Abstract
The textile industry is resource-intensive, which has a significant impact on global emissions and waste pollution. To meet the demand of textiles over a third of fibres used in manufacturing are sourced from fossil fuels. As the global demand for textiles continues to grow, manufacturers are having to seek innovative approaches to providing sustainable and regenerative cellulose fibres. However, the latest climate change pressures on the textile industry have uncovered grave environmental issues associated with traditional regenerative cellulose production, such as the viscose manufacturing process. The viscose process requires intensive use of hazardous chemicals which leads to water pollution and ecotoxicity. In addition, if forestry products are unsustainably sourced for this process, this can lead to resource scarcity and deforestation. To provide a holistic solution for mitigating these challenges this study uses the by-products of paper manufacturing dissolved in an ionic liquid to produce regenerated cellulose filaments. Paper mill sludge (PMS) is a cellulosic by-product typically used on animal bedding and land spreading. The material has been dissolved in an ionic liquid - 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate - with the aid of a co-solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) - and spun into continuous filaments for textile production. The mechanical properties of paper sludge filaments are found to be competitive with commercial viscose, which is promising for their drop-in replacement. It is also demonstrated that by increasing the concentration of the PMS from 9% to 12.4%, an improvement of the filament properties can be achieved; an increase in modulus from ∼19 GPa to ∼26 GPa and strength from ∼223 MPa to ∼282 MPa. These values are shown to be competitive with other commercial, less sustainable, regenerated cellulose fibres.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 124503 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Cleaner Production |
| Volume | 280 |
| Early online date | 3 Oct 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Jan 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author contributions to the paper was shared equally between C.A and C.Z, who carried out the laboratory work on the preparation of the CNF from paper sludge, and the dissolution and spinning of fibres. The research was part-funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UK (Grant Number EP/L016389/1 ). We would also like to thank Prof. Professor Kristiina Oksman and Dr Linn Berglund - Division of Materials Science, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden - for help on the preparation of the cellulose nanofibres. The paper sludge was processed into CNF using equipment funded by Bio4Energy Swedish strategic research program and Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. All data from this paper can also be found on the University of Bristol repository at https://data.bris.ac.uk/ data/ .
Funding Information:
The author contributions to the paper was shared equally between C.A and C.Z, who carried out the laboratory work on the preparation of the CNF from paper sludge, and the dissolution and spinning of fibres. The research was part-funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UK (Grant Number EP/L016389/1). We would also like to thank Prof. Professor Kristiina Oksman and Dr Linn Berglund - Division of Materials Science, Lule? University of Technology, Sweden - for help on the preparation of the cellulose nanofibres. The paper sludge was processed into CNF using equipment funded by Bio4Energy Swedish strategic research program and Lule? University of Technology, Sweden. All data from this paper can also be found on the University of Bristol repository at https://data.bris.ac.uk/ data/.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Cellulose
- Paper sludge
- Ionic liquid
- Fibre
- Spinning