Staff View: Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry

Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry

Microplastic fibers from textiles have been known to significantly contribute to marine microplastic pollution. However, little is known about the microfiber formation and discharge during textile production. In this study, we have quantified microfiber emissions from one large and representative te...

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Main Authors:	Wang, Mengjing, Yang, Junjie, Zheng, Siwen, Jia, Linran, Yong, Zhi Yuan, Yong, Ee Ling, See, Hong Heng, Li, Jiuwei, Lv, Yunbo, Fei, Xunchang, Fang, Mingliang
Format:	Article
Published:	American Chemical Society 2023
Subjects:	TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Online Access:	http://eprints.utm.my/107017/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c06210
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id	my.utm.107017
record_format	eprints
spelling	my.utm.1070172024-08-14T04:40:55Z http://eprints.utm.my/107017/ Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry Wang, Mengjing Yang, Junjie Zheng, Siwen Jia, Linran Yong, Zhi Yuan Yong, Ee Ling See, Hong Heng Li, Jiuwei Lv, Yunbo Fei, Xunchang Fang, Mingliang TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) Microplastic fibers from textiles have been known to significantly contribute to marine microplastic pollution. However, little is known about the microfiber formation and discharge during textile production. In this study, we have quantified microfiber emissions from one large and representative textile factory during different stages, spanning seven different materials, including cotton, polyester, and blended fabrics, to further guide control strategies. Wet-processing steps released up to 25 times more microfibers than home laundering, with dyeing contributing to 95.0% of the total emissions. Microfiber release could be reduced by using white coloring, a lower dyeing temperature, and a shorter dyeing duration. Thinner, denser yarns increased microfiber pollution, whereas using tightly twisted fibers mitigated release. Globally, wet textile processing potentially produced 6.4 kt of microfibers in 2020, with China, India, and the US as significant contributors. The study underlined the environmental impact of textile production and the need for mitigation strategies, particularly in dyeing processes and fiber choice. In addition, no significant difference was observed between the virgin polyesters and the used ones. Replacing virgin fibers with recycled fibers in polyester fabrics, due to their increasing consumption, might offer another potential solution. The findings highlighted the substantial impact of textile production on microfiber released into the environment, and optimization of material selection, knitting technologies, production processing, and recycled materials could be effective mitigation strategies. American Chemical Society 2023 Article PeerReviewed Wang, Mengjing and Yang, Junjie and Zheng, Siwen and Jia, Linran and Yong, Zhi Yuan and Yong, Ee Ling and See, Hong Heng and Li, Jiuwei and Lv, Yunbo and Fei, Xunchang and Fang, Mingliang (2023) Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry. Environmental Science and Technology, 57 (50). pp. 21038-21049. ISSN 0013-936X http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c06210 DOI : 10.1021/acs.est.3c06210
institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
building	UTM Library
collection	Institutional Repository
continent	Asia
country	Malaysia
content_provider	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
content_source	UTM Institutional Repository
url_provider	http://eprints.utm.my/
topic	TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
spellingShingle	TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) Wang, Mengjing Yang, Junjie Zheng, Siwen Jia, Linran Yong, Zhi Yuan Yong, Ee Ling See, Hong Heng Li, Jiuwei Lv, Yunbo Fei, Xunchang Fang, Mingliang Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry
description	Microplastic fibers from textiles have been known to significantly contribute to marine microplastic pollution. However, little is known about the microfiber formation and discharge during textile production. In this study, we have quantified microfiber emissions from one large and representative textile factory during different stages, spanning seven different materials, including cotton, polyester, and blended fabrics, to further guide control strategies. Wet-processing steps released up to 25 times more microfibers than home laundering, with dyeing contributing to 95.0% of the total emissions. Microfiber release could be reduced by using white coloring, a lower dyeing temperature, and a shorter dyeing duration. Thinner, denser yarns increased microfiber pollution, whereas using tightly twisted fibers mitigated release. Globally, wet textile processing potentially produced 6.4 kt of microfibers in 2020, with China, India, and the US as significant contributors. The study underlined the environmental impact of textile production and the need for mitigation strategies, particularly in dyeing processes and fiber choice. In addition, no significant difference was observed between the virgin polyesters and the used ones. Replacing virgin fibers with recycled fibers in polyester fabrics, due to their increasing consumption, might offer another potential solution. The findings highlighted the substantial impact of textile production on microfiber released into the environment, and optimization of material selection, knitting technologies, production processing, and recycled materials could be effective mitigation strategies.
format	Article
author	Wang, Mengjing Yang, Junjie Zheng, Siwen Jia, Linran Yong, Zhi Yuan Yong, Ee Ling See, Hong Heng Li, Jiuwei Lv, Yunbo Fei, Xunchang Fang, Mingliang
author_facet	Wang, Mengjing Yang, Junjie Zheng, Siwen Jia, Linran Yong, Zhi Yuan Yong, Ee Ling See, Hong Heng Li, Jiuwei Lv, Yunbo Fei, Xunchang Fang, Mingliang
author_sort	Wang, Mengjing
title	Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry
title_short	Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry
title_full	Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry
title_fullStr	Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry
title_full_unstemmed	Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry
title_sort	unveiling the microfiber release footprint: guiding control strategies in the textile production industry
publisher	American Chemical Society
publishDate	2023
url	http://eprints.utm.my/107017/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c06210
_version_	1809136614135300096
score	13.211869

Unveiling the microfiber release footprint: Guiding control strategies in the textile production industry

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