Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BioSusTex (Towards absolute safe and sustainable biobased textile)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2024-06-01 al 2025-11-30
BioSusTex aims to accelerate Europe’s transition to cleaner, safer and more circular textiles by tackling some of the “bottlenecks” in today’s textile value chain: hazardous substances in finishing and prints, and the difficulty of recycling post-consumer textiles, especially post consumer cellulosic textile blends consisting of elastan and coloured materials. These challenges sit at the heart of EU ambitions for Zero Pollution, a toxic-free environment, the circular economy and the bioeconomy, where industry needs practical solutions that reduce pollution and risk while maintaining performance and enabling high-value recycling. BioSusTex responds to these needs by developing and validating bio-based, safe and sustainable alternatives that are compatible with recycling and scalable for industry. BioSusTex focuses on four tightly connected innovation areas: (i) pre-processing methods that remove elastane, dyes and impurities from post-consumer cellulosic textiles to unlock recycling and increase usable recycled feedstock, (ii) fibre-to-fibre recycling of coloured cellulosic textiles using closed-loop recovery of solvent, (iii) PFAS-free, bio-based water-repellent finishing, (iv) PVC-free, bio-based printing formulations with a “built-in” removability feature so colour can be taken off when needed. Across all innovations, BioSusTex applies Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD), integrating safety, environmental, social and economic sustainability considerations early in development, to eliminate later unexpected costs and risks later in the development. The project also develops a decision-support tool and a FAIR data approach to help companies and other stakeholders compare options and make robust, transparent choices. Project pathway to impact: BioSusTex delivers impact through a clear pipeline: Develop and test new bio-based formulations and processes (lab validation, then scaling), assess and improve solutions continuously using SSbD. Demonstrate industrial relevance with value-chain partners to ensure performance, practicality and uptake potential. Enable adoption via a decision-support tool that reduces uncertainty for substitution and investment decisions, supported by stakeholder engagement and dissemination activities. Expected scale and significance of impacts: By targeting high-impact process steps and end-of-life barriers, BioSusTex is designed to contribute to measurable reductions in environmental pressures when implemented at scale.
Pre-processing (dye and elastane removal): WP1)Pre-processing (dye and elastane removal): A very efficient color stripping method has been developed for dyed cotton fabrics, achieving up to 99% color removal with high tensile strength retention (94%). In parallel, an elastane removal route based on partial degradation was developed and shown to be effective for neat elastane; however, due to limitations on cotton–elastane blends, the work pivoted toward direct elastane dissolution as the preferred pathway for blended waste streams. This route is still under development. Fibre spinning (closed-loop wet spinning / dope-dyed fibre recycling): Three spinning technologies (viscose (RISE), NMMO-Lyocell (Aalto), and Ioncell (Aalto)) were evaluated for chemical recycling of dope-dyed cellulose fibres through comprehensive fibre characterization (morphology, chemistry, mechanical properties, and colour). All routes preserved dope-dyed colour properties. A key outcome was the strong mechanical performance of recycled Lyocell-based fibres, demonstrating high potential for high-quality regenerated fibres from recycled inputs. PFAS-free bio-based DWR: Formulation development progressed iteratively with SSbD guidance, resulting in ~50 formulations screened and DWR systems reaching 80–90% bio-based content at this stage. Durability testing showed performance loss after wear/washing, but importantly, water repellence could be partially/fully regenerated by heat treatment (e.g. spray score returning to 5 after heat following wear; partial recovery after wash cycles), providing a clear technical lever to improve lifetime performance without PFAS. PVC-free bio-based printing with in-built recyclability: A pigment selection framework was established using colloidal characterization (DLS/zeta potential) to identify surfactant–pigment stability trends. Screening highlighted a promising PLA + ethyl cellulose binder combination balancing viscosity control, film formation, and printability. Initial removability testing confirmed detachment behaviour comparable to reference reversible systems. During this first period initial hazard assessment has been performed of WP1- WP4 innovations. A BioSusTex-specific safety assessment method aligned with the JRC SSbD framework was developed, adapting criteria and thresholds to bio-based chemicals/materials and textile processes. Furthemrore, early-stage sustainability work was completed for initial screening, applying two qualitative methods (LCBROM and the SSbD Scoping Method) via structured workshops. ProScale development progressed to extend beyond worker exposure/production toward service-life/end-of-life and indirect environmental exposure. Work on absolute sustainability advanced through development of a prospective AESA approach integrating upscaling, scenario work, LCA and absolute evaluation. Finally, the SSbD decision-support approach was initiated, focusing on integrating WP5 safety outputs and WP6 sustainability outputs via MCDA. The DSS technical infrastructure was established on AWS, with containerized components deployed. The data layer was strategically shifted from MongoDB to a relational database to better match data complexity, and an interactive UI prototype was developed (Framer), providing the foundation for the first functional DSS prototype in the next period.
In the first 18 months, BioSusTex has generated technical knowledge and early proof-of-concept results across pre-processing, fibre regeneration, PFAS-free coatings and PVC-free printing, while initiating SSbD-aligned assessment methods. At this stage, results are not yet mature enough to quantify impacts or define exploitable outcomes, but the project shows early progress towards expected scientific, economic, social and industrial impacts through advancement of emerging technologies towards TRL 4–5 and through reduced reliance on substances of concern (e.g. PFAS, PVC, phthalates) in the textile value chain. Indicative potential impacts and uptake potential: Early value-chain analysis indicates that project solutions can be aligned with existing industrial processing routes, with PFAS-free DWR and PVC-free printing formulations identified as directly integrable into current processes; colour stripping is being prepared for evaluation in pilot scale at industry partner, while elastane separation from post-consumer blends remains a key technical bottleneck requiring further investigation.