Removing Harmful Finishes to Recycle Waste Acrylic Textiles (Fiber Society 2022 Spring Conference Version)

Every year, within Europe, 7700 tonnes of acrylic textiles are disposed of by landfill or incineration. Recycling this waste would conserve over 8 times the energy regained from incineration. In addition, acrylic fibres are predominantly solution spun using toxic and carcinogenic solvents such as dimethyl formamide, so mechanically recycling these fibres would avoid the need for re-extrusion using these solvents, thus providing a benefit to health. Despite these benefits, acrylic textiles are not currently recycled.
One crucial reason for this lack of recycling is the presence of finishing chemicals on the fibre substrate. These include harmful formaldehyde- and fluorine-containing resins, which complicate the recycling process and remain in the recycled product, thus limiting its application potential and remaining a health risk. These finishes must thus be removed at the start of the recycling process, which is one of the goals of the REACT project.