Biodegradable textile polymers: a review of current scenario and future opportunities
Sunidhi Mehta
Abstract
Biodegradable polymers received a lot of interest lately as a possible solution to the grave issue of post-consumer textile waste (PCTW) accumulation and to support sustainable textile consumption. Despite several possible methods to recycle and reuse, most PCTW often ends up in landfills due to the lack of viable options. The complex separation process in blended textiles, low-quality products, higher recycling costs compared to virgin materials, volume, collection, sorting, and transportation costs involved are to name a few of the many issues causing landfilling of PCTW. Understanding how these wastes interact with the environment and impact our ecosystem is important. This multidisciplinary literature review focuses to investigate textile polymer biodegradation as a possible pathway for PCTW accumulation. The majority of the studies published in the polymer biodegradation area focused specifically on synthetic polymers, the plastic industry, and biopolymers. While this review provides a comprehensive understanding of broader textile polymer biodegradation. In their manufacturing process, the textiles (both natural and synthetic origin) go through several chemical processes that can tremendously affect their biodegradation rates and environmental impact. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanism of biodegradation, factors affecting the rate of biodegradation, and possible barriers to the biodegradation of textile polymers without a narrow focus on merely petroleum-based synthetic polymers. Contemporary technologies such as torrefaction, pyrolysis, enzymatic/biological catalysis, and depolymerization to recycle PCTW have also been discussed in the paper.