Page 152 - TEXtalks. May-June 2023

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Enzymatic recycler: Recycle colored plastics Programmable fabric that changes color

and fibers and mixed bales of productscraps and shape when stimuli applied

A new smart fabric can be activated by both heat and
electricity, making it the first ever to respond to two
different stimuli. Developed by researchers at the
University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, its unique
design paves the way for a wide variety of potential
applications, ranging from clothing that warms up on
a walk from the car to the office in winter, to vehicle
Apparel brand Lululemon has announced a partnership with enviro-tech startup Samsara Eco, headquartered bumpers that return to their original shape after a
in Sydney, Australia. The company’s technology uses enzymes that attack complex plastic polymers and revert collision.
them back to their original monomer chemical building blocks.
The fabric design is a product of the union of soft and
The multi-year collaboration is based on scaling up textile-to-textile recycling and Samsara Eco creating the hard materials, featuring a combination of highly
world’s first infinitely recyclable nylon 6.6 and polyester made from apparel waste. engineered polymer composites and stainless steel
in a woven structure and the researchers created a
Plastic waste is sourced and prepared for recycling by cold washing with hard plastics chipped and textiles device similar to a traditional loom to weave it. The energy-efficient and cost-effective. In addition, lower
shredded, prior to the enzymatic depolymerization. To prepare the brand-new monomers for re-manufacture process is said to be extremely versatile, enabling voltage allows integration into smaller, more portable
into new plastics and fibers, they are then separated from any other additives, such as colorants. This is a design freedom and macro-scale control of the devices, making it suitable for use in biomedical
game-changer compared to traditional recycling, which cannot recycle colored plastics or mixed bales, the fabric’s properties. devices and environment sensors. The next step for
company says. Nylon and polyester make up roughly 60% of the clothing produced today. the researchers is to improve the fabric’s
The fabric can also be activated by a lower voltage of shape-memory performance for applications in the
The ability to infinitely recycle textiles, including nylon, is an essential solution to tackling the enormous electricity than previous systems, making it more field of robotics.
challenge of textile waste in the apparel industry. The agreement marks Samsara Eco’s first partnership within
the apparel industry following its $56 million Series A funding last year, as it pursues the aim of recycling 1.5
million tons of plastic annually by 2030.

UK-based textile testing solutions provider James Heal has reduced
Printed sensors take repellency textile tester to a fraction of that of competing products. Repellency testing
the volume of wastewater and energy consumed by its TruRain water
Water repellency is an important function of technical fabrics from a
the lead in e-textiles wearer in wet conditions. The Bundesmann test is the established without wasting water
safety and comfort perspective, in garments intended to protect the

industry-wide method of providing artificial rainfall, simulating the
natural outdoor environment to determine the water-repellency of
Eliminating all wires for substrates with circuits that The element is printed onto a transfer sheet, which different fabrics and garments.
are thin, light, stretchable, cost-effective, washable, can then be heat pressed onto the seat material
and comfortable. Atlantic Therapeutics, based in before the transfer is peeled off. The use of a The result is TruRain, the next-generation Bundesmann tester with a
Galway, Ireland, has established the Innovo brand as reflective layer makes the heating element highly water recirculation unit. In comparison to the traditional options on the
the leading innovation in non-invasive, wearable efficient, with its effect felt in a matter of seconds market, the system uses 99% less water during testing based on a
neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The pants act to once turned on. weekly program of conducting 150 tests, reducing consumption from
strengthen the pelvic floor and thereby treat the 2,100 liters to just 23 liters.
underlying cause of bladder weakness. The potential use cases in interior applications are
endless, and Conductive Transfers used a steering In addition, TruRain makes significant energy cost savings over a
“The company’s printable seat heating elements use wheel with sensors applied to show how they can be typical eight-hour shift which sees an 83% total cost reduction.
a positive temperature coefficient ink, which means it used for HOD (hands-on driving) detection as part of Productivity is also increased through greater ease of use than a
is self-regulating,” explained the company’s ADAS integration. Many other med-tech businesses traditional Bundesmann since tests can be run continuously for a
commercial director, Mark Catchpole. “We have also and researchers globally to bring new medical smart week without the need to change the water. An automated shower
put a reflective layer into the stack of ink, with the garments with valuable sensing and treatment guard that protects the operator from getting wet during testing is
whole element just 0.1mm thick.” technologies to market. also welcomed by lab technicians using the instrument.

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