Textile waste – an opportunity as well as a threat

Clothing and textiles are very challenging to recycle due to the fact that they are nearly always a blend of fibres from different types of polymers. There are some promising early indications that new green solvents including CyreneTM and TMO as well as some simple ionic liquids can be used to aid recycling of complex fabrics by selective dissolution of one of the component polymers. A viable process for the future valorisation of many waste fabrics should be designed to maximise the creation of valuable product streams while also minimising any waste.