Optimisation of Technology and Processes Will Be Key to Harnessing Agri-Waste for Fashion, says Study

Researchers have concluded that in terms of emerging conversion technologies, optimisation also of processes will be critical to the success or failure of alternative feedstock sources for textiles.

Staff Writer

12 January 2024

3 minutes

Long Story, Cut Short

For alternative feedstocks to be adopted on a meaningful scale, high biomass availability and proximity of conversion facilities would be critical factors.
Converting biomass into intermediary pulp or slurry is only half the journey; this material will then need to be successfully converted into regenerated cellulose fibres for future use in a textile application.

Optimisation of technology and processes will be critical to the success or failure of alternative feedstock sources for textiles, new research has concluded.

The review, which addressed the technical feasibility of various alternative feedstocks for conversion to textile-grade fibres, concluded that in North America, soybean, wheat, rice, sorghum and sugarcane residues are widely available and the most suitable candidates for textile conversion.
The researchers first looked at alternative feedstocks, and then evaluated conventional (dissolving pulp) and emerging (fibrillated cellulose and recycled material) conversion technologies to help select the most suitable and promising processes for these emerging alternative sources of cellulose.
They built on the premise that for alternative feedstocks to be adopted on a meaningful scale, high biomass availability and proximity of conversion facilities would be critical factors.
In North America, soybean, wheat, rice, sorghum, and sugarcane residues are widely available and most suitable for conventional conversion through various dissolving pulp production methods (pre-hydrolysis kraft, acid sulfite, soda, SO2-ethanol-water, and potassium hydroxide) or by emerging cellulose fibrillation methods.
While dissolving pulp conversion is well-established, fibrillated cellulose methods could be beneficial from cost, efficiency, and environmental perspectives.
The researchers emphasised on more work to be done in this growing research area. However, they noted, “conducting thorough cost and sustainability assessments is important to determine the best feedstock and technology combinations.”

The study: PhD candidate at North Carolina State University, Ryen Frazier, led the research. The other authors were Keren Vivasa, Ivana Azuajea, Ramon Veraa, Alonzo Pifanoa, Naycari Forforaa, Hasan Jameela, Ericka Fordb, Joel Pawlaka, Richard Vendittia and Ronalds Gonzaleza.

The study was part of a larger research consortium named SAFI (Sustainable and Alternative Fibres Initiative), led by her research advisor. SAFI is a global initiative for sustainable fibre development that focuses on researching, developing, and utilising alternative fibres to manufacture a myriad of sustainable products.

What came out of the research: The use of alternative feedstocks will be based on local feedstock availability and processing infrastructure, as these feedstocks cannot be transported long distances.

Residues widely available in North America, such as soybean straw, wheat straw, rice straw, sorghum stalk, and sugarcane bagasse, are most promising for dissolving pulp production for sustainable textiles in the US market.
Based on limited non-wood pulping studies, the authors recommended further research on the production of dissolving pulp for these non-woods by PHK, soda, potassium hydroxide, acid sulfite, or SEW pulping. Before declaring the most sustainable options, the emissions of these feedstock and pulping combinations must be assessed.
In terms of emerging conversion technologies, several lignocellulosic feedstocks have been well-studied in the fibrillated cellulose field, although most of these studies were made with composite applications in mind. Still, it is evident that this technique can successfully convert lignocellulosic biomass.
For North American implementation, based on availability, previous work, and easier fibrillation due to biomass purity, the most suitable feedstocks include wheat straw, rice residues, sugarcane bagasse, and soybean residues.
Although most work in the field of fibrillated cellulose is related to paper, board, and composite applications, textile filaments can be seen as another application of these fibrillated celluloses due to the advantageous mechanical properties that can be achieved with this lower energy processing.

The implications: Converting biomass into intermediary pulp or slurry is only half the journey; this material will then need to be successfully converted into regenerated cellulose fibres for future use in a textile application.

There are many pathways for this second step, and optimisation of technology and processes will be critical to the success or failure of these alternative feedstock sources; however, that research is out of the scope of this article.
The authors intend to investigate and report on such a topic in the future. If successful on an industrial scale, this type of work can revolutionise the textile and agricultural industries and represent huge steps in environmental conservation.

Optimisation of Technology and Processes Will Be Key to Harnessing Agri-Waste for Fashion, says Study

Researchers have concluded that in terms of emerging conversion technologies, optimisation also of processes will be critical to the success or failure of alternative feedstock sources for textiles.

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