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A new method for the recycling
of clothing containing polyamide
Now polyamide fibers can also be recycled with separate in a mechanical process.
innovative process. The breakthrough was led by Dr. Mechanical separation is, therefore, out of the
Tung Pham, head of the Research Institute for Textile question for polyamide fibers. An organic solvent
Chemistry and Textile Physics based in Innsbruck, such as formic acid or cresol could also be used to
Austria. Dr. Tung said, “If we can recover just a part of dissolve the polyamide. However, the processing
this as raw material for new fibers, we will already be technology is considered less advantageous
making a major contribution to the environment.” because it requires vast amounts of solvent. For the
Together with his team, he has developed a new first time, a new method enables the recycling of
method for recycling clothing that contains clothing containing polyamide as part of a circular
polyamide fibers. system. The recycled polyamide can then be spun
into new textile fibers.
The textiles having polyamide fibers are not easy to
recycle like the other plastics. There are already Dr. Tung said, “In our method, only the polyamide is
several successful recycling technologies for dissolved and the wool can easily be separated back
separating polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and into wool fibers. This results in just a minimal
polyethylene (PE) from bottles. Even clothing fabrics reduction of the fiber length. Our approach is to
made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate that unravel the surrounding structure of wool or cotton
by dissolving the polyamide. This improves our
is extracted from plastic bottles are available chances of being able to separate the loose wool or
nowadays. These polyamide fibers cannot just cotton without causing hardly any damage.”
Photosensitizing antiviral
and antibacterial
facemasks with 99.999%
efficacy in Daylight
The consumption of disposable facemask employ strong electrostatic interaction between
increased drastically during the COVID-19 cationic cotton fibers and anionic photosensitizers
pandemic. People have become accustomed to to get the desired results. The cationic cotton
wearing cotton face masks in public places, which contains polycationic short chains produced by a
could have been contaminated with viruses and self-propagation of 2-diehtylaminoehtyl chloride
bacteria. These stick viruses to the mask could be (DEAE-Cl) on cotton fibers' surface.
transferred elsewhere when the wearer removes or
touches it. Researchers have successfully modified The PIFs showcase excellent washability and
cotton substrated to solve this problem that kills up photostability, making them ideal materials for
to 99.9999% of bacteria and viruses within 60 reusable face masks and protective suits with
minutes of daylight exposure. improved biological protections compared with
traditional PPE. Further testing showed that the
material could be hand-washed at least ten times
The developed fabrics with durable and reusable and constantly exposed to Daylight for at least
daylight-induced antibacterial/antiviral functions
seven days without losing its antimicrobial activity
November/December 2020
81
APROL System: Future of Textiles
APROL is a system for process control that runs on software, redundancy, and out-of-the-box solutions
the Linux operating system. All APROL programs
coupled with open-source communication standards
exchange their data using the TCP/IP communication such as OPC UA, Ethernet POWERLINK, and open
protocol. Data is then exchanged between the SAFETY. These features enable factories to add value
programs via the Ethernet TCP/IP network that links to their already available production processes by
the computers. increasing profitability and reducing losses and
wastage.
The labor-intensive textile industry uses automation
for many processes like cotton picking, ginning, Energy consumption in a textile mill is enormous, and
spinning, weaving, processing, and even to some with energy bills soaring, it makes monitoring energy
extent in garment making. Commonly attributed consumption in factories the need of the hour for
advantages of automation include higher productivi- reducing operational expenses. APROL EnMon is an
ty, more efficiency, better quality, more customized energy monitoring package allowing factories to
products, improved safety, and reduced lead times. measure, record, and analyze energy consumption.
A higher degree of automation lowers cost and Historical data allows detailed analysis of energy
increases quality at more incredible speed and consumption, making it easy to identify cause and
higher output. However, human and machine safety, effect. By monitoring real-time energy utilization,
energy savings, less maintenance, self-diagnostics, companies can reduce operating costs and eventu-
and predictive maintenance to increase machine and ally improve their market competitiveness.
plant uptime are some of the challenges the textile
industry faces. Thus, the utilization of such software is the Future of
The enormous benefits of APROL include hardware, Textiles for better production, efficiency, optimization,
and much more.
Polyprint innovative automatic
pre-treatment machine for digital
printing directly on garments
Polyprint has introduced an innovative automatic
pre-treatment machine for digital printing on pre-treating process a breeze.
garments. With precision spraying capabilities to The machine is equipped with a liquid pressure
prepare garments for fantastic prints, an automated regulator for stable liquid pressure and precise
pre-treating process for less downtime and the most movement due to a stepper motor, guaranteeing a
straightforward maintenance system, easily pre-treat gap-free, uniform spraying pattern that will see
t-shirts and exceed customer expectations with premium quality prints and washability. Effortlessly
vibrant colors, sharp details, and washability! switch between liquids with the touch of a button.
Independent tubes (40% of total tube length) on
After extreme Beta testing, PreTreater Pro is created each liquid and cleaner tank reduce liquid waste
during liquid switch and maintenance.
for spraying quality & consistency, economy, and
ease of use. A right spray area of 41x60cm The machine is also equipped with Job and
(16.1×23.6in), four large diameter flat nozzles
Consumption calculators to take your mind of the
(0.53mm orifice diameter) for top spraying quality production process. With this advancement, the
and accuracy, an auto re-circulation system for production manager knows precisely how much
liquid homogeneity, and a pressure regulator to
liquid has been consumed and the total amount of
spray precisely the quantity required will make the t-shirts sprayed.
November/December 2020