Lab Report

on

Micro-plastic Emission from Textile Materials and its Reduction

Techniques

Submitted by

Name: Tasnim Jahan Sharmy

Roll: RK-1498

Session: 2021-22

Year: MS

Course No.: SWE-535 (Practical)

Introduction:
Plastics are synthetic macromolecule polymers that are used in the many different products,
and they have become an integral part of human life. The huge global demand for plastic
materials is due to their high performance, low density, and versatile applications in textiles,
automotive, construction, consumer goods, electrical & electronic devices, medical, and food
& packaging industries. Some of the thermoplastic materials (e.g., plastic bottles) are recycled
and reused several times. But large proportions of single-use plastic are ended up in landfills,
incinerators and contribute to environmental pollution. The plastic particles have been spotted
in various places including sea, coastlines, most remote islands, even in the deep sea and Mount
Everest. Shopping bags, coffee cup lids, plastic water bottles, plastic forks and knives, and
other single-use plastics account for the majority of plastics waste. Micro-plastics are extremely
persistent, which means it is almost impossible to remove them from the environment where
they accumulate. Due to their persistence and the chemicals they are made of, studies suggest
they can be highly detrimental to the organisms they come in contact with, including by causing
reduced feeding, poisoning and increasing mortality. They also tend to facilitate the transfer of
contaminants along the food chain, with potentially grave consequences for human health.

The production and consumption of textiles is continuously increasing due to the growth of
population and fast fashion. Fiber fragments (1 μm–5 mm) released from garments and home
textiles during washing, drying, and wearing are considered a new source of environmental
pollution and health hazard. Fiber fragments can be ingested by aquatic animals and
substantially threatened their metabolic activities. Small fiber fragments can also enter our food
chain by the consumption of sea creatures, sea table salt, and drinking water. In this paper, we
overview various important parameters on the release of fiber fragments from garments, and
home textiles including the type of fabric, weaving/knitting structure, detergent type and
concentration, temperature, pH, spin-speed, and duration of the washing and drying processes.
The influence of various mechanical and chemical textile finishes on the release of fiber
fragments is explained. Any processes that reduce the strength of fibers and their interactions
including sanding, brushing, bleaching can potentially increase the release of fiber fragments
in consecutive wet processes. We highlight some of the most important environmental
regulations on the release of micro-plastics and fiber fragments to the environment and provide
a series of recommendations to reduce the impact. (Periyasamy et al., 2022)

Here, I am highlighting the main reduction techniques of micro-plastics emitted from textile
industries.

Effects of Micro-plastics on Human Health

The results of cellular and animal experiments have shown that micro-plastics can affect
various systems in the human body, including the digestive, respiratory, endocrine,
reproductive, and immune systems. First, the digestive systems are affected when micro-
plastics are ingested, and physical irritation to the gastrointestinal tract may eventually cause
inflammation, resulting in various gastrointestinal symptoms. Micro-plastics may cause
changes in the intestinal micro-biome, resulting in an imbalance between beneficial and
harmful bacteria, which can lead to various gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal pain,
bloating, and changes in bowel habits. In addition to their physical effects on the digestive
system, micro-plastics can cause chemical toxicity, which involves the absorption and
accumulation of environmental toxins such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons. These toxic substances can enter the body through the gastrointestinal tract when
micro-plastics are ingested orally, leading to various gastrointestinal symptoms including
nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Regarding the effects on the respiratory system, micro-plastics may cause oxidative stress in
the airways and lungs when inhaled, leading to respiratory symptoms such as coughing,
sneezing, and shortness of breath due to inflammation and damage, as well as fatigue and
dizziness due to a low blood oxygen concentration. A recent study showed that nano-sized
plastics were associated with mitochondrial damage in human respiratory cells. Micro-plastics
can act as carriers of other environmental toxins, such as PS, and exposure to high
concentrations of PS are detrimental to human lung cells, increasing the risk of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease.
In addition, micro-plastics interfere with the production, release, transport, metabolism, and
elimination of hormones, which can cause endocrine disruption and lead to various endocrine
disorders, including metabolic disorders, developmental disorders, and even reproductive
disorders (i.e., infertility, miscarriage, and congenital malformations). Micro-plastics can act
as a medium for environmental toxic substances such as bi-sphenol A, which are absorbed into
the body and cause various diseases of the endocrine system and reproductive system. In a
recent study, micro-plastics were also found in the placentas of six pregnant women by Raman
micro-spectroscopy. The potential negative effects of micro-plastics on the human immune
system warrant further research. Accumulated exposure to micro-plastics induced chronic
inflammation and homeostasis changes in animal experiments, and a study on human lung cells
showed that micro-plastics can activate innate immunity by regulating the expression of genes
and proteins involved in the immune response. (Lee et al., 2023)

