Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PENGUIN (Bioinspired and advanced fibres and materials for sustainable outdoor textiles with biomimetic functionalities)
Período documentado: 2024-05-01 hasta 2025-10-31
The majority of outdoor textiles on the market are made of synthetic materials such as polyester, which conflicts with EU-level sustainability targets. The main objective of PENGUIN is to develop and demonstrate (TRL 6-7) the production of advanced bioinspired textile materials that are safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) and meet the performance requirements for outdoor use. The project will deliver this by
1) developing and demonstrating the production of cellulose-based textile fibres with tailored hydrophobicity using biomimetic chemistries
2) developing and demonstrating the production of sustainable textile insulation materials
3) developing and demonstrating cellulose-based textile fabrics with high-performance using biomimetic chemistries and heating elements
4) exploiting computational techniques to speed up material development work
5) demonstrating circularity of the developed textile materials as well as environmental, social and economic competitiveness of the materials.
As an outcome, an outdoor jacket prototype will be produced using the materials developed in PENGUIN.
1) developing and demonstrating the production of cellulose-based textile fibres with tailored hydrophobicity using biomimetic chemistries
2) developing and demonstrating the production of sustainable textile insulation materials
3) developing and demonstrating cellulose-based textile fabrics with high-performance using biomimetic chemistries and heating elements
4) exploiting computational techniques to speed up material development work
5) demonstrating circularity of the developed textile materials as well as environmental, social and economic competitiveness of the materials.
As an outcome, an outdoor jacket prototype will be produced using the materials developed in PENGUIN.
During the first reporting period, cellulose-based textile fibres were produced using two novel production technologies. Fibre hydrophobicity, which enhances fibre performance in insulation use, was improved using safe and sustainable chemistries. Three fibre finishing approaches were successfully applied to the cellulose-based fibres, and the most promising treatments will be used in insulation material development. Computational tools were developed to support the selection of safe chemicals for the modification of fibre properties towards higher hydrophobicity.
The cellulose-based fibres were studied in insulation material production using three production technologies, air-laying, foam forming and loose-fill, that result in insulation materials for different end-uses. In air-laying, non-biobased fibres was minimized. The thermal resistance (CLO values) were comparable to polyester and lyocell references. In loose-fill development, a mixture of cellulose-based fibres and synthetic fibres resulted in acceptable mechanical performances and volume of the insulation material. Further work will focus especially on improving shape stability in washing, which is essential for insulation materials used in outdoor textiles.
Fabric development using the novel cellulose-based fibres was advanced, and the first knitted fabric prototype was achieved using the novel cellulose-based fibres. Biobased hydrophobic finishes for cellulose-based fabrics have been developed, showing strong water-repelling performance and continuously improving results.
During the first reporting period, an early-warning and decision-support framework was applied for the textile material development. The chemistries used in the production and finishing of the cellulosic fibres were pre-screened for their safety profile. In addition, a preliminary LCA analysis was completed for the cellulose-based textile fibres. Results of the preliminary analyses are being used to guide material development.
The PENGUIN project also tackles integrating electronics in a way that enables high user comfort and easy recyclability. During the reporting period, several roll-to-roll compatible technologies were assessed to manufacture heating elements for textile use. The developed heating elements have similar properties to fabrics, such as foldability, packability/drapability and lightness. Development of the outdoor jacket prototypes was initiated by collecting end-user input for a collaborative definition of material requirements to ensure the proper development of the outdoor jacket prototypes.
During the first reporting period, project objectives and activities have been actively communicated and disseminated to industry, policy makers, scientists and R&D professionals and common people via social media, trade fairs and scientific events. Work has focused on raising awareness on the project, project partners and biobased textile material development.
The cellulose-based fibres were studied in insulation material production using three production technologies, air-laying, foam forming and loose-fill, that result in insulation materials for different end-uses. In air-laying, non-biobased fibres was minimized. The thermal resistance (CLO values) were comparable to polyester and lyocell references. In loose-fill development, a mixture of cellulose-based fibres and synthetic fibres resulted in acceptable mechanical performances and volume of the insulation material. Further work will focus especially on improving shape stability in washing, which is essential for insulation materials used in outdoor textiles.
Fabric development using the novel cellulose-based fibres was advanced, and the first knitted fabric prototype was achieved using the novel cellulose-based fibres. Biobased hydrophobic finishes for cellulose-based fabrics have been developed, showing strong water-repelling performance and continuously improving results.
During the first reporting period, an early-warning and decision-support framework was applied for the textile material development. The chemistries used in the production and finishing of the cellulosic fibres were pre-screened for their safety profile. In addition, a preliminary LCA analysis was completed for the cellulose-based textile fibres. Results of the preliminary analyses are being used to guide material development.
The PENGUIN project also tackles integrating electronics in a way that enables high user comfort and easy recyclability. During the reporting period, several roll-to-roll compatible technologies were assessed to manufacture heating elements for textile use. The developed heating elements have similar properties to fabrics, such as foldability, packability/drapability and lightness. Development of the outdoor jacket prototypes was initiated by collecting end-user input for a collaborative definition of material requirements to ensure the proper development of the outdoor jacket prototypes.
During the first reporting period, project objectives and activities have been actively communicated and disseminated to industry, policy makers, scientists and R&D professionals and common people via social media, trade fairs and scientific events. Work has focused on raising awareness on the project, project partners and biobased textile material development.
During the first reporting period, a novel approach for cellulose-based fibre modification was discovered. This technology holds potential for improving the sustainability of the textile industry by reducing wastewater generation in the fibre finishing stage. Testing of new biobased chemistries for fibre and fabric hydrophobation has also provided promising results. The emergence of more sustainable chemistries for fibre finishing will help the textile industry to give up using harmful compounds, such as the highly persistent PFAS in textile finishing. In PENGUIN, the chemicals used in new textile material development were pre-assessed for safety to development of materials that would turn out to be harmful for humans or the environment. The long-term impact of this approach is that we generate a material-design tool that helps to avoid environmental/health hazards that emerge only after the material or chemical is in widespread use. Computational tools were developed for simulating the effect of finishing chemistries on cellulose-based fibres. In the long run, such tools will speed up material development by replacing intensive laboratory work with fast computational simulations. Insulation materials with high biobased fibre content and comparable insulation properties to synthetic references have been generated using industrially relevant production technologies, which enables shifting away from the use of synthetic materials in outdoor garments. Progress in designing foldable heating elements that can be manufactured using industrially compatible roll-to-roll technologies will enable progress in making e-textiles with high user comfort and recyclable design. An end-user driven approach was applied to define the material requirements for ski and puffer jackets, advancing beyond conventional design practices by directly integrating user input into the design process.