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Comparative Gate-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment for the Alkali and Acid Pre-Treatment Step in the Chemical Recycling of Waste Cotton
- Source :
- Sustainability, Vol 12, Iss 8613, p 8613 (2020), Sustainability, Volume 12, Issue 20
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2020.
-
Abstract
- The development of textile recycling solutions is an area of intense research and commercialization. Chemical recycling solutions are becoming increasingly popular due to their ability to separate complex blends and retain or improve the value of the original fiber. The chemical recycling of cotton requires a pre-treatment step to reduce the degree of polymerization (DP). The DP can be reduced in a variety of ways, and here, the environmental footprints of two different pre-treatment approaches are examined using life cycle assessment (LCA)<br />sodium hydroxide pre-treatment and sulfuric acid pre-treatment. We find that the acid pre-treatment has a significantly lower environmental footprint across all impact categories calculated. This is attributed to the lower treatment times required and the lower material and energy requirements for the manufacture of chemicals. The results were normalized to show the most significant impact categories for each pre-treatment, and further environmental implications of the pre-treatments are discussed. The findings will aid academia and industry in implementing the most environmentally benign processes in chemical cotton recycling.
- Subjects :
- Green chemistry
comparative life-cycle assessment
Textile
Geography, Planning and Development
TJ807-830
02 engineering and technology
010501 environmental sciences
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
textile waste
TD194-195
01 natural sciences
Commercialization
Renewable energy sources
chemistry.chemical_compound
Environmental impact assessment
GE1-350
Life-cycle assessment
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Ecological footprint
Environmental effects of industries and plants
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
business.industry
green chemistry
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
Pulp and paper industry
Alkali metal
Environmental sciences
chemistry
Sodium hydroxide
textile dyes
Environmental science
0210 nano-technology
business
cellulose pre-treatment
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20711050
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 8613
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Sustainability
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....cab44f45278c4f921cd8280e981a7c40