Reduction Techniques:

1. Mechanical finishing

Mechanical finishes like singeing or calendaring reduce the fiber fragments releases.

❖ Singeing is the process of removing the loose hairy fibers protruding from the fabric surface
by controlled open flame, and calendaring is the process where the fabric is compressed by
passing between two or more rollers under controlled conditions of time, temperature, and
pressure.

❖ Sanforizing and heat setting treatments are conducted to shrink and fix the fabric in both
warp and weft directions. Mechanical finishes are usually semi-durable, and they cannot
protect the fabric against the release of fiber fragments after few washing cycles. The
protrusion of fibers on the fabric surface appears after few washing cycles.

❖ Shearing and brushing is a mechanical surface treatment that makes the fabric soft and
bulky. In the shearing process, the surface fibers (protruding fibers) are uniformly cut with
the desired length. The brushing process helps to pull the fiber from the yarn structure. In
both finishes, there is a significant physical change in the fabric surface structure which
enhances the release of fiber fragments. Usually, a higher release of fiber fragments during
 the first few washes is due to the release of entrapped fiber fragments generated during the
mechanical finishing stage.

2. Chemical finishing:

❖ Enzymatic treatment:

The issue of fiber fragments releases can be resolved by the help of surface modifications of
textiles. Bio-polishing treatments with garments made from cellulose fibers result in the
removal of fibrils or micro-fibrils from surfaces. As, the presence of fibrils is caused by pilling
formation on garments looks appear badly. Enzymatic removal of fibrils preserves the original
color, resulting in softer. Cellulase that has been immobilized has a powerful impact on
projecting fibers on the surface of cotton garments. In comparison to the pristine fabric, the
projecting fibers from the surface of the fabric have been decreased after the enzymatic
treatment. However, there is no data related to the protrusion of fibers form after wash and
wear cycles versus durability for the enzymatic treatment.

❖ Coating and chemical finishing

Textile finishing and coating with a series of chemicals including silicone, polyurethane,
acrylic polymers can reduce the release of fiber fragments. These polymers form a film on the
surface of fibers and protect them against abrasion mechanical distress. Due to the abrasion
during wear and washing, these polymeric films have possibilities to release the micro sized
particles addition to the fiber fragments. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the
mitigating effect of a variety of typical finishing treatments on fiber fragments. The chemical
treatment can reduce the protruding fibers with strong linkage to the surface of the textile
ensures the reduction of fiber fragments releases. There are different resins namely acrylic
resins, Polyurethane resins and silicone emulsion were applied on the different synthetic fabric
through padding and exhaustion methods. Acrylic resins show a good pilling resistance out of
selected auxiliaries with all the fabrics (PET, PP, PAN and PA), this trend was observed in
both woven and knitted fabrics. On other hand, the fiber fragments emission from the acrylic
resin finished fabric shows less than other finished fabric. Similarly, softness was higher in the
fabric due to silicon emulsion than the pristine PET fabric, yet it is noted that pilling was worse.
There was a significant reduction in fiber fragments release with silicon emulsion finished
fabric over other finishes as shown by the laundry tests. This is primarily caused due to the
friction reduction between fabric and detergent during the washing process since silicon finish
generates a soft surface of PET fabric. De Falco reduced the fiber fragments release on the
polyamide (PA) fabric by simple pectin-based finishing treatment. It was achieved by two step
processes, as i) synthesis of PEC- Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA, 97%) and ii) grafting of PEC-
GMA on the fabric (PEC-GMA-PA). Based on the sustainable concerns, pectin was selected
further due to its abundant availability, and its ability to react with textiles. (Periyasamy et al.,
2022)

