Recycled Fibers

Dear Colleagues,

Recycling is today a necessity for all materials we use in our society. By recycling we can save resources, and minimize environmental impact for end-of-life products. For textiles, which are produced in huge amounts, recycling must be developed and implemented by the textile industry. End-of-life textiles are mainly recycled by incineration together with other waste, in which case the energy content is recovered as fuel. From the material value point of view, it would be much better if end-of-life textiles could be material recycled. There are however several challenges for material recycling, as textiles are commonly composed of different fiber types, which are more or less impossible to separate mechanically. Secondly, textile fabrics are often mechanically degraded during use, or contaminated by dirt, which further decreases the material value for end-of-life textile fibers. In order to develop new textile fiber recycling strategies, it is necessary to investigate new and efficient methods for the identification, separation and processing of end-of-life textile fibers. These methods can involve chemical or biological treatments, as well as mechanical treatments. Quality control and verification of the fiber properties must also be done on the recycled fibers. The aim of this special issue is therefore to provide an overview of the different concepts and methods to recycle textile fibers by chemical, biological or mechanical methods, so that the fiber can be recovered. In addition, the quality control and analysis of recycled fibers, their properties and end-use testing of recycled fibers are relevant topics for this special issue. Life cycle analysis studies of the recycling process are also welcomed topics. Recycling by incineration can be included, if it is necessary for some fractions of the end-of-life fibers, but should not be the main topic for the study.

Prof. Dr. Mikael Skrifvars
Guest Editor

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• material recycling
• chemical recycling
• biological recycling
• textile fibers
• textile materials
• life cycle analysis