University of Delaware

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Chemical recycling of mixed textile waste

📅 Date:

✍️ Authors: ERHA ANDINI, POOJA BHALODE, EVAN GANTERT

🏭 Vertical: Textiles

🏢 Organizations: University of Delaware, Center for Plastics Innovation


Globally, less than 0.5% of postconsumer textile waste is recycled, with the majority incinerated or ending up in landfills. Most postconsumer textiles are mixed fibers, complicating mechanical recycling due to material blends and contaminants. Here, we demonstrate the chemical conversion of postconsumer mixed textile waste using microwave-assisted glycolysis over a ZnO catalyst followed by solvent dissolution. This approach electrifies the process heat while allowing rapid depolymerization of polyester and spandex to their monomers in 15 minutes. A simple solvent dissolution enables the separation of cotton and nylon. We assess the quality of all components through extensive material characterization, discuss their potential for sustainable recycling, and provide a techno-economic analysis of the economic feasibility of the process.

Read more at Science Advances