Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse
In recent years, the surge in production of polyethylene terephthalate, also known as polyester, has resulted in a large amount of waste polyester-based textiles. Traditional incineration and landfilling methods can cause serious harm to the environment, while existing recycling methods have deep-ro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Polymer Testing |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941825001886 |
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| author | Wang Hou Veronika Tunáková Shi Hu Dan Wang Jakub Wiener Ludmila Fridrichová Jana Novotná Xiuling Zhang |
| author_facet | Wang Hou Veronika Tunáková Shi Hu Dan Wang Jakub Wiener Ludmila Fridrichová Jana Novotná Xiuling Zhang |
| author_sort | Wang Hou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, the surge in production of polyethylene terephthalate, also known as polyester, has resulted in a large amount of waste polyester-based textiles. Traditional incineration and landfilling methods can cause serious harm to the environment, while existing recycling methods have deep-rooted shortcomings, making the disposal of waste polyester an urgent problem to be solved. A new mechanical recycling method for waste polyester-based fabrics is proposed in this article. The effect of cutting mill parameters (number of cutting times, cassette perforation dimension) on the size of particles mechanically decomposed from waste fabric was analyzed. For a description of the particle size, the sieving methodology was chosen. It was found that both selected factors have statistically significant effect on particle size. As the number of cutting times increases, the particle size decreases, and using larger perforation sieve cassette results in larger particle sizes. To separate and recover polyester and other components from mechanically decomposed polyester-based waste fabrics, two methods were proposed and explored. The separation effectivity of different material components was evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Mechanical decomposition of polyester blend textiles offers a low-pollution and efficient recycling method, making it promising for textile waste management. This approach shows strong potential for industrial scalability, offering a feasible and environmentally friendly solution for large-scale textile waste recycling. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9f3f2dd953e243d087380ab30a2ceebe |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1873-2348 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymer Testing |
| spelling | doaj-art-9f3f2dd953e243d087380ab30a2ceebe2025-08-20T02:00:52ZengElsevierPolymer Testing1873-23482025-08-0114910887410.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108874Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuseWang Hou0Veronika Tunáková1Shi Hu2Dan Wang3Jakub Wiener4Ludmila Fridrichová5Jana Novotná6Xiuling Zhang7Department of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech Republic; Corresponding author.Department of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech RepublicDepartment of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech RepublicDepartment of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech RepublicDepartment of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech RepublicDepartment of Textile Evaluation, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studenska, 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech RepublicDepartment of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech RepublicDepartment of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 1402/2, 461 17, Liberec, Czech RepublicIn recent years, the surge in production of polyethylene terephthalate, also known as polyester, has resulted in a large amount of waste polyester-based textiles. Traditional incineration and landfilling methods can cause serious harm to the environment, while existing recycling methods have deep-rooted shortcomings, making the disposal of waste polyester an urgent problem to be solved. A new mechanical recycling method for waste polyester-based fabrics is proposed in this article. The effect of cutting mill parameters (number of cutting times, cassette perforation dimension) on the size of particles mechanically decomposed from waste fabric was analyzed. For a description of the particle size, the sieving methodology was chosen. It was found that both selected factors have statistically significant effect on particle size. As the number of cutting times increases, the particle size decreases, and using larger perforation sieve cassette results in larger particle sizes. To separate and recover polyester and other components from mechanically decomposed polyester-based waste fabrics, two methods were proposed and explored. The separation effectivity of different material components was evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Mechanical decomposition of polyester blend textiles offers a low-pollution and efficient recycling method, making it promising for textile waste management. This approach shows strong potential for industrial scalability, offering a feasible and environmentally friendly solution for large-scale textile waste recycling.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941825001886Polyester-based waste fabricMechanical decompositionParticles sizeSeparationRecycling |
| spellingShingle | Wang Hou Veronika Tunáková Shi Hu Dan Wang Jakub Wiener Ludmila Fridrichová Jana Novotná Xiuling Zhang Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse Polymer Testing Polyester-based waste fabric Mechanical decomposition Particles size Separation Recycling |
| title | Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse |
| title_full | Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse |
| title_fullStr | Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse |
| title_short | Sustainable recycling of PET/cotton mixed waste fabrics: Mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse |
| title_sort | sustainable recycling of pet cotton mixed waste fabrics mechanical decomposition and efficient component separation for reuse |
| topic | Polyester-based waste fabric Mechanical decomposition Particles size Separation Recycling |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941825001886 |
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