Estonian scientists transforming textile waste into biodegradable foam
Researchers at the University of Tartu have found a way to recycle cellulose from cotton textile waste, breathing new life into old jeans as insulation or packaging.
An estimated 92 million tons of textile waste are generated globally every year, only a small proportion of which gets recycled. Now, researchers at the University of Tartu have found a way to turn old cotton fabric into a new foam material.
University of Tartu Professor of Applied Materials Science Tarmo Tamm, heading the research group, is primarily interested in cellulose, e.g., cotton textile waste. This has plenty of applications, he said. "Cellulose is actually an extremely valuable polymer. It is one of the strongest polymers: It is natural, biodegradable, and applications can be found for it in areas where we currently use oil- and natural gas-based materials."
The research group primarily utilized cotton textile waste as the raw material for producing the new materials, experimenting with giving new life to both cotton T-shirts and denim jeans.
However, clothing usually consists of several types of fabrics, meaning the raw material is often a blended textile. "The most complicated stage is separating synthetic and natural fibers. We use ionic liquids, which are liquid salts, to dissolve the natural fibers," junior researcher in materials science David Uslar explained.
Once the cellulose has been dissolved, it can then be chemically modified. Researchers can give the resulting material new properties, such as rendering it water-repellent. The resulting foam could have both construction and packaging material applications.
The novel foam material could help solve the environmental issues caused by polystyrene foam, Tamm added. "You have probably seen pieces of foam plastic blowing around cities in the wind, lying along seashores and staying there for centuries. Our hope is that we can replace foam plastic for insulation and packaging, at least to some extent, with foam materials made from cellulose waste," he noted.
Up to now, the research group has demonstrated that producing a material of this kind is viable. The next step is to work together with the Estonian University of Life Sciences (Maaülikool), also in Tartu, to study whether the new material biodegrades in soil and water. Once that is done, they can look for ways to bring their methods into wider use.
The research group described its findings in the journal Circular Economy and Sustainability.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
