Polyester In Blended Fabric

In a new study, Raleigh, N.C.based NC State University researchers found they could separate blended cotton and polyester fabric using enzymes — nature’s tools for speeding chemical reactions. Ultimately, they hope their findings will lead to a more efficient way to recycle the fabric’s component materials, thereby reducing textile waste.

However, the researchers also found the process requires more steps if the blended fabric was dyed or treated with chemicals that increase wrinkle resistance.

“We can separate all of the cotton out of a cotton-polyester blend, meaning now we have clean polyester that can be recycled,” said the study’s corresponding author Sonja Salmon, associate professor of textile engineering, chemistry and science at NC State. “In a landfill, the polyester is not going to degrade, and the cotton might take several months or more to break down. Using our method, we can separate the cotton from polyester in less than 48 hours.”

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, consumers throw approximately 11 million tons of textile waste into U.S. landfills each year. Researchers wanted to develop a method of separating the cotton from the polyester so each component material could be recycled.

In the study, researchers used a cocktail of enzymes in a mildly acidic solution to chop up cellulose in cotton. Cellulose is the material that gives structure to plants’ cell walls. The idea is to chop up the cellulose so it will “fall out” out of the blended woven structure, leaving some tiny cotton fiber fragments remaining, along with glucose. Glucose is the biodegradable by-product of degraded cellulose. Then, their process involves washing away the glucose and filtering out the cotton fiber fragments, leaving clean polyester.

“This is a mild process — the treatment is slightly acidic, like using vinegar,” Salmon said. “We also ran it at 50 degrees Celsius, which is like the temperature of a hot washing machine.

“It’s quite promising that we can separate the polyester to a clean level,” Salmon added. “We still have some more work to do to characterize the polyester’s properties, but we think they will be very good because the conditions are so mild. We’re just adding enzymes that ignore the polyester.”

They compared degradation of 100-percent cotton fabric to degradation of cotton and polyester blends, and also tested fabric that was dyed with red and blue reactive dyes and treated with durable press chemicals. In order to break down the dyed materials, the researchers had to increase the amount of time and enzymes used. For fabrics treated with durable press chemicals, they had to use a chemical pre-treatment before adding the enzymes.

“The dye that you choose has a big impact on the potential degradation of the fabric,” said the study’s lead author Jeannie Egan, a graduate student at NC State. “Also, we found the biggest obstacle so far is the wrinkle-resistant finish. The chemistry behind that creates a significant block for the enzyme to access the cellulose. Without pre-treating it, we achieved less than 10 percent degradation, but after, with two enzyme doses, we were able to fully degrade it, which was a really exciting result.”

Researchers said the polyester could be recycled, while the slurry of cotton fragments could be valuable as an additive for paper or useful addition to composite materials. They’re also investigating whether the glucose could be used to make biofuels.

“The slurry is made of residual cotton fragments that resist a very powerful enzymatic degradation,” Salmon said. “It has potential value as a strengthening agent. For the glucose syrup, we’re collaborating on a project to see if we can feed it into an anaerobic digester to make biofuel. We’d be taking waste and turning it into bioenergy, which would be much better than throwing it into a landfill.”

The study, “Enzymatic textile fiber separation for sustainable waste processing,” was published in Resources, Environment and Sustainability.Co-authors included Siyan Wang, Jialong Shen, Oliver Baars and Geoffrey Moxley. Funding was provided by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation, Kaneka Corporation and the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science at NC State. TW

Editor’s Note: Laura Oleniacz is Public Communications Specialist at NC State News Services.

High Point, N.C.-based Culp Inc. — along with its consolidated subsidiaries, CULP — has promoted Stephen Dudek to manager of Business Development for Culp Home Fashions (CHF), the company’s mattress fabrics division. He reports to Jeff Veach. Culp also recently hired Pat Rosser as the vice president of Global Operations for CHF. In addition, Culp has announced the retirement of CHF Senior Vice President of sales and marketing Mike Cottonaro, effective April 30, 2023. He will work closely with CHF division President Tommy Bruno and Veach to ensure a smooth transition.

Matt Dunbar was named president of Minneapolisbased Cargill’s cotton business within its North American agricultural supply chain. He is responsible for driving Cargill’s end-to-end strategy in the cotton space.

Israel-based Delta Galil Industries Ltd. has appointed Mark Stocker president of the Delta Galil Branded Division. He reports to CEO Isaac Dabah.

Rand Ledbetter has announced he will retire after a 20-year career with Herculite Products Inc., Emigsville, Pa.

