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The use of textile waste helps to promote the production of sustainable products, thereby reducing environmental pollution. To this end, a paper published in Construction and Building Materials proposed a technology for recycling denim waste to produce 3D needle-punched denim/polypropylene composites.
Research: Development of 3D needle-punched composites of denim waste and polypropylene fibers for structural applications. Image source: Vannaweb/Shutterstock.com
According to estimates by Grand View Research, the global textile market is worth nearly £1 trillion. However, with the development of the textile industry, a major problem has emerged: waste. It is estimated that more than 150 billion tons of textile waste are generated through production and garment processing worldwide each year. Complicating this issue is the recycling rate of textiles, where only 20% of waste is recycled. Most waste is either buried or incinerated, which will damage the environment.
In addition, due to the growth of the world's population and the demand for the textile industry, there is a problem of scarcity of resources. These issues highlight the urgent need for effective and environmentally friendly recycling and reuse strategies for textile waste.
One of the most commonly used materials in the textile industry is denim. This material is composed of nearly 100% cotton fibers. Denim can be recycled through physical or chemical methods. In the chemical method, the dye is stripped from the denim fiber, and the recovery rate is high. Physical recycling methods are low cost, but will affect the economic value of recycled materials.
Recently, a lot of research has been conducted on the use of denim as an engineering material to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and related products. Engineering fiber composites have high specific strength, making them an attractive substitute for many industries.
Recent research on the use of denim waste as a composite reinforcement material. A study by Temmink et al. The trimmed jeans are made of material to strengthen the biocomposite material. The resulting material exhibits higher mechanical properties, but is limited by the size of denim waste.
More about textile industry waste-textile sludge waste can be used for ceramics
Petrucci et al. Denim fibers are used to reinforce polypropylene through injection molding, but the short fibers (less than 5 mm) used in the study limit the mechanical properties of the composite.
Meng et al. The use of longer denim fibers (15-25 mm), combined with resin transfer molding and needle punching, creates a 3D needle punched/epoxy composite material that shows enhanced mechanical properties. However, one disadvantage of this method is that the use of epoxy resin as a thermosetting material will bring recycling and cost challenges.
Polypropylene (PP) is a cost-effective material that can be used as a thermosetting matrix and can be reinforced with denim fibers. These materials can be produced in a short cycle using compression molding technology.
In a study published in Construction and Building Materials, a needle punch/compression molding technique was developed to make denim waste fiber reinforced polypropylene composites. The response surface method was used to optimize the process parameters of compression molding. In order to explore the possibility of using non-bleaching materials, the effects of dyes and dye fiber treatments were studied.
The mechanical properties of waste denim fibers are compared with cotton fibers to clarify the differences between them. The test results show that the composite material has higher bonding strength, shear strength and bending strength.
It has also been observed that denim fibers are more hydrophobic than cotton fibers, which gives them excellent adhesion affinity to the polypropylene matrix. The reason is that the presence of dyes reduces the hydrophilicity of the material.
The team also compared the performance of composite materials and wood-based panels to confirm the potential of the material in the field of furniture manufacturing. The composite denim waste/polypropylene material is cost-effective, making it an ideal choice for raw materials.
In addition, composite materials show better resistance to water swelling, making it a durable choice for this purpose. In addition, the formaldehyde content of these composite materials is significantly reduced, making them ideal for storage boxes and other products.
It has been found that enhanced mechanical properties, hydrophobicity and non-formaldehyde content are beneficial to waste denim/polypropylene composites. The use of composite materials as furniture materials demonstrates the enhanced properties of denim waste and shows the potential of this material for use in industries such as furniture and construction as commercially viable products.
The direct, optimized, and cost-effective manufacturing methods proposed in the study show that waste from the textile industry can be used to manufacture new biocomposites with greatly improved mechanical properties. Through innovative methods such as this, the problem of textile waste can be eliminated to a large extent, thereby creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly textile industry.
Wang, S etc. (2021) Development of 3D needle-punched composites of denim waste and polypropylene fibers for structural applications [online] Building and Building Materials 314 Part A | sciencedirect.com. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950061821033201
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Reg Davey is a freelance writer and editor based in Nottingham, UK. Writing for news medicine represents a fusion of various interests and fields in which he has been interested and involved for many years, including microbiology, biomedical sciences, and environmental sciences.
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