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Logo courtesy of tExtended
After two years of “extensive research,” the European Union-backed tExtended project is entering Phase 2 of development with the aim of finding solutions to the “growing issue of textile waste” both at the European and global levels.
The project seeks to introduce an “innovative approach” to the cycling of discarded textiles with the development of its blueprint which, according to tExtended, will definite the implementation of a circular textile ecosystem, including waste reduction, extended reuse of textile products and efficient recycling of end-of-life textiles.
Phase 2 also involves preparation to test the solutions in an “industrial-urban symbiosis collaborative real-scale demonstrator” to show its potential to reduce textile waste by 80 percent.
Aimplas, the Plastics Technology Centre, a Spain-based technological center that provides solutions to the plastics industry, will play a key role in several areas of the second phase.
Regarding the identification and classification of materials, Aimplas is working with technology like near-infrared sorting, red-green-blue (RGB) cameras and hyperspectral cameras in collaboration with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The goal is to assess the composition of textiles to meet recycling requirements.
The centers also will attempt to develop methods to separate nontextile parts, like electrostatic and triboelectric separation, and classify garments by type via air separation using equipment adapted to process textiles on a pilot scale. In addition, they are examining the dissolution of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in textile scrap to facilitate the separation of other materials and improve recycling once separated.
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According to Aimplas, it also is working on a chemical recycling process for polyurethane foams to recover polyols that can be reintegrated into polyurethane foam formulations.
“This integrated approach will allow Aimplas to significantly advance the sustainability of textile and plastic materials, promoting innovative solutions for recycling and the circular economy” Aimplas chemical recycling researcher Nacho Montesinos says.
Aimplas says these Phase 2 initiatives will take place in different formats in the countries of the tExtended consortium: Finland, Sweden, Belgium, France, Ireland, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. While the “real-scale demonstrator” will be carried out on a European level, Aimplas says tExtended also will perform localized, regional studies to evaluate the replication potential.
“The road towards the development of the tExtended masterplan for a sustainable textile ecosystem has already brought the project to reach relevant successes,” Aimplas says in a news release. “Especially, the results obtained about improving upcycling processes and in designing a future data-driven circular ecosystem will influence the upcoming work towards the tExtended goals.”
The four-year project, which is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program, also focuses on the social aspect of the textiles sector by involving local community actors in the project. Through citizens’ participation in different actions on presorting and returning used textiles, Aimplas says, tExtended hopes to raise awareness about the sustainability and circularity of textiles.
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