Advances in Manufacturing Sustainable Textile Fibers from Chitin and its Derivatives: Spinning Methods, Fiber Functional Properties, Biodegradability, and Environmental Impacts

Most of the current textiles are made from non-renewable, non-biodegradable synthetic fibers that are a source of microplastic pollution. The alternative biodegradable natural fibers have not only limited production but also have high energy and water usage along with high carbon footprints. Chitin has immense possibilities to replace non-biodegradable synthetic polymers for textile fiber manufacturing because of its abundance, biodegradability, and many beneficial functional properties. Despite its abundance, its utilization in textile fiber manufacturing is limited because of its insolubility and performance issues. Spinning of fibers from chitin derivatives for textile production was mainly studied by wet and dry-jet wet spinning methods using a range of solvents including ionic liquids, spinning dope additives (other polymers, nanoparticles), and various coagulation baths that considerably enhanced fiber performance and functionalities. Recent advancements enabled manufacturing fibers by gel spinning directly from chitin without any derivatization, which produced fibers with strength comparable to several natural fibers. This review discusses chitin and its derivatives as fiber-forming polymers, spinning methods, various solvents used, spinning methods, fiber crosslinking, and spinning dope additives to enhance the mechanical and functional properties of the resultant fibers. The discussion also includes the toxicity and biodegradation of chitin fiber, carbon footprints, and future directions in advancing its application towards sustainable fiber production. The key limitation of the review article is the consideration of only published peer-reviewed journal articles but no patent specifications. A limited number of published articles discussed the structure-property relationship of fibers produced from chitin and its derivatives. The true comparison of various performances of fibers produced by various methods was difficult due to different conditions used by different research groups. It is possible to manufacture textile fibers with strength comparable to many natural fibers by selecting the right source of chitin and its derivatives.