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Investigation of ring, airjet and rotor spun yarn structures on the fragmented fibers (microplastics) released from polyester textiles during laundering
Summary
This study tested whether the type of yarn structure used in polyester fabrics affects how many microplastic fibers are shed during washing. Fabrics made from airjet and rotor yarns released 28% and 33% less fiber mass, respectively, than those made from the more common ring-spun yarn, and they shed shorter fiber fragments. Since textile washing is one of the major routes for microplastics entering wastewater, this finding suggests that changing yarn manufacturing processes could meaningfully reduce textile microplastic pollution at the source.
The release of fragmented fibers (FFs), including microplastics from textiles, during their service life is considered an established source of environmental pollution. The yarn structure is identified to affect the amount and length distribution profile of shed FFs from textiles. In the present work, the impact of yarn structures spun from 100% polyester staple fibers, using commercially relevant spun yarn technologies in the textile industry, on the release of FFs from textiles is studied. The bespoke woven fabric samples produced from three types of spun yarns, which include ring, airjet (air vortex) and rotor yarns, were subjected to an accelerated washing process, for up to five washes, to quantify shed FFs and their length distribution profile. The morphological shapes of FF ends associated with the nature of fiber damage were also investigated. The results demonstrated that airjet and rotor yarn structures had released 28% and 33% less mass of FFs, respectively, as compared to the ring yarn structure during the whole washing process. The length distribution profile identified that the ring yarn structure shed longer length FFs as compared to both airjet and rotor ones. The damaged ends highlight the importance of textile manufacturing processes on the generation of FFs. The results of this study give a better understanding of the yarn structural effect of commercially relevant technologies on shedding of FFs, which are released as a pollutant to the environment.