Influence of mechanical and chemical finishing on fiber fragments releases

Finishing techniques Results

Finishing with chitosan 27% reduction of fiber fragments releases on polyester fabric. Poor
durability and inconsistent results.
Finishing with silicone Significant reduction of fiber fragments released from PET fabric. No
and acrylic resin durability measurement for both finishes. (L. Pinol et al., 2015)
Finishing with PLA 63.4% reduction of fiber fragments releases from the treated PA
fabric. (Falco et al., 2019)
Finishing with PBSA 76.8% reduction of fiber fragments releases from the treated PA
fabric. (Falco et al., 2019)
Finishing with pectin 90% reduction of fiber fragments releases from the treated PA fabric.
(Falco et al., 2019)
Mechanical finishing: Significantly reduce the fiber fragments emission. Non-durable.
singeing and calendering (Falco et al., 2018)
shearing and brushing Both finishing generates the fuzz fibers on the surface of the fabric to
provide comfort properties, as it discharges a significant quantity of
fiber fragments during domestic washing.

Conclusion:
There is a growing concern about the release of fiber fragments from textile products to the
environment. The average textile consumption is estimated to be 25 kg/person/year and people
wash their garments on a regular basis with automatic washers. The mechanical agitation of
automatic washers and dryers causes abrasion, distortion and entanglement of fibers, and
surface fuzz formation more rapidly. The release of fiber fragments during washing ranges
from 100 to 300 mg for kg of washed fabric. The population of world has increased and this
figure can be much higher which shows the impact of fiber fragments on the environment.
Multiple steps in wastewater treatment plants can filter up to 95% of fiber fragments.
Nonetheless, the remaining 5% of released fiber fragments eventually reach rivers and oceans.
These small fibers can enter the food chain and impose a health risk for sea creatures and human
beings. Ingestion and inhalation are the two main pathways for ubiquitous fiber fragments to
enter human health as considered potential health impacts. These fiber fragments cause
numerous adverse effects including infected organs and its failures, and cancer. When the
organisms are exposed consistently for a long duration, fiber fragments could cause chronic
health issues. Therefore, neglecting this problem or acting late will only make the situation
worse due to the increase in production and consumption of textile products in the coming
years. People should be informed about the extent of this problem and the environmental
awareness should force the stakeholders to act responsibly. Finally, the policy makers and
environmental agencies should enforce new environmental regulations to mitigate this problem
rather quickly.

References:
De Falco, F., Cocca, M., Guarino, V., Gentile, G., Ambrogi, V., Ambrosio, L., & Avella, M.
(2019). Novel finishing treatments of polyamide fabrics by electrofluidodynamic
process to reduce microplastic release during washings. Polymer Degradation and
Stability, 165, 110-116.

De Falco, F., Gentile, G., Avolio, R., Errico, M. E., Di Pace, E., Ambrogi, V., ... & Cocca, M.
(2018). Pectin based finishing to mitigate the impact of microplastics released by
polyamide fabrics. Carbohydrate polymers, 198, 175-180.

Lee, Y., Cho, J., Sohn, J., & Kim, C. (2023). Health Effects of Microplastic Exposures:
Current Issues and Perspectives in South Korea. Yonsei Medical Journal, 64(5), 301.

Periyasamy, A. P., & Tehrani-Bagha, A. (2022). A review on microplastic emission from

textile materials and its reduction techniques. Polymer Degradation and
Stability, 199, 109901.