Pretreatment of cotton waste samples for chemical recycling

Abstract

This study aimed to determine how to achieve the optimal properties for received cotton waste through adjusting the degree of polymerization and simple calculations of degradation kinetics.

This thesis consists of a literature review and an experimental part, and it explores the chemical recycling of cotton, focusing on understanding and optimizing the process of cellulose degradation through mild acid hydrolysis for the production of regenerated cellulosic fibers. The experimental part concentrates on intrinsic viscosity measurements to assess the degradation of cellulose and its implications for the Ioncell® spinning process.

The experiments were conducted to measure intrinsic viscosity changes under varying conditions of temperature and exposure time. Results indicated a notable decrease in intrinsic viscosity, correlating with the anticipated reduction in molecular weight of cellulose chains. The findings suggest that by adjusting the parameters of mild acid hydrolysis, it is possible to achieve the desired optimal viscosity levels suitable for Ioncell® spinning. However, due to several limitations, there is potential for broader follow-up studies.