Unusable cotton spinning mill waste: A viable source of raw material in paper making

Preparation and characterization of handsheet using cellulose based Agri-weed: A sustainable utilization of Urena Lobata fiber

The increasing depletion of reserves of natural resources has led to a growing worldwide focus on the exploitation of available waste in new domains. The presence of weedy plants is pervasive on a global scale and has detrimental effects on several aspects of the environment, agriculture, and people's health. Therefore, repurposing these Agri-weed plants for beneficial purposes would be a significant achievement. Furthermore, since raw materials constitute a substantial portion of manufacturing costs, using weeds as a feasible substitute for raw materials might potentially provide considerable advantages for manufacturers. In this study, an endeavor has been made to the utilization of agricultural waste "Urena Lobata", for the purpose of paper production. In the interim, the utilization of Urena Lobata as an alternative and sustainable raw material for pulp and paper industry could potentially offer a beneficial approach to mitigation of deforestation. The effective production of handsheets with weights of 70 g/m2 and 80 g/m2 was achieved using Urena Lobata fiber, Bleached Urena Lobata Fiber, and hardwood kraft pulp. Mechanical characteristics of handsheet's were comprehensively examined by the bursting index, tensile strength, tear index, brightness percentage and scanning electron microscope for handsheet's morphology. The results show that the handsheets produced by Urena Lobata fiber exhibit a much lower brightness percentage, high tensile strength and bursting index. Alongside, handsheets by bleached Urena Lobata fiber indicate higher brightness percentage, satisfactory values for tensile strength, bursting index, and tear index. The prepared materials are suitable for a broad spectrum of prospective applications, encompassing newsprint, tissue paper, filtration paper as well as high-quality writing and printing paper.

Sustainable and cleaner production of elastic core-spun yarns for stretch denim with maximal utilization of recycled cotton extracted from pre-consumer fabric waste

Stretch denim is an exclusive and stylish textile made with elastic core-spun yarns. It has gained substantial traction for offering essential elasticity and resilience to the garments while retaining a snug fit and comfort when worn. Denim is produced from coarser cotton yarns necessitating a significant quantity of cotton fiber. Owing to the escalating costs of cotton and the harmful environmental impacts associated with its cultivation, it is imperative to explore alternative fibers for denim. Herein, for the very first time, an expedient technique of manufacturing elastic core-spun denim yarns utilizing recycled cotton is investigated. Recycled cotton fibers, in the range of 10-60 %, extracted from pre-consumer fabric waste were blended with virgin cotton and spun into 16 Ne (36.9 Tex) elastic core-spun yarns. To address the challenges posed by the lower spinnability of recycled fibers, attributed to lower fiber length, uniformity index, and higher short fiber content, a compact spinning system featuring a novel pin spacer was used. This combination effectively improved the fiber control within the drafting zone, enabling maximum incorporation of recycled cotton, up to 60 %, into the yarn. The produced yarns exhibited significantly lower unevenness, imperfections, and hairiness along with higher strength and elongation that fell within the top 5 %-50 % ranking of Uster Statistics 2023. The elastic core yarn, even containing 60 % recycled fiber, demonstrated its suitability for use as a weft yarn in a commercial high-speed air-jet loom operating at 950 rpm (equivalent to weft speed 94 km/h or 1577 m/min). The production of denim yarn incorporating 60 % recycled cotton represents an innovative concept to advance sustainable development goal (SDG) 12. This initiative aims to reduce the proportional demand for cotton cultivation and its subsequent processing, thereby making significant contributions to environmental preservation on various fronts. Moreover, this approach offers potential cost savings in the production of denim clothing.

Effect of a Nanocellulose Addition on the Mechanical Properties of Paper

Nowadays, the emphasis is on increasing the durability of all products. For this reason, it is also advisable to look into extending the durability of paper products. The main reason for using flax pulp is that flax and cotton pulp are widely used for the production of banknotes due to their higher strength. This paper deals with flax pulp with the addition of nanocellulose, which should further enhance the mechanical properties of the pulp. The tensile strength, breaking length, and tensile energy absorption index were evaluated as the key mechanical properties. At the same time, the effect of the addition of nanocellulose, whether it was added to the pulp mass or applied to the later produced paper as a spray or coating, was tested in comparison to paper without the addition of nanocellulose. The best mechanical properties, i.e., tensile strength, were achieved for the highest addition of 5% of nanocellulose into the pulp, at 24.3 Nm∙g-1, and for the coating application, at 28.7 Nm∙g-1, compared to the flax pulp without the addition, where the tensile strength was 20.5 Nm∙g-1. The results of this research are used for the assessment of nanocellulose as a natural compatible additive to enhance the strength properties of cellulose-based materials.