aalto1 untyped-item.component.html

Recycling the recycled: Transforming cotton dust into high-performance regenerated cellulose fibers using ioncell® technology

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

School of Chemical Engineering | Master's thesis

Department

Mcode

Language

en

Pages

63

Series

Abstract

This thesis explores the recycling of cotton waste from the company Recover™ into Ioncell® fibers, demonstrating a proof of concept for converting pre-consumer waste into regenerated cellulose fibers suitable for textile applications. The initial characterization of the cotton dust waste (CoD) established its suitability as a cellulose source, but its high viscosity and molar mass required pre-treatment to reduce the molecular weight for optimal dissolution. The milled and adjusted cotton was dissolved in the ionic liquid, 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-enium acetate ([DBNH][OAc]), to prepare a homogeneous spinning dope, which was extruded through a spinneret, and resulted into fibers by the Ioncell® process. The regenerated fibers exhibited excellent mechanical properties and crystallinity, with tenacities that surpassed the industry average for recycled fibers (>50 cN/tex). This work demonstrates the viability of utilizing pre-consumer cotton waste as a raw material for the production of high-performance regenerated fibers, providing an innovative approach to addressing the challenges of textile recycling.

Description

Supervisor

Tehrani, Ali

Thesis advisor

Schlapp-Hackl, Inge
Hummel, Michael

Other note

Citation

Endorsement

Review

Supplemented By

Referenced By