Papers

61,005 results
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Systematic Review Tier 1

Microencapsulation for Functional Textile Coatings with Emphasis on Biodegradability—A Systematic Review

This systematic review found that microencapsulation techniques for functional textile coatings are well-established for conventional shell materials, but biodegradable alternatives remain limited and often sacrifice durability. The review identified that most microcapsule shell materials are synthetic polymers that can contribute to microplastic pollution when they degrade from textile surfaces during washing. Developing truly biodegradable microcapsule formulations is essential for reducing the microplastic fiber shedding that makes textiles one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution.

2021 Coatings 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Water-Borne Polyurethane Based Composites and Their Applications in Functional Textile Coatings

This review covers water-borne polyurethane composites and their applications in textile coatings, including how different reinforcing materials affect performance. Polyurethane coatings on textiles are a significant but often overlooked source of microplastic fibers released into waterways during washing.

2023 Özgür Yayınları eBooks
Article Tier 2

Integration of Advanced Biodegradable Polymer Coatings with Solar-Powered Textile Waste Treatment for Reducing Microplastic Pollution in Urban Runoff Systems

Researchers developed a prototype integrating biodegradable polymer coatings (PLA and PHA) with a solar-powered treatment unit to filter microplastics from textile-contaminated urban runoff. The system demonstrated effective filtration while producing minimal secondary pollution, offering an off-grid, low-energy solution for removing textile-derived MPs from stormwater before they reach aquatic ecosystems.

2025 Green Engineering International Journal of Engineering and Applied Science
Article Tier 2

Formation of Nano- and Microplastics and Dissolved Chemicals During Photodegradation of Polyester Base Fabrics with Polyurethane Coating

Researchers investigated the photodegradation of polyester fabrics with polyurethane coating, a common composite material in synthetic leather, to understand microplastic and chemical release. The study found that the PU coating delayed but did not prevent degradation, with both microplastic fibers and particles being released along with dissolved chemicals, highlighting the environmental risks of composite plastic materials.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 73 citations
Article Tier 2

Fully bio-based polyurethane coating for environmentally friendly controlled release fertilizer: Construction, degradation mechanism and effect on plant growth

Researchers developed a fully bio-based polyurethane coating for controlled-release fertilizers using castor oil and a plant-derived chemical. Unlike conventional polyurethane coatings that persist in soil as microplastics, this coating showed strong biodegradability while still effectively controlling nutrient release. The study offers a practical solution to reduce microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from fertilizer coatings.

2025 Industrial Crops and Products 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Long-term localization experiments reveal aging degradation mechanisms of biobased and petroleum-based polyurethanes in natural environments: degradation characteristics, product assessment and degradation cycle prediction

Researchers conducted a 807-day field localisation experiment to study the degradation mechanisms of biobased and petroleum-based polyurethanes used as polymer coatings on controlled-release fertilisers in natural soil environments. The study characterised the degradation products, assessed environmental risk, and developed a predictive model for the degradation cycle, finding that both polyurethane types fragment into microplastic residues at different rates.

2025 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Sürdürülebilir Yaklaşımlara Bir Örnek Olarak Biyobozunur Özellik Kazandırılmış Polyester İpliklerle Çevre Dostu Perde Kumaşlarının Geliştirilmesi

This Turkish-language textile study describes the development of biodegradable polyester curtain fabrics as a sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic textiles. Developing textiles that biodegrade rather than releasing persistent synthetic microfibers is directly relevant to reducing microplastic pollution from laundry.

2023 Orclever Proceedings of Research and Development
Article Tier 2

Rapid biodegradation of microplastics generated from bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane

Researchers created microplastic particles from a plant-based, biodegradable plastic (thermoplastic polyurethane) and showed that bacteria could break them down rapidly, using the plastic as their sole food source. They also demonstrated that products made from this material, including coated fabric and a phone case, visibly degraded when exposed to soil bacteria. This work suggests that switching to biodegradable plastics could help reduce the buildup of persistent microplastics in the environment.

2024 Scientific Reports 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Synthesis of a new biocomposite for fertiliser coating: assessment of biodegradability and thermal stability

Researchers created a new biodegradable composite material combining cellulose nanoparticles, natural rubber, and polylactic acid, finding it would fully break down in soil within about 3,000 hours while being more heat-resistant than standard polylactic acid alone. This type of biodegradable material could replace conventional plastic coatings in agriculture, helping reduce the microplastic pollution caused by plastic mulches and fertilizer coatings.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Liquidlike, Low‐Friction Polymer Brushes for Microfibre Release Prevention from Textiles

Researchers developed a polymer brush coating strategy that practically eliminates microfiber release from synthetic textiles during washing. The study demonstrates that applying liquid-like, low-friction coatings to fibers significantly reduces the mechanical abrasion that causes millions of microplastic fibers to shed into wastewater.

2024 Small 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Releases of microplastics and chemicals from nonwoven polyester fabric-based polyurethane synthetic leather by photoaging

Researchers compared microplastic fiber release and chemical transformation from polyurethane-coated synthetic leather and uncoated nonwoven PET fabric under UV photoaging, finding that the PU coating reduced fiber release but increased the degree of chemical oxidation. Photoaging of synthetic leather products produces microplastic fibers and chemical breakdown products that enter aquatic environments.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Textile Innovation: Biodegradable Fabrics and Their Role in Climate Action

This review argues that synthetic textile fibers are a major source of microplastic pollution and that a shift to biodegradable fabrics represents both an environmental necessity and an opportunity to fundamentally redesign how clothing is produced and consumed.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Design of Chitosan-Polyester Composites to Reduce Particulate Contamination of Washing Wastewater

Researchers modified polyester fabrics with chitosan biopolymer coatings to reduce the amount of microplastic fibers shed during washing. Chitosan-treated fabrics released significantly fewer fiber particles, offering a practical approach to reducing microplastic pollution from laundry — a major source of aquatic microfiber contamination.

2023 Water 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding visible light and microbe-driven degradation mechanisms of polyurethane plastics: Pathways, property changes, and product analysis

Researchers found that polyurethane plastics break down in water through a combination of microbial action and light exposure, producing secondary microplastics as they degrade. This study reveals a previously underappreciated source of microplastic pollution, since polyurethane is widely used in coatings, foams, and other products that often end up in waterways.

2024 Water Research 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of the Protective Function of a Lignin Coating of Natural Fiber Geotextiles against Biodegradation

Researchers investigated whether lignin coatings can protect natural fiber geotextiles from soil degradation and UV-driven breakdown, finding that lignin treatment can extend the functional lifespan of biodegradable geotextiles as a more sustainable alternative to synthetic ones.

2023 Materials 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and Nanoplastics Produced from Textile Finishes: A Review

This review examines how textile finishes and coatings contribute to micro- and nanoplastic pollution during washing and wear. Researchers found that polymeric-based finishes applied to textiles can release significant quantities of plastic particles, identifying the textile industry as an underexplored but important source of environmental microplastic contamination.

2024 Langmuir 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Performance Spectrum of Home-Compostable Biopolymer Fibers Compared to a Petrochemical Alternative

Researchers compared home-compostable biopolymer fibers to conventional petrochemical alternatives, evaluating their mechanical performance and degradability to assess whether biobased materials can serve as viable substitutes that reduce microplastic pollution.

2023 Polymers 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Textile Innovation: Biodegradable Fabrics and Their Role in Climate Action

This review examines the textile industry's environmental footprint—including microplastic shedding from synthetic fibers—and makes the case for biodegradable fabric alternatives as part of a broader shift toward circular economy and climate-aligned fashion production.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of cotton-polyester textiles to understand fate of natural and synthetic microfibres in soil

Researchers buried cotton-polyester blended textiles in soil and monitored the differential biodegradation of natural versus synthetic microfibers over time. Cotton fibers degraded within months while polyester fibers persisted across the entire study period with minimal degradation, confirming that synthetic textile fibers accumulate in soil environments as persistent microplastic contaminants.

2025
Article Tier 2

A versatile self-cleaning fabric coating as a detergent-free laundry product

Researchers developed a polyelectrolyte multilayer fabric coating that enables effective stain and microbial removal through simple water rinsing without detergent, reducing water, electricity, and time consumption by approximately 82% and eliminating microplastic-laden wastewater discharge from laundry.

2026 Communications Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Enhancing environmmental biodegradation of polyesters

Researchers investigated strategies to enhance the environmental biodegradation of polyester-based packaging polymers, proposing two pathways: a smart material design concept that incorporates degradation-facilitating additives, and an enzymatic approach using engineered polyesterases. The work addresses the practical challenge that biodegradable polyesters degrade too slowly under real environmental conditions, generating persistent microplastic fragments, and aims to close this gap between certified biodegradability and actual environmental breakdown.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Degradable Polymeric Waxes for Paper Coating Applications

Scientists created degradable wax-like polymers that can coat paper packaging to make it water- and oil-resistant, offering an alternative to traditional plastic coatings. Unlike conventional plastic-coated paper, these coated papers can be broken down and recycled through standard paper repulping. This kind of innovation could help reduce the microplastic pollution that comes from plastic-coated packaging materials breaking down in the environment.

2024 ACS Applied Polymer Materials 22 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of biodegradable plastics on microplastic accumulation and exposure

Researchers developed a comprehensive method to quantify microplastic accumulation from biodegradable polymers in natural environments, examining whether biodegradable alternatives actually reduce plastic loads compared to conventional polymers under real-world outdoor conditions.

2025 Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling
Article Tier 2

Environmental Impact of Textile Materials: Challenges in Fiber–Dye Chemistry and Implication of Microbial Biodegradation

This review examines how the textile industry contributes to environmental pollution through both chemical dye waste and microplastic fiber release. Synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon shed non-biodegradable microfibers during manufacturing and washing, while the dyeing process generates contaminated wastewater. The paper highlights microbial biodegradation as a promising and cost-effective approach to breaking down both textile waste and the microplastics it produces.

2025 Polymers 33 citations