aalto1 untyped-item.component.html
Comparative evaluation of the Ioncell® and Lyocell process for cotton textile waste recycling
Loading...
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Chemical Engineering |
Master's thesis
Unless otherwise stated, all rights belong to the author. You may download, display and print this publication for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Authors
Date
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Language
en
Pages
55
Series
Abstract
With growing environmental concerns over the dominance of fossil-based synthetic fibers and the high impacts of cotton production, the expanding textile industry faces increasing pressure to transition toward renewable, low-impact alternatives. Recycling post-industrial cotton waste (COr) into regenerated fibers offers a promising path forward. This study compares the Ioncell® and Lyocell processes for this purpose, focusing on cellulose dissolution, spinning performance, fiber quality, and degradation behaviour. While Lyocell employs N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) as a solvent it is limited by thermal instability and degradation. Ioncell® relies on ionic liquids, with 7-methyl-1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-enium acetate ([mTBDH][OAc]) used in this work as a more stable alternative. The spinning temperatures employed for Ioncell® and Lyocell were 65-70 °C and 75-80 °C respectively. Ioncell® fibers exhibited greater tenacity (58.35 cN/tex) and orientation, whereas Lyocell fibers showed lower tenacity (47.14 cN/tex) but higher elongation at break (12.34% vs. 8.39%). Thermal degradation analysis identified glycolic acid in NMMO-COr and lactic acid in [mTBDH][OAc]-COr solutions. While cellulose recovery was higher in the NMMO system, molar mass degradation was more pronounced. H-mTBD, a degradation product of [mTBDH][OAc], was identified at 90 °C in concentrations up to 2 mol%. These results highlight the differences and support Ioncell®’s potential for sustainable fiber production from cotton waste.
Description
Supervisor
Hummel, MichaelThesis advisor
Sixta, HerbertSchlapp-Hackl, Inge