lindström, Therese Sjöblom, Anders Persson and Nawar Kadi
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Katarina Lindström: Department of Textile Technology, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden
Therese Sjöblom: Department of Textile Technology, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden
Anders Persson: Department of Textile Technology, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden
Nawar Kadi: Department of Textile Technology, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-13

Abstract: Although there has been some research on how to use short fibers from mechanically recycled textiles, little is known about how to preserve the length of recycled fibers, and thus maintain their properties. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a pre-treatment with lubricant could mitigate fiber length reduction from tearing. This could facilitate the spinning of a 100% recycled yarn. Additionally, this study set out to develop a new test method to assess the effect of lubricant loading. Inter-fiber cohesion was measured in a tensile tester on carded fiber webs. We used polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 aqueous solution as a lubricant to treat fibers and woven fabrics of cotton, polyester (PES), and cotton/polyester. Measurements of fiber length and percentage of unopened material showed the harshness and efficiency of the tearing process. Treatment with PEG 4000 decreased inter-fiber cohesion, reduced fiber length loss, and facilitated a more efficient tearing process, especially for PES. The study showed that treating fabric with PEG enabled rotor spinning of 100% recycled fibers. The inter-fiber cohesion test method suggested appropriate lubricant loadings, which were shown to mitigate tearing harshness and facilitate fabric disintegration in recycling.

Keywords: textile recycling; yarn spinning; inter-fiber cohesion; lubricant; mechanical tearing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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