Upcycling Textile and Plastic Waste into Thermally Efficient Composite Insulation Panels

Textile and plastic packaging wastes pose significant environmental threats due to their high volume and limited biodegradability.Converting these materials into composite materials for thermal insulation applications offers a sustainable and value-added solution, particularly in response to growing energy demands and climate challenges.In this study, fiber-reinforced composite panels are developed by combining waste cotton or polyester fabrics with discarded polypropylene packaging materials.Initially, the polypropylene waste is transformed into flat sheets through hot pressing and then laminated onto fabric waste.These laminated structures are subsequently shredded using an industrial knife mill and hot-pressed again to form recycled composite panels.To examine the effect of recycling degree, the panels undergo one and three cycles of shredding and reprocessing.Thermal performance tests are carried out to evaluate how the reinforcement material and degree of recycling influence the insulation properties of the resulting materials.The study highlights the potential of thermoplastic textile composites as recyclable and thermally efficient materials for use in construction and automotive sectors.It also emphasizes the environmental and economic advantages of diverting textile and plastic waste from landfills by repurposing them into functional insulation products that support energy conservation and sustainable material use.