HanesBrands, WinstonSalem, N.C., named Lorenzo Moretti president of Champion Europe. The company also appointed Mark Irvin to its board of directors; and Bobby J. Griffin announced his retirement from the board when his current term expires at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders.

Karl Mayer North America a subsidiary of the Germany-based Karl Mayer Group based in Greensboro, N.C. — has named Mariano Amezcua president. He replaces Tony Hooimeijer who recently retired after leading the division for almost 20 years.

Hudson, N.C.-based Sattler Outdura — a division of The Sattler Group, Austria — has named Chris Caldwell and Julie Talbert sales managers for Outdura. Both report to Sattler Outdura CEO Ulrich Tombuelt.

Lubbock, Texas-based cotton producer Shawn Holladay was elected chairman of the National Cotton Council (NCC), Memphis, Tenn., for 2023. Joe Nicosia, a cotton merchant in Cordova, Tenn., was elected vice chairman. In addition, Dr. Andrew

Jordan was honored with the Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award; and the late Kenneth Hood was named the recipient of the Oscar Johnston Lifetime Achievement Award during NCC’s 2023 annual meeting.

Dr. Portia Yarborough has joined Cincinnatibased Michelman as chief science and sustainability officer.

Memphis, Tenn.-based Cotton Council International (CCI) — the export promotion arm of the NCC — elected the following officers for 2023 at its recent annual meeting: Steve Dyer, president; Carlos C. Garcia, chairman; J. Lee Cromley, first vice president; Carlo Bocardo, second vice president; Gary Adams, secretary; Bruce Atherly, assistant secretary; and John C. King III, treasurer. The following people were newly elected as CCI directors:

Aaron Pena; Gene Seale; Neeraj Rana; Nick Kastle; Wesley Rentz; and Matt Dunbar. The following people were re-elected as CCI directors for 2023: Producers — Philip F. Edwards III, Barry W. Evans, John F. Lindamood, Richard Gaona, Matthew R. Hyneman, Neal Isbell and Paul “Paco” Ollerton; Ginner

— George G. LaCour Jr.; Merchant — Beau

Stephenson; Cooperatives

— Frederick Barrier, Donald A. Robinson and Kevin Brinkley; Warehouseman

— Vance C. Shoaf; and Manufacturers — Robin Perkins and James Martin

The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), Cary, N.C., has named Mark Snider chief market and industry analyst. In addition, the organization recently welcomed six new people to its board of directors: Ricardo Fasolo, managing vice president, Fitesa Inc.; Neil Johnson, president, AstenJohnson; Chris Roeder, director – Strategy, Marketing & Innovation, Global Cellulose Fibers, International Paper; Dr. Paul E. Rollin Jr., senior principal – Global Hygiene, ExxonMobil Product Solutions Co.; Jodi Russell, vice president R&D, Cleaning Innovation, Packaging & Sustainability, The Clorox Co.; and Julie Schertell, president and CEO, Mativ.

Spartanburg, S.C.-based Polartec®, a Milliken & Company brand, recently promoted Dr. Ramesh Kesh and Eric Yung. Dr. Kesh now oversees all Polartec business units as well as Government and Defense business units in addition to his role as senior vice president at Milliken & Company. Yung was named vice president of Milliken & Company and managing director of Polartec. TW

1-4 :AAPN Carolina Mill Tour. Visit aapnetwork.net.

10-12 :Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas 2023,Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), Atlanta.Visit techtextil-north-america.us. messefrankfurt.com and texprocessamericas.us.messefrankfurt.com.

23-24 :Elementary Nonwovens Training Course,organized by INDA, INDA headquarters,Raleigh,N.C. Visit inda.org/training/elementarytraining.php.

23-26 :FESPAGlobal Print Expo 2023, Messe Munich,Munich,Germany. Visit fespa.com.

6-8 :Absorbent Hygiene Training Course,organized by INDA,INDA headquarters,Raleigh,N.C.Visit inda.org/ training/absorbent-hygiene.php

8-14 :ITMA 2023,Fiera Milano Rho, Milan,Italy.Visit itma.com.

19-21 :Outdoor Retailer Summer,organized by the OIA,Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City.Visit outdoorretailer.com.

25-27 :STA and Annual Fiber Buyers Group Meeting,Hilton Head,S.C. Visit southerntextile.org.

9-11 :2023 AAPN pro:Americas Conference,Eden Roc Hotel,Miami. Visit aapnetwork.net.

17-20 :World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference,Atlanta Marriott Marquis,Atlanta.Visit worldofwipes.org.

19-20 :Furniture Manufacturing Expo, Hickory Metro Convention Center,Hickory,N.C. Visit furnituremanufacturingexpo.com